If I'm totally honest, I have a rather strong penchant for luxurious, luscious nails! I of course have dabbled in acrylics, but my natural nails are just so super soft, flimsy and fine that they just aren't really a great option for me, plus the expense of getting infills just mounts up continually.
I do however indulge in press-on/stick-on nails on a rather regular basis, i.e. I'm never without! Nailene has always been my brand of choice and I was lucky enough to be sent a few sets of their nails a while back to try out.
Within the package sent was two sets of their 'So Natural' short, square French Manicure style nails, usually my nails of choice and hence they're not shown here as they're all used up! I was also lucky enough to be sent two sets of their new 'Couture' nail sets & a set of nail art stickers.
I find the nails from Nailene such good value for money and really easy to apply. I always make sure that I've prepared the nail surface sufficiently; removed all traces of polish and then used an emery board to lightly buff over the surface to create a 'rough' base to apply the glue and then eventually the nail it's self. I also always make sure to push back my cuticles to get a seamless application and to make them look as natural as possible.
When not wearing the French Manicure style nails, I opt for the simple full cover nails in 'Active Square' which you can buy in a set of 200. I usually pick these up from my local Asda store for a mere £7.48 and the box of 200 seems to last forever! Nailene themselves have different types of glue; gel or regular. I myself prefer the regular glue which is shown in the above photo. After I've fully prepared the nail, applied them & painted them I easily get over a weeks wear out of them before I get any which are loose or 'growing out'.
These are my most recent application; a set from the box of 200 and coated with the coveted Barry M nail paint in 'Dusky Mauve' the polish which has been labelled the Chanel Paradoxal dupe. To me, after seeing swatches of Paradoxal and a tester pot in Newcastle airport, I don't think its THAT good of a dupe, I feel it needs more of a shimmery undertone, in this photo particularly it appears quite flat.
So what about you ladies? Are you an ardent lover of acrylics or do you prefer DIY application?
Lovess xx
