Broadway Nails Impress Press-on Manicure

RRP: £7.99 

# of designs available: 36

--What does the promo say?--

"Get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds with the revolutionary imPRESS Press-on Manicure by Broadway Nails. Endorsed by the stunning Nicole Scherzinger who was quoted in Look Magazine as saying that her imPRESS nails were one of three things she’d take with her on a desert island, these sass-o-licious instant nail art products require no drying time as no messy glue is involved in application. Not only that but they last up to a week, have a superior and lasting shine and are easy to remove. The funky pack contains 24 Nail Covers in 12 different sizes as well as a Preparation Pad to ensure your nails are in optimal condition for applying the imPRESS Press-On nails. To prepare, remove any nail polish, cleanse and buffer the nails with the Preparation Pad, select the perfect fitting cover for each nail and line them up in finger order. To apply, one-by-one leaving the thumbs until last, simply peel off the clear plastic tab from the back of the nail cover, firmly press into place on the finger and apply pressure. Voila! A gel manicure-look in mere seconds that you can match to any outfit!"

--Packaging--

The nails come in a see-through nail polish style plastic bottle, which is a cute but slightly more wasteful way of displaying them compared to the foils. Still, it's definitely distinctive and I can see why they've done it this way. The nails are not sorted by size.

--Application--

Remove all old nail varnish, make sure your hands are clean and dry, and prep your nails using the cleansing pad provided. Choose the correct nail sizes for your nails (if in between sizes go for the smaller one as 100% adherence to your natural nails is needed) and then lay out your 10 chosen nails in sequence. The rounded ends with the clear plastic tabs on them show where the nail is supposed to meet the cuticle (bottom of the nail). Peel off the clear plastic tab and stick the artificial nails onto your natural ones, pressing down regularly for the first few hours to ensure complete adherence. Apply finger nails first, leaving thumbs until last. While a little fiddly, there is nothing difficult about any of this. It's a darn sight easier than foils and doesn't involve any drying time either, making it more convenient than polish in this regard too.

--Appearance-- 

I didn't really like the colour I was sent (neon pink!) but with 36 shades available this was just the (bad) luck of the draw - I can see many other shades and designs that I would like, as Impress has everything from French manicure to leopard print. The nails are not too thick and easily pass for a professional gel manicure look as promised. At their original length they looked a tad ridiculous on me but once cut and filed down they looked perfect. In addition, it's worth knowing that if you are ever gifted some of these and don't like the colour, you can paint over them with regular nail polish with no problem (which I know goes against the point of the nails, but just saying it is possible). The appearance is easily customisable not just through the range of designs but also in terms of shape and length.

--How well do they stick?--

Very well; I'd give them 9/10 in this regard. Occasionally the bottoms of the nails would 'catch' as I was doing something, but not frequently, and only on one or two nails. I'd put this down to my inexperience at applying such products rather than an inherent fault with the product itself. 

One slight problem with this is that the adhesive goes nearly all the way to the edge of the nail; this means that underneath the artificial nail any sort of dirt, grime, dust etc that you come into contact with gets stuck there and is difficult to remove. Not very sightly or hygienic.

--How long do they last?--

Easily stand up to the "up to one week" claim on the box and perhaps even exceed it; the nails are definitely durable.

--Removal-- 

While not as easy or quick to remove as conventional nail polish they are definitely easier to remove than the foils that are also popular in the current market. Damage to natural nails is also minimal to non-existent.

--Value for money--

At £7.99 these are a bit expensive for everyday wear, but I would definitely buy them again for a night out or special occasion, or to indulge in their more intricate designs - anything that I couldn't possibly recreate at home with regular polish. They're also a lot cheaper than getting the same effect in a salon. A very good product overall :)