Initial Thoughts-imPRESS Nails

Nails have gone crazy in the past couple of years haven't they? For the better I might. I love the choice of colours available, crackles, foil, wraps, nail pens, stick on nail art...I could go on! Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along. Broadway Nails have launched one such product-imPRESS nails, recently in the UK (fronted by Nicole Scherzinger).  A 'stick-on manicure', they basically fit somewhere between falsies and wraps.  

I was sent a pack to try; although haven't given them a go yet because my own manicure was looking too pretty to ruin! I kinda have a love/hate thing going on with manicures currently. As much as I love and always have painted nails, I'm growing to hate the application process! These could be the answer though, with no drying time (obviously), easy application, no separate glue and chip-free results for at least a week. There are 24 nails in each pack and I love the plastic 'bottle' like case they come in, so cute! I couldn't find a name for this particular colour, but they are a deep, browny red that I'd totally wear.  There's apparently plenty of colours and fancier prints to choose from.

On the back of each nail is a clear backing with a little tab and you pull this off to reveal the sticky bit underneath and just press them onto your nails. I would suggest it may be easier to lay all your imPRESS nails out first (having sorted the sizes) and peel the backs off as it could get tricky to pull the tabs once you've already applied several of the nails.

So far, so good, but I did run into a couple of problems.  First of all I'm not too keen on the shape. It's very square at the tip and I actually much prefer the softer finish at the opposite end (and that's regardless of the fact I've been partial to very oval nails recently). My biggest issue though are the lengths. There are 12 different 'sizes' in each pack and it might just be me (I do have large hands, fingers and nails), but I struggled to get a decent fit for the length when the width was perfect. For the past couple of years (since falling down the stairs-top to bottom and breaking all my nails!) my nails have struggled to grow and break when they get anywhere near a 'decent' length. Recently though I've managed to grow them quite long and when this happens I like to savour them...admiring and stroking, ooh-ing and ahh-ing, you catch my drift! Hence my reluctance to cut them purely so these nails fit.

Now it's not just my pimpin' long nails that are struggling here. My pinky for example broke recently and is just visible over the tip of my finger, but stuck out beneath the imPRESS nail. My middle finger (another break-opening the fridge door!) is not visible beyond the tip of my finger and it fared better as did the thumb on my other hand which is extremely short.

So my initial thoughts are, I love the concept. Love it! It feels like you can't go wrong with the application (much easier than wraps for example) and it seems like it would be a reasonably quick, stress-free process. It would be fab if you're pushed for time but need to...'impress'! Bad points are, I can't see myself cutting my own nails to fit under these-that just seems pointless. Maybe other hands would find a better fit or maybe your nails are always short, so these would be right up your street. The fact that they are reasonably short would mean they wouldn't bug you like false nails do and would probably feel very much like your 'own' nails. I'm definitely going to give these a go in the coming weeks and test out their durability and application for you more thoroughly. If you are interested in them and would like to try them yourself, they are available now priced £7.99 for the plain and £8.99 for the patterns.