Nailed It: A Mini Review of imPRESS Press-On Manicure

Hello, dear readers,

I am taking you back in time once again to my post on the spring Influenster VoxBox from last June. In case you're unfamiliar with Influenster, you can click here to find out more. One of the products sent to me in that VoxBox was the imPRESS Press-On Manicure from Broadway Nails. The pattern I received was called "Over the Moon."

 

You can see in the image above that the kit contains 24 stick-on nails in 12 different sizes, cutely packaged in a fake plastic nail polish bottle. It claims to be "fast and easy" and to last up to a week.

The first thing I noticed about these nails was the cool pattern. If you're anything like me, you love nail art but have very little patience to sit down and create said nail art yourself. I tend to only paint fancy or funky designs for special occasions [See: New Year's Eve 2011, Harry Potter opening night]. As you may imagine, I was pretty excited to have the lazy girl's version of quality nail art. The pattern here is made up of abstract deep red and gold swirls, for lack of a better word.

It's safe to say that I checked "excellent pattern" off the list. After that, I was slightly dismayed to take a closer look at the size of the nails. For reference, I have baby hands. I kid you not; I will never be a hand model with digits this diminutive and childlike. With hands like mine come short, wide nails. Naturally, I found that hardly any of the press-on nails completely covered the width of my own nails. Now this was only visible to me, because they did come close, but it was still a disappointment. The length was, quite frankly, laughable. Here is a view of my hand with the nails at their full length:

Baby hands + Talons = Not on my watch

Some people may like the look of talons, but I like to be able to use my hands. I took a pair of nail scissors to these straightaway after the initial application, hacking them down to a more appropriate size. The application itself was simple: I took the nails I wanted; laid them out in the desired order; and one at a time, I pressed the nails on.

Cutting them, however, was a pain. I had to cut into the adhesive that makes these products stick, and that left me with little balled up gluey bits between the fake nails and my real fingers. I peeled these off, but red glue kept coming through. Not enough to be noticeable to anyone else, but slightly irritating nonetheless. This is what they looked like after I cut them:

Baby hands with baby sized nails.

Much more to my taste. Aside from the sizing issues and the bits of glue reappearing throughout the 6 days I wore them, these nails didn't budge. They would have lasted one more day, but I had no patience for them anymore. The reason? They felt heavy to me, and I was eager for a change. I will say that I got several compliments on them, and my summer internship boss thought I painted them myself. Now that's what I call a success. Another bonus: No nasty chemical smell.

These nails retail from somewhere between $5 and $9 on average. I personally wouldn't purchase them, because I prefer painting my own nails. With this price point, I think it's more economical to buy a bottle of polish that will allow for numerous applications rather than the two applications this provides. I don't have the patience to painstakingly re-size all the nails either, nor do I adore the heavy feeling.

What I can say is that this product lives up to its claims. It is indeed easy to use, and it will last up to a week. There are other patterns available, and the convenience factor of pretty nail art with no effort is appealing. If you want a super simple, quick way to get professional looking nails and can't stand the smell of regular polish, I'd say checking these out would be worth your time.

As for me, I'll stick with the noxious fumes DIY approach.

How do you like to do your nails?

xEsther

Springing for Influenster

Hello, dear readers,

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had received a bunch of free products through a program called Influenster. For whatever reason, the boxes of paraphernalia are called VoxBoxes. This particular box was the Spring Fever VoxBox, aptly named because it was sent about a month ago. I would try explaining the program, but I would fail, so instead I'm linking you to the website itself. And here's this handy-dandy icon from Influenster, disclosing that everything was sent free. You can sign up for an invite to the program no matter who you are; it's not some exclusive club.

In any case, I'm going to show you photographs and short descriptions of the items I found in the VoxBox. I promise they'll be short, because I will be doing separate posts on a couple of the products. Here are all the contents at once:

Pretty exciting, huh? I thought so. 

The first thing I saw when I opened up the package was chocolate. If you're looking for a healthy snack, this wouldn't be it, but it is a delicious treat. As you may be able to read on the package, it says that it's a "marshmallow flavored creme filled cake." I believe some people received the peanut butter flavor, but I was quite satisfied with this. Do I plan to run out and buy more? No. If I'm ever offered one, however, it would be bad form to refuse. ;)

Um, hello there. If you hadn't noticed, the title of my blog is called "When Life Hands You Lipstick," but you can bet that when life handed me this NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy lip balm, I was beyond thrilled. This is not an exaggeration. Mine is called Big Apple Red, which is appropriate for multiple reasons. In person, it shows up redder than in these photographs, but the photos give a fairly decent depiction of the product. Even when I go out with no face makeup on, I must [repeat: must] have some color on my lips. With my fair skin, dark hair, and not the most pigmented lips, I'm convinced I look dead without it. What's more, it's become my "look" over the years. Tinted balms are perfect for on-the-go and a no-brainer for summer. 

Next came my second love, a nail product. I've already tried these out, and I will be doing a review on them. This is the imPRESS Press-On Manicure from Broadway Nails. The pattern I have is called Over the Moon. The design really is beautiful on, and, to my delight, the nails didn't look fake. I did have to cut them quite a bit, but more on that to come.

This next product is Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+ Gelastic. It's marketed as an "ultra strong flex gel" that gives you a short time window in which to style your hair before it's set for the day. Some people received a product called Dust It, a mattifying powder, and others discovered Rough Rubber, a texturizing paste. Considering I have no use for mattifying powder and no desire for texturizing paste, I think I got off with the best of the bunch. That's not to say that I love this. They're not kidding when they say this lasts all day. I barely had time to play with my hair before it was stuck in place. I think I'll post a review on this as well.

This is Secret Outlast Clear Gel, an antiperspirant/deodorant that claims to leave no white marks on clothes. I'm very pleased to say that it lives up to the marketing hype. I used to have a huge problem with white marks on my clothes, even when I used gel deodorants. I've used other versions of Secret in the past, but I never had any luck with it. Currently, I use an extremely inexpensive antiperspirant/deodorant from Avon, and I'm happy enough with it. It's the only thing prior to this Secret Outlast that hasn't left white marks on my shirts. 

Alas, we have reached the end. Not a bad haul from a box full of surprises. As I've said repeatedly [and you're probably ready to close this window by now], I will be doing a couple of separate reviews on individual products. Even if I'd hated everything, I couldn't have complained because it's all complimentary. I only have to complete a mandatory product survey in exchange for the goods.

I'm getting excited for a July 4th trip to see some of my best friends, but for now I'm relishing the weekend. 

Hope you're loving it, too.

xEsther