The last time I remember getting a manicure was freshman year of college with my then-roommate. Before that, however, I think it was a French manicure for my high school senior photos. But you get the idea — I haven’t had my nails done in a hot minute and I’d never tried fake nails before this year. But I did get a set of Glamnetic Press On Nails that I asked for in my Christmas stocking and I’ve finally decided I was going to try them out.
Another Beauty First Time for Me — Why’d It Take So Long?
I really wanted to try out Glamnetic nails, but I kept putting it off because I was nervous. My biggest worry was that I was going to mess it up somehow or do something to my nails to damage them. In fact, that was my biggest worry when testing these out: that they would somehow get damaged because I can be super hard on my nails. But with as much as Glamnetic has flooded my Instagram feed I had to see if they would work; getting my nails done is fun, but I’m not sure if I want to spend that money on a consistent basis.
Putting On the Nails: Initial Impressions
I did my nails on Thursday, March 7. I cracked open the box, read the instructions several times, and cautiously laid down the glue to press on the nails. The glue itself seemed quite messy — I put the glue both on my natural nail and on the fake nail, and it squeezed out a little bit by cuticle and next to my skin. It definitely felt very uncomfortable to have something sticky on top of my nail and they were far too long at first. I had to really cut them down to size to a point where they felt more natural. Like I said before, I was very curious to see how long they’d last, especially while showering or washing my hands.
The First Few Days of Glamnetic
Two days in, on March 9, the initial weirdness and uncomfortability of having the nails on faded. They really started to feel like my natural nail at this point, as opposed to having something on top of my natural nail, and I was feeling much more comfortable with them on. That being sad, I absolutely adored the look and feel of them and they made me feel so sophisticated. I just loved the feeling of tapping my nails on counters and my work desk. That was the biggest perk for sure — I feel like there’s this inherent confidence that comes with having nails like that, just like wearing heels.
Still wasn’t sure how they’d hold up when washing my hair, but I did have a second set to use if this first attempt went south.
Showering Attempt #1 & #2
Instead of diving into full-on hair washing, I took it slow. I showered with cool water just to wash and everything went just fine! No damage there.
The second time around, now March 10, I showered and washed my nail with the nails on. Again I used cool water (which is supposedly better for your skin anyway) and I flexed my hands upwards so I didn’t scrub my scalp with my nails or fingertips. I just used the underside of my fingers and palms to work in the shampoo and conditioner. Success! Nothing changed — no visible damage on the nails. Probably good that this forced me to use cooler water.
One Week Into Wearing Fake Nails
After a week of having the nails on and doing everything like normal (March 14), I noticed the color tip on the edges started to chip off. But I figured I would be able to just trim the nails or file them down without problem. I did try to be extra careful when handling anything with my nails, however, just to help them last as long as possible. I used a skincare product applicator to rub in my moisturizer; I was very careful when opening cans or other containers; I didn’t scratch and I used utensils whenever possible — anything to help the nails stay intact.
The First Sign of Damage
Monday, March 18 was the day that my left hand pointer fingernail fell off. Clean break, no visible damage to the nail. I actually didn’t notice it at first; it wasn’t until I was tying my shoes and looking at my hands that I noticed it. I don’t know exactly how it happened, but I think the nail got snagged on something and then popped off.
After thinking about it, I don’t think there was enough glue towards the “bottom” of the nail, by the cuticle, and then that caused an opening for it to easily come off. The rest of my nails were doing just fine, though. I wasn’t sure if this was a user error but I did try to re-glue it to see if it stayed. All that being said, there was no visible nail damage outside of dried glue.
Pulling the Plug on the Experiment
Two days later, March 20, is when the thumb nail on my right hand came off. Again, clean break. With my regluing efforts on my left hand failing, I figured now was a better time than any to take them all off and start fresh again at a later time. The last thing I wanted was to have more nails all off and have my manicure look super weird.
Enter the hardest part of this entire thing: taking the goddamn nails off.
The instructions told me to soak my nails in warm water for five minutes and then the glue would loosen and the nails would come off. They did not. It was far, far longer than soaking them for five minutes to get the majority of my nails to pop off. Far more than triple or quadruple — this endeavor easily took at least two hours. I had to get in between the fake nail and the real nail with a cuticle pusher and mini metal filer to get the nail to pop off. Some nails were easier to remove than others — naturally I think the ones with more glue were harder, but they stayed on the longest — but there was no damage to the nail itself. Just some leftover glue on top.
My Beauty Review Verdict
I stand at a solid 8/10 on this one. They were beautiful and very durable, but only stayed on for less than two weeks before there was serious damage. I loved having these on and they really were a nice boost to my confidence, but they were such a pain to take off. Despite soaking them in hot water several times and even taking a hot shower with them on and purposely getting them wet, it still took forever to remove them.
I will admit, however, this was Test #1. It could be the nails that popped off didn’t receive enough glue in the first place. The only way to know for sure would be to try it again — even though I know removing them will be an entire evening’s project.
