Confession time here: My nail care is atrocious. I'm a biter, I play sports, I'm sometimes working outside or with machinery and mostly, just lazy when it comes to nail upkeep. Additionally, I am related to a "kind-of-a-big-deal" hand model who takes nail appearance very seriously and quite frankly, has seen the value in doing so :). It is therefore amazing to me that some people actually comment on my nails with positive feedback, given my blatant disregard for their maintenance. I've therefore decided to share with y'all my "trick" that is apparently still fooling people into thinking I am much more proactive than I am.
As someone who jumped on board the acrylic nail train BIG TIME in middle school and rode it all the way through half of college (Shh, don't tell anyone else about that), I pretty much used up most of my allocated manicure funds for a lifetime. I also don't have the time to sit and get my nails done as frequently as is demanded nor the patience to be still for the necessary time afterwards for them to properly dry.. which always results in at least one smudge, without fail, every single time. So when I found this loophole for "pulling it off" and even getting compliments on occasion, I knew I was onto something!
I've now been employing this method for over 2 years, so I would consider myself an expert.. and can attest that it's legit. Therefore, may I introduce: NAIL STICKERS!
Tacky as they may seem (no pun intended), once applied, these suckers look just like the real deal. PLUS, they last longer, don't get smudged or incur air bubbles. But the best part...... is that it literally takes 5-10 min to complete all 10 nails and after they're applied, you're done. No dry time. If you're like me and really SUCK at painting your nails yourself, they solve that problem too. You can apply them yourself and once you've finished, it looks like a professional job. And, they have a bunch of really rad designs, including 3D ones that you can't achieve from painting them. Allow me to elaborate about the designs, through visual examples:
They're very easy to put on, you just match the correct size to your nail, take off the backing from the sticker, apply it to your nail and then use a nail file to file away the excess sticker (like so):
I've used several different brands: Sally Hansen (which can be found at Target, Walgreens, CVS, etc), Sephora, I've even bought some at Nordstrom and they're all more or less the same in terms of quality and price (they seem to range from $8 to $15) so it mostly comes down to selection, in my opinion.
Here are my top three picks at the moment:
Get 'em HERE, ladies!
I suggest trying it out because at worst you just peel them off and are out the cost but at best: you have found a "better mousetrap"! And it could change your life! I'm only half joking about that last line :).
xoxo
