As they were so long I would spend hours cutting and filing them into the desired shape, as they were really white in a completely not natural at all way I perfected the french manicure and layered the flesh polish until they looked as natural as possible.
Since that time I have avoided store bought false nails, either opting for Acrylics done properly at a salon, or the old fashioned natural look, but recently a few sets caught my eye.
As a lover of monochrome these Elegant Touch set caught my eye instantly, they are the new press on style nail set, which has become quite popular of late.
It's great for girls like me who are pretty rubbish at nail art, but want to get that look.
The Elegant Touch were a little pricey, buying them from Superdrug at £7.10.
I decided to also try out at last these Primark false nails, a bargain at only £1.00!
A lot of people have been raving about them with their large range of designs and low low price, I can see why so many are giving these a go!
When I was buying those 99p wonders back in the late 90's (yes I'm old..) we used them to give length, but these nails haven't been made for this purpose, instead opting for designs you wouldn't be able to paint on, and quick fix nails.
I was just glad I didn't have to do a load of filing!
One thing I've always been confused by is why false nails don't come in different box sizes, for small, medium, and large nails so you knew you'd have the sizes required, and wouldn't have to throw away nails that are far too big.
As my hands are tiny, of course my nails are also tiny so sometimes it can be quite difficult for the falsies to sit on top of my natural nail due to not being quite the right size.
Maybe I should make friends with a girl who has large hands so we can share a set..!
Instead of glueing them on, there is a small gel which was similar to what they use to stick your new bank cards to the letter they came with.
However instead of them being already in place on the nail, you had to peel them off and stick them inside the nail, before peeling off another layer so you can attach them to your nails.
It was all rather fiddly.
It was a lot more fiddly then I expected, not all the gels fitted into the nails properly and a few I had to fold into the nail to make them not poke out when attached.
I also learned to hard way that it's really tricky to peel the extra film while already having half your nails done, maybe be smarter than me and pre prepare them all before applying!
They looked quite good when on, although the range of designs were on different sizes, so some designs that I liked weren't on any nails that fitted me, and I ended up with a few matching such as the two here.
The gel isn't very strong however, and the nails pinged off quickly. I could just re-stick back on however but they didn't last the night and I gave up on them.
They would work for a special occasion or a night out, but you would have to gingerly go about your day and keep an eye out for any that made a break for it.
I considered glueing them on, tho glue isn't provided, but they were quite thin surprisingly, it would be possible to tear one in half so I didn't think it worth the trial.
The primark nails came with glue, and again a variety of sizes, one big enough that I could have glued it to my big toe!
As the price is so cheap, losing half of the contents due to being the wrong size wasn't quite so bad.
The glue reminded me of trying to pull the bottle from inside my blazer pocket when it had leaked so I was a little wary.
They applied well, tho I had problems with the sizes somewhat but at only £1.00 I wasn't expecting the earth.
It was a great quick and easy change and they looked quite nice too!
I kept them on until they started to naturally give way to see just how well the glue worked, and so many people were complimenting me on them, some of whom I directed to the Primark nail section.
They lasted over a week, and I wasn't careful as I had to be with the Elegant Touch set, and still they held up very well.
I actually got a little annoyed that they had lasted so well as I wanted to change my nails but they just weren't going anywhere!
In the end I popped into a Sally's and got some pure acetone to soak and remove them.
It's worth getting some if you're going to wear these as you don't want to damage your nail bed, but it's also cheaper than the high street retailers charge and it's the quickest way to soak them away.
As they dissolve rather than the glue dissolving and coming away from the nail, it was a little sad to see my lovely flowery blue nails turn into blue goo!
As I liked them so much, and also the many compliments and surprise from people over £1.00 nails, I have snapped up a few more for those lazy weeks that I'll just pop these on and go.
Plus the designs are really cute and quirky, they are really eye catching too so wear them with pride!
I couldn't find any of the cat french manicure sets I had heard about which I'm gutted about, if anyone finds a set I would love you forever and ever (or the week that I'd wear them!).
I can see the appeal of the Elegant Touch sets, if you don't want to go through the soaking off part and are wearing them just for the day they are perfect, the price however and the selection leave a little to be desired.
The overall winner for me was the Primark sets, and with so many options and new ones popping up in store all the time, I'll be wearing these sets for a while and making sure to always check out the new options and designs every Primark visit!
Have you tried them yet?
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