Elegant Touch Express Nails vs Broadway Impress Nails

For several years I was a devotee of the BioScuplture Gel Manicures but as daily life got more hectic and hands on, I found less time for my nails. My natural nails are always very weak, flaking and generally in crappy condition. Despite my best efforts in filing them, nail creams and strengthening polish, they refuse to behave and my varnish would never last more than 24 hours without chipping.

I decided to treat myself to some press on nails after Sali Hughes in her excellent beauty column recommended them as a top spring nail buy

"I wore these throughout fashion week and people mistook them for a very expensive hipster manicure. They stick on in seconds and stay there (they can be used over and over), looking cute but not twee." - The Guardian Weekend.

The last time I'd used press on nails, I was a kid but the latest range of press on manicures promised salon quality finish in a matter of minutes so I decided to put them to the test.

Elegant Touch Express Nails

These are the Empty Heart design and were purchased from Boots for £8.99. I though the design of these were fantastic - they received lots of compliments from people on Instagram to cashiers in shops and were indeed often mistaken for an expensive manicure. You simply peel off the backing and press on - the glue is quite similar to the stuff used to stick gift cards to their backing.

However I found the glue to be too thick and not very efficient. Twice nails became loose and came off within the first day of wearing them and I ended up having to buy nail glue just to get them to stay on. The thickness of the glue also means the nails don't sit entirely flush with the rest of the nail and are raised slightly at the cuticle. A few days later, I was picking off the glue with tweezers and sticking them on with normal nail glue for a better fit and longevity.

Broadway Impress Nails

The Impress Nails were much better designed - they use small squares of a thin sticky film as adhesive giving them a much more streamline and convincing appearance when applied to the nails. They didn't need any additional glue to hold them and lasted for several days before needing replacing. These also retail at £8.99 and can be purchased from Boots or Superdrug.

The Verdict

Whilst I certainly preferred how well the Impress Nail looked & how sticky they were, their range of designs are limited. There is a wide range of interesting designs on their website but I've yet to see most of these materialise in-store in the UK.

Although Express Nails also has limited instore choice, their range of designs is far more interesting and creative - there is also the option to search for and purchase further designs from their range, directly from their website http://www.eleganttouch.com/all-nails.html.

Both sets were a Short Nail design though Impress offer a Medium Length version in some designs on their website.