"Frugality Is the Mother Of All Virtues" aka My Press On Nail Collection - First Edition

I'm cheap.

I mean, I like to not spend extra money where I don't *have* to or where it doesn't make sense to.

The Quarentimes have brought a few things to light for me; of note in this post will be how much I love press-on nails, and how I make them last.  Not just as in, "they last me three weeks per wear", rather, "I have learned how to REUSE nail sets with pre-applied adhesive.

Out of one box (containing 30 nails), which offers two solid manicure sets for $9 - $12, I've figured out how to get multiple uses out of those nails!  You can double or even triple the use you get out of each kit.

You just need a few things:

- orange stick

- gentle touch

- patience

- isopropyl alcohol and acetone nail polish remover

- cotton balls/pads if you don't have alcohol wipes

- nail glue of your choice - I prefer the brush on application; it allows for more control

Let's go on a little adventure in maximizing our press-on nail use.

It's a magical little box that these beauties come in.  Each kit contains 30 nails in 12 different sizes (0-11), a prep pad, a wee orange stick, and an even more wee nail file.

The first time you crack into the box for your first manicure, you go through the whole 10 minute process:

 - pick your sizes

- prep your nails and cuticles

- peel the tab off the adhesive gel and stick 'em on your sad...erm, I mean natural...nails

Voila! A flawless looking mani that will last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks (reportedly).

Now, let's say it's been 5 days, and you want to change up your nails for any reason, whatsoever.  The instructions advise using acetone and soaking them off, and inform that the artificial nail will be damaged, thus preventing reuse.

But, what if that wasn't the case?  What if you could...save the nails you've already used?

Here's how:

Firstly, soak your hands in warm water for 5-10 minutes.  This will soften the gel adhesive (important).  Once you've soaked them, get that wee orange stick from your kit.  Using the beveled (?) end - flat side down, gently start to slide the stick from the bottom of your nail bed to the top, pushing the gel adhesive to separate it from your natural nail.  This does not take force, it takes patience.  Don't force the stick into your natural nail, that's a bad touch.  You are just gently pushing the stick through the gel adhesive.

Once the gel has been separated, you can pull the artificial nail away from your nail bed.  Again, be gentle!  Any tugging means that you need to separate more gel, so use the orange stick as needed.  You will have two things to address, now.  

1) the gel adhesive on the artificial nail

2) the gel adhesive remaining on your natural nail

I find that the softened gel rolls off both really easily; you can use the pad of your thumb to rub the adhesive off your nail bed, and gently rub it off the underside of the artificial nail.  If there are stubborn glue spots on your natural nail, use a cotton ball/pad with acetone on it to dissolve any remaining adhesive.

Don't do this on the artificial nail.  Acetone will dissolve the nail, too.  Instead, use isopropyl alcohol to clean the underside of the artificial nail.

Make sure you wash your hands and use some moisturizer after acetone...that shit parches everything.

And now, you are the proud owner of a new set of glue on nails!  To reuse these babies, just use nail glue to apply them.  You could also use those sticky tabs, but I hear they're pretty useless, and you'll just have to peel them off the back of the nail again - depending on how often you're reusing them.

Speaking of reusing them after glue; yes!  Just soak the glued on nails in warm water, and gently remove them with your orange stick; just like you would any other set of reusable glue on nails (think Static Nails, Red Aspen Nail Dashes, etc).

Reuse them until they fall the heck apart, or start to look too gnarly to bother reusing.  But think on this - you can have one each of a stick on and glue on manicure in one box...that both can be reused as glue on...that can last months.  For under $12.  Oh!  And, just to add icing to the cake?  The nails fit better in glue on form, as the gel adhesive does create a layer between your natural nail bed and the press on.  Applied with glue, they look seriously good.  I find that I can get away with a size down across all my nails, which is cool.

I haven't kept all my little nail kit boxes, because I lack foresight.  I did buy this great little organizer, and I keep the first complete and ready for reuse sets I managed to save in it.  Going forward though, I will keep the boxes and just return the nails in there, because they're displayed so nicely that way.

My collection is ever expanding...it's so easy to stockpile imPRESS nail kits.  

Purchase through the website is easy, and they have great deals all the time.  KISS loves throwing free schwag into orders, so there's always a little extra something something in your delivery.  The website is also constantly updating styles, so I like to check regularly. Dashing Diva is really only available at Sally Beauty here in Winnipeg (I have been told they're also available at Rexall stores), so I have popped in a couple of times to see if anything catches my eye.  I have found some really great kits there, and they can all be reused the same way.  Sallybeauty.ca also sells the kits, but they seem to be very much out of stock entirely (press-on nails are a commodity, yo!).

Here are my recommendations for nail glue:

I got these at Walmart, although you can find all sorts of nail glue all over the place.  Drug store, grocery store; anywhere with a nail care section.  I will say, though...these suckers BOND.  My nails don't suffer from use, but when I glue some nails on, they are on.  

The vitabond glue is completely odourless, and claims to contain vitamins A and E to help keep nails healthy while holding your artificial nails in place.  The set I'm wearing right now is being held in place with it, so I'll let you know.  They're firm, though.  These babies aren't budging.

So there you have it.  My super cheap methods for being even super cheaper...when it comes to nails.  

I'll return with updates; after all, collecting these suckers is my new hobby...I'll post as I gather more...

Hail yourselves!