America’s Got Talons – Kiss Gel Fantasy Ready-to-Wear Gel nails

First time doing my own acrylics/gel manicure and I totally nailed it! The secret? They are press-on nails kakaka. You wouldn’t be able to tell. No you wouldn’t! Look at these babies (Kiss gel FANTASY nails)

Once made (or so I thought) for middle school kids, those Lee Press-On nails seemed so basic & ghetto until I recently discovered that technology and improvements in drugstore products now mean a beautiful, artsy, glittering, posh set of gels in 10 minutes. All for $8!

I was recently in a wedding as a bridesmaid and had zero time to get ready. I also hate getting acrylics or gel because the varnish and chemicals ALWAYS strip off the top layer of your nail, no matter how good the removal process is. My family is in the salon business so I know this for a fact. This results in thin brittle nails. My nails are already super thin so I can’t afford such damage.

Boom I got the set above at CVS, but you can find them practically anywhere. First, you have to clean your nails and make sure any residual polish or glue (this is my second set so there’s glue still stuck on the surface) is gone.

Then you apply bond-aid which helps polish and glue to bond better to the nails. This step is optional but since I have some leftover polish bond aid from Essie, and I have oily keratin, I opted to apply some:

Then you just follow the instructions in the package which details how to glue the nails on. They come in different sizes and I use the tiniest one (size 11) for the pinkie and go up one number for the other fingers. Instructions say you can apply the double-sided tape but it’s kind of crappy tape that doesn’t seem to stick properly so I’ve only used nail glue. Don’t worry; this manicure only lasts for about 48 hours before it all pops off so you don’t have to be afraid of commitment.

Remember to REALLY press the fake nail into your own, to make sure it bonds and any glue bubbles are minimized. Don’t worry if the nail glue gets on your flesh. You can wipe them off with acetone once you’re done. Or you can just wait until they naturally strip off. It’s slightly uncomfortable if you get it on your fingertips, but they peel off in a few hours.
And voila: such talons:

Since I have to type all day, I also cut them shorter than the length they came right out of the box. You can just file the tips as you would natural nails to make them even. Kiss makes them in different lengths but it can limit some of the options and I like this particular color.

There ya have it! Add this to your many talons 😉

Pros: inexpensive, quick, beautiful, easy.

Cons: does not last more than a day or two (if you apply Bond Aid it will last for as long as 5-6 days though), really for temporary looks for special occasions, nail glue can get messy, if you prefer the acrylic nail look all the time, this will be expensive at $8 every few days.