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Several months ago, one of my college girlfriends (also a mom) told me about these press-on nails that she uses and loves. At the time, I thought “why would I want to spend money on fake nails?” I’ve actually always enjoyed the time that I can spend painting my nails during some “me time” and watching a movie. But we all know… mom life leaves very little “me time” and even when we get that time, waiting for nails to dry is usually not a priority! 😅

So I decided to try out these press-on nails that several of my college girlfriends were now raving about. I picked up my first box of imPRESS Nails at Target and followed all instructions to put them on during a movie night with my husband.

My First Impressions

Here are a few of my initial thoughts after putting on the imPRESS Nails:

They are too long “as is” for mom life. They definitely need to be trimmed down to a more appropriate length for my busy mom lifestyle so I could easily pick up my baby and type quickly on my phone. 😂
Not having to use or worry about glue is great, but the underside of the nail is so sticky and all of my “cozy items” (sweatshirts, blankets, etc.) keep sticking to the nails. Super annoying.
They went on super easily! I like the variety of sizes of nails so that I can find the perfect fit for each finger.
There are a lot of “leftover” nails and I can’t imagine just throwing them all away. There’s got to be a way that I can use most of the extras again.

So, all in all, after my first experience with Impress Nails, I was hopeful but saw some areas for improvement. I now have a good system for making these nails work well for me and my mom lifestyle! So I bought a few more fun patterns and colors for the holiday season!

Making Press-on Nails Work Best for My Mom Lifestyle

One of my favorite aspects of using these press-on nails is that I can add in some fun flair to my nails at a low cost and don’t have to worry about my nails chipping after just a day or two (and whether or not my chipped nail polish will show up in my son’s food or mouth somehow!) 🤦🏻‍♀️

After my second time trying on press-on nails, here are a few tips and tricks for making these nails work for your mama lifestyle:

Trim them! The first time that I put them on, I kept them long overnight and then trimmed them down the next morning. This second time, I clipped the nails maybe 5-10 minutes after putting them on. I just made sure to carefully trim the nails from each side of the nail, rather than trying to go across the entirety of the nail. The press-on nail is super sticky and I wasn’t worried about them coming off when trimming, but still used caution.

Use clear nail polish underneath the nail. This is super important. I made sure to add a coat of clear polish under the nails after I trimmed them (and if possible, to the tops) to help reduce the possibility of all that stickiness attracting every bit of lint and fibers from all over my clothes and blankets, etc.

Pick designs that are able to be trimmed. I have noticed that some of the fun designs aren’t really conducive to trimming. The first accent nails that I tried on had a foil design - while it was super cute, once I trimmed them, the foil started to peel up after a day or two, which I found super annoying. So now I seek out accent options that have room for me to trim them down without looking too weird. (Notice my super cute reindeer for Christmas time!)

Save the extra nails to mix and match later or use another time! I bought myself a box of alcohol prep pads so that I can clean and prep my nails and use up the extras from the box. The set of nails originally comes with one prep pad, but it’s not something that you can save and use again later. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Maybe I’m a bit frugal, but I just can’t find myself to throw all of these extras away! Now, of course, some of the nails will not be the right size for me to use at all, which is totally fine and those will most likely be thrown away.

My Overall Thoughts on Press-On Nails

So far, my overall impressions (hah!) of these nails are that they are such a fun option to have fun nails as a mom of an active little toddler! They press on so easily and don’t feel too “thick” or in the way of my regular nail. They also stay on REALLY well. The box states that these nails are supposed to last “a few days” but I found that they lasted well over a week for me! The first time around, they were a bit annoying because I didn’t put clear polish underneath the nail and the accent nail that I wore had foil, which started to peel up and get annoying. With any fake nail, eventually you will find the edges will start to peel up and when I find my hair starts to catch in the bottom of the nail, I get SUPER annoyed. But that’s inevitable and I was glad that it was closer to a week and a half until that happened with the first round of these nails.

All in all, this is a must-buy for any mom with little ones that still wants to add some fun flair to their nails! I think it’s a great manageable option for the mom lifestyle and even better - it’s a great price! Most boxes are under $10 and if you follow some of my tips above, I think you could get at least two different wears out of one box! (Much cheaper than going to a nail salon.)

I think these press-on nails would make a great last-minute stocking stuffer gift (you can find them at Target or Walmart), or would just be fun to throw in your cart and treat yourself to a little mama self-care moment some evening!

Let me know if you have ever tried out these imPRESS press-on nails - I would love to know what you think of them or if you have found any other tips or tricks for making them last longer for your active mom-style!