I love getting my nails done. For a few years, it’s been one of the splurges that we budget for. I get dip polish on them and it lasts 4-5 weeks.
But, getting them done means finding the time to go to the salon and sit there and have them do my nails. Some weeks, it’s hard to carve out the time for that.
Recently, it had been five weeks since I had gotten my nails done and I really needed to get them re-done. They were very grown out and the dip polish was starting to come off.
However, we had a lot going on that week and I just couldn’t seem to find an hour to leave two little ones at home. It was then that I remembered my sister talking about how much she loves the Impress Nails.
She used to use dip polish on her nails and had told me she’d converted over to the Impress Nails and had become a real fan.
So, Jesse had to head out for an errand and I asked him if he’d swing by Target to pick up a box of the Impress Nails for me to try out.
What are Impress Nails?
Impress Nails are salon-looking press-on nails that you can apply yourself in just a few minutes. You just peel off the backing of the nail to expose the glue and then press it on your nail and push it down over the surface of the nail for 20-30 seconds.
How Much Do They Cost?
The box of Impress Nails we got was $7 + tax at Target. Amazon has them for $6.99/box. This includes 30 nails — enough for 3 full applications. I’ve heard that you can find them for less at TJMaxx, but I haven’t checked there.
How Long Do They Last?
I asked on Instagram, and the majority of people said they usually last up to 10 days for them. There were a few people who said they only lasted a few days. But most people said that if you rough up your nails a little (this helps the glue on the back of the press-on nail adhere well) and don’t get them wet for a few hours after putting them on, that they will last for 10-14 days.
A few of mine fell off during the 10 days I wore them, but I found it was really simple to either put on a replacement nail or glue the nail back on with nail glue.
How Do You Apply Them?
The Impress Nails are very easy to apply. Just open up the box, make sure your nails are clean and dry and a little roughed up (use the little wipe and the nail file they include in the box to wipe down your nails and rough them up), and then peel off the backing of the nail and press it on. Kaitlynn and I applied them together and we found it worked best to hold them nail down and press around all over it for around 30 seconds.
The biggest tip people gave me over and over was to not get them wet for a few hours. They said this gives the glue time to dry. They also strongly recommended putting them on a little while before bed so that the glue had time to fully dry all night. People who said their’s stay on for 10-14 days all told me that they did this.
Are They Hard to Take Off?
I was wondering if it would be hard to take them off. It wasn’t. I just pulled on each of them a little at the end of the 10 days and was able to easily get them off. I know some people talked about soaking theirs off. I didn’t need to do that. But mine were also starting to come off some at the end of 10 days.
Pros
- They look great! Since I usually have my nails done, it wasn’t this weird shift to having really amazing looking nails. I don’t think that they look really fake.
- They are very easy to put on. You can literally apply them in the car on the way to an event (well, so long as you aren’t the one driving!) It took me about five minutes to apply them.
- They are very inexpensive for what you get. A box of Impress Nails has 30 nails in it — enough for three full applications (if you don’t need to replace any during the 10-14 day application period). And it’s only $7 at Target!! That’s $7 for what could last you (pretty easily) for close to a month! That’s much less expensive than going to a salon!
Cons
- They aren’t as thick/strong as dip polish. I found that they were a little flimsier and took a few days to get used to. If you have longer nails, you shouldn’t have this problem.
- They only stay on for a maximum of 10-14 days. Unlike dip polish, even though I followed all of the suggestions from people online on how to apply them, mine only lasted for 10 days. In that time period, a few of them did fall off and I just glued them back on with nail glue.
- There aren’t as many color options in-store. There were only around 8 different color options in-store at Target. Amazon does have a LOT more color options. But if you want to get something in-store that day, you are just going to have to go with what they have.
- They are a little hard to shape. While I was pretty happy with how they were shaped, I wanted to file down a few of the nails and I found that it wasn’t super easy to do (maybe there’s a trick I just wasn’t thinking of?)
All in all, I was happy with the Impress Nails and would definitely use them again — especially if I wanted to have nice-looking nails for an event or occasion and didn’t have time to get them done. Plus, they were an inexpensive alternative to getting salon-looking nails!
Have you tried Impress Nails before? If so, I’d love to hear your honest thoughts!
