I Tried Press on Nails…and I Don’t Hate Them

After months of not being able to go to the salon, I finally got my hair done. The change in my emotional state was immediate. There is just something so transformative about getting your hair colored that you instantly feel lifted. For some of us it’s covering grey hair. For others it’s about brightening or transforming our appearance. Whatever the reason, it just instantly lifts our spirits. So when my hairstylist told me she could fit me in, I ran…(not walked) to my car to head over.Once I got home, I felt so much better about how I looked…well…except for my nails. About a month ago, after a long night of scrolling through Instagram and Facebook I decided to buy some press on nails. Mind you, I haven’t tried a press on nail since my Lee Press on Nails circa 1986. They had adhesive tape on the back and looked pretty artificial. But that wasn’t the biggest problem, the nail flying across the dinner table at the person across from you…that was the biggest problem. That only needs to happen once for you to be sufficiently horrified that you never again even consider a press on nail. 

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 So why did I buy them? Well, for one, I couldn’t go to a nail salon. Second, everything I read said that these weren’t your old press on nails, they were a new advanced model and they mimicked a visit to the salon. I had to see for myself. So, I bought them. Then I chickened out. They arrived and they looked pretty good in the box, but I had a flashback to my nail sailing across the table and I just couldn’t take the leap of faith.That is, until I came home with my beautiful new hairdo. Then suddenly I thought, maybe I should try the press on nails. I pulled the box out and found that unlike their predecessors, there were 20 nails rather than 10 so that you could perfectly fit each nailbed. Secondly, aside from the adhesive, the box contained a tube of nail glue. The instructions suggested using them both. 

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 I started on the left hand. I followed the instructions and applied the adhesive pad and then a dot of glue and pressed on the first nail. The size, shape, and style looked good, but I couldn’t get it to lay fully flat against the nail. After two more nails, I decided to forego the adhesive pad. Once I used the glue by itself, the nail laid much flatter against my nail bed. I also learned that you have to be very careful that the placement is perfect. Once the nail glue hits the nailbed, it is very difficult to change the position of the nail. The other difficulty is making sure you have enough glue to adhere the nail completely to the bed, but not so much glue that it oozes out to the side. This was not an easily learned skill. I didn’t figure out the perfect ratio until the very last nail.All in all, however, I am really pleased with the overall look. I’ve only had them on for a couple of days, so we’ll see how well they hold up. So far so good though. If they stay on well…I may just be addicted. I mean, they only cost me $15 and it took me less than five minutes to apply them. If I can perfect the application, this may mean it’s pedicures only from now on.