L'Oreal Paris Cosmic Dream Press-On Nails Review

Going to the nail salon to get acrylics or gel nails can be fun, but can also really add up quickly. I had gel nails from June-October 2018 and had 4 sets done. While I absolutely loved them, and got to experiment with shapes, I just couldn't get behind the cost when I thought of it over a years' time. Sometimes you just want to have glam nails without all the fuss.
​Cue press ons!

,I bought this particular set quite a while ago, and I may have even bought them when I was in New York in February of 2018...so they have been sitting for a while. BUT they can be purchase online or in store at Loblaws (and perhaps Superstores as well). I personally have a love/hate relationship with my nails because sometimes, they grow nice and long and can be maintained that way (with a little strengthener TLC) and other times they will peel, crack and snap as soon as you look at them. It's times like that, that the idea of press on nails seem really attractive. 

My struggle with press on nails is the lengths they come in. I seem to only ever be able to find a short style, and I was blessed with long nail beds, so even when I have absolutely no length of nail, the short style barely covers my nails. My friend Gillian has the opposite problem, only ever finding the long or medium styles. (I obviously need to frequent different shops in future...but I digress...) So the only time I really want to use press on nails is when I'm fed up with janky mismatched nails and I'm willing to cut them all down to nubs. 

This pair had caught my eyes for a couple of reasons, first was the length, second was the colour/design and finally the shape (which in their 'new' oval shape). Shape is fun to experiment with but I find it harder to do with my natural nails and I also lose the patience to try to do it myself. It's just easier with fake nails (whatever style they are). While getting gels I had square and almond styles (my nail tech lovingly refused to do "old lady" round nails) and find that's what I gravitate towards. I like a more squoval shape because I'm prone to jamming my nails and having a flatter free edge allows me to not destroy/crack a nail every time. Overall, almond is my favourite nail shape as it elongates my fingers. ​

This set is pretty much my ideal length and shape so I was excited to finally put them to good use for New Year's Eve. Having the black to clear base with holographic glitter was just too perfect. The set comes with 24 nails in 12 sizes and has gel tabs to adhere them to your nail. Thankfully the tabs are also numbered so you will have the right one for the size nail you are using. I feel the cushion is probably a good size for most people, but again as someone with longer nail beds, I had a lot of nail exposed still after applying the adhesive. This led to a bit of a gap between my nails and the press ons along the edges of my nails. Also, you can see a bit of my nail bed through the clear end of the design even with non-existent length. You would only notice if you're really looking at the nail, so it does't really bother me much.

The adhesive is pretty darn strong, I haven't had any real lifting and when I tap my nails against the table or other surface, I am not immediately worried that one is going to go flying off. I've even had a close call with a laundry basket and a puppy and my nails stayed attached. I feel there is a bit of lift near the cuticle on a couple of my more used fingers and if I intentionally push against the free edge of my pointer finger I can feel the nail move a bit, but it moves back into place when I stop. So take that with a grain of salt! 

The one issue that I've had from the start with this particular set of nails is that the edge of the nail and my cuticle aren't very flush and I notice this mostly because it catches on my hair...every...single...time...and it can really hurt when it's one strand! So this makes head scratches and ponytail making a bit of a struggle. I'm not sure if there is something else I can do to fix that. If I don't lose any of these nails, I may try them again with an actual nail glue and see if that makes any difference. I am a little nervous to wash my hair with them, I don't see that going too well, so some dry shampoo will be in order!

It's been 5 full days with them, and usually these packages say up to 7 days of wear, so I'm pretty impressed. I think that they would easily last the 7 days with my current daily schedule. If I were physically at work in my classroom, they would be tested out a little more thoroughly, but I think that they would have held up pretty well. No one is picking these up expecting them to last 3 weeks. If you don't have the time to do your nails and want something special in a pinch, I think this is a perfect set and would highly recommend.

I would love to know what your preferences is for your nails. I loved the strength my natural nails had when I had the gel coating on them and not having chipped polish after 3 weeks was pretty spectacular! Do you think that you could jump on board the press-on nail train? I'd love to know if you have any recommendations for brands/designs. I have at least one other set from KISS that I'm looking forward to trying out.

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