Ah, Christmas. It has a certain magical way of forcing you out of your comfort zone, doesn’t it? For 11 months of the year you’re quite happy wearing the same hair and make-up every day and then BAM! The festive season hits and all of a sudden you’re questioning whether you really are a short, naked nail kind of girl, or whether you should buy some jazzy falsies in Boots and make your fingers shine brighter than Rihanna’s diamonds.
Enter Elegant Touch and their limited edition After Dark false nails, which come in various colours, but we’ve obviously went for the most magpie-friendly set of all: Chrome Crazy. Priced at £8.95 for 24 nails – that’s two whole sets plus four spares – they could be a budget-friendly alternative to hitting up your local salon for acrylics.
Promising 10-minute application, let’s see if it’s really worth ditching your profesh mani (or a lifetime of nail-biting) for some at-home extensions.
First Impression: So. Much. Glitter. My inner magpie is thrilled, even if I do still associate stick-on false nails with school discos circa 1999 – though these talons seem much sturdier.
**How do they go on? **Welllll, after pushing back my cuticles and cleaning my own nails with nail polish remover, I measure up the falsies with my nails. While the instructions claim the thinner, more curved end should be at my cuticle and the wider part at the top of my nail, I can't help but think they've gotten a little mixed up. Not a single false nail fits on mine without gaps – unless I turn them the other way, in which case they fit perfectly. Let's go with that then.
**Are they easy to apply? **The first hand was super simple. The second hand, when I already had a paw full of claws, not so much. Maybe enlist a friend for help so you don't end up, like me, with a nail stuck to the middle of your finger…
Can you still go about your daily business with them on? Instagramming would be a struggle, which is a shame really, as they're just crying out for a #nailfie. Turns out touch screens and false nails are not friends – ditto tights and falsies. Hello, ladders.
Do they come off easily? Debatable. There's a lot of filing and soaking involved, as with in-salon nail extensions, and my nails definitely look a tad damaged. However, with these particular nails, Elegant Touch suggest using their Nail Guards between the natural nail and the glue to offer some protection. Probs wise.
Final verdict: If you're in the habit of forking out for nail extensions, but want to save some cash over Christmas, rest assured that falsies have come a long way in looking like the real (fake) deal. This particular style were so jazzy that I felt like Kylie Jenner from the knuckles down. However, if you're like a virgin when it comes to longer talons, I'd say go for some glitzy polish instead for a similar effect with less trauma.
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Follow Jennifer on Twitter @barbiewrites
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.