I Found Press-On Nails That Are Actually Better Than A Manicure

I love having my nails done but don’t necessarily like painting them myself. It always seems like it will be a fun and relaxing time until I remember what a shitty nail artist I am. Also, why is it you always have to take a pee, get super hungry, or have to do something for a small human just as you’ve completed your last stroke of polish?

Going to the salon to get a mani is an occasional treat, and I love the result, but it’s expensive. Not to mention I don’t really enjoy having my cuticles pushed back by someone who can’t feel my pain. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made an appointment to get the nails a tune-up only to want nothing more than to sit at home in my comfy sweatpants watching my fave television show.

I’m here to tell you I’ve found an amazing solution: Impress Nails.

They are seriously the best thing that’s happened to my hands and I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to try them. These aren’t the Lee Press On Nails of yesteryear, folks. They are the real deal.

They are cheap and readily available.

Most styles can be picked up for under six bucks — which is cheaper than some of my favorite gel polishes. That leaves more money for lattes and other exciting things. They are available in so many different places which makes it easy to get your hands on them. I’ve seen them at fancy stored like Ulta, as well as my local pharmacy. I think Target has the best selection, but if you don’t feel like getting off the sofa, they can be ordered online too.

They’re fast and easy to apply.

Seriously, this was a lot faster than using wet polish and there was no drying time so I could go on with my life as soon as they were in place. It took maybe 15 minutes to do my nails, and part of that time was me pausing to look at how amazing they were. There was freedom in knowing I could knit a sweater or stuff my face with chocolate as soon as they were on.

Also, there’s no glue to worry about. They come with a little sticker you peel off, then you press them on your nail– that is it.

They are tough as nails, literally.

This is a photo of my manicure after a week. They were still absolutely perfect and I like to bake and do DIYs. I also have Invisalign so I have to use my nails to pop my retainers off. I’m not easy on them to say the least, and if I had to be they wouldn’t get a recommendation from me at all. These suckers don’t even chip. The only reason I removed this set was because I wanted a different color.

They are easy to pop off, sans smelly removers.

Speaking of removal, this was the part I was afraid of. It was so easy though. The set comes with a little stick you slide under the nail to remove them. I start at one side, gently go around the bottom of my nail, and go up the other side until it pops off. Be sure not to yank them off, the stick will gently pry the glue and nail away from your original nail.

It’s so much better than breathing nail polish remover.

You get more than one manicure out of each pack.

You get thirty nails with each pack which means you get to enjoy more than just one manicure out of the set. I also keep the extras in a tiny Tupperware container and store them in my purse in case I need a touch up while I’m out. But, for the record, this has never happened.

They are so fun.

They come with an accent nail if you’re into that. If not, there are plenty of nails for you to stick to one color.

Won’t stain your nails yellow.

This is what my real nails looked like right after I popped a set off I’d been wearing for seven days. When I wear nail polish, my nails are always a bit yellow after removing the old polish. There was also zero damage done to my nails after removal.

They don’t look fake.

I love how real the Impress nails look. Even from this angle they don’t look thick or fake. They look like my real nails.

I’m ditching all my liquid polishes and I’m sticking to these. I love knowing I can do my nails in the car while someone else is driving, I don’t have to pause my life to let my nails dry, and there’s no more spending a shit ton of money on a manicure. These are fool proof — if you can remove a sticker and press, you can have professional looking nails in no time.

Do yourself a favor and give these babies a try the next time you want to have a lovely set of digits. I’m pretty sure you’ll be so impressed (see what I did there?), you’ll never want to go back to liquid polish.