Why I’m not imPRESS-ed

Hello, my friends!

This is a post about a disappointment in the purchase and in the experience, but it was not meant to be like this from the beginning! All I can say, beauty is not always flowers and butterflies, guys!

Since I moved to the US I stopped going to salons for nail services, mostly because it is much more expensive here and in most cases, it’s not done as good as back home. So as long as I can do it myself I decided that I can save at least on this because beauty is expensive.

Before, I used to do Shellac regularly, but now I’m a little bit too lazy to get all the lamps and gels and do the whole thing myself, and I try to keep it to a minimum. Last week I was watching a video on youtube and one blogger recommended imPRESS press-on manicure kit from Kiss. I was so thrilled to find an option to substitute the Shellac (that I still miss sometimes) and get a full pack of hassle-free long-lasting “not-a-regular-ugly-glued artificial nails” and rock in them for at least 2 weeks!

Excited about this new beauty hack, I went to the closest store to get a pack of One-step Gel manicure the same day. The best part about these nails is that they look really natural and you don’t need any glue – they are self-adhesive. Following the steps, as shown in the instructions I started to attach nail by nail to my natural nails. When I was done with putting them on, I had a pretty much nice and tidy manicure. All that was required in to file the edges as I prefer more rounded nails. I even had a tough time replacing one nail as the glue in those nails is very strong, but doesn’t harm your natural nails in any way.

Long story short, I was really happy once I was done. Until I turned my hands and looked UNDER these nails.

The worst and really critical part is that there are gaps between natural and artificial nails. And what is even worse, there is still a line of glue in those gaps. Just think how impractical this is. Taking into consideration that I cook myself from scratch and I also do cleaning myself, I could only imagine how dirt will stick to that gap and bacteria will settle and breed there and its youngest generation will start shouting out “hello” from there.

I was very happy with realistic and natural result..

until I saw my nails underneath

I was so disguised by this thought that I didn’t even go anywhere with these nails. I just started removing them which was really challenging because, as I said before, the glue is very strong. The bamboo stick in the pack somehow helped to peel these nails off and thank God my natural nails were not damaged in any way. Did I mention that the whole process of applying these nails took me almost the same time as if I was painting my nails with a base, 2 coats of polish and a top coat?

I was quite disappointed by this experience, as I was really looking forward to some new options for a long-lasting manicure.

Now, I’m thinking to finally try the gel nail polishes that don’t require any lamp to dry, but I’m never ever spending my time and money on adhesive nails.

I strongly believe that sharing my personal bad experience is also good for other people to stay away from products that don’t work or those that are impractical for use.

Have you ever tried something like this? I’d like to hear about your experience in the comments down below!