Chrome and Shattered Windows

Hey guys! Today I have something quite interesting to show you. Yup, that's right, they're nail stickers! I got these from Ulta for a couple bucks (very inexpensive) when I went to Florida this past summer because the design was cool and they were cheap, so I figured I would give them a shot. It's been about... 7 months since I bought them (woops) so I figured I might as well use them now especially since my birthday is in about a week and I like having funky nails during this period of time.

More info and pics after the jump!



These stickers are by Essence, which is a brand sold in the States at Ulta or online. Unfortunately for us Canadians, we can only stock up on Essence goodies whenever we're in the States. I really wish there was an Ulta here, that would make things so much easier. These are called Studio Nails - nail fashion stickers in design #13 - unexpected! They're made in Germany and there are 14 pieces for you to match up with your nails. Here's a link to Essence's page for these nail stickers.

Here's how I applied them:

1. Removed polish and swiped polish remover over bare nails
2. Filed and shaped as usual
3. Buffed nails LIGHTLY with buffer
4. Washed hands to remove oil and dust
5. Chose appropriate sized sticker for finger
6. Applied sticker and smoothed out by pressing down and removing bubbles
7. Filed off excess sticker and smoothed out edges
8. Sealed with Seche Vite topcoat (not sure if I was supposed to do that but I wanted to see if that would make things smoother)

Now for the technical stuff. Application on these was fairly easy, I mean it's not hard putting stickers onto nails but the only complaint I have about this is that it doesn't sit very smoothly and there are ridges and bubbles even after smoothing down with pressure. It lifts up pretty easily and does not conform to the nail that well (I can already see it lifting from my nails and it's been a couple hours...) I'm not sure how long these are going to last but my guess is that they're coming off on Wednesday. 

You can see the ridges and bumps a little better with this photo.

However there are several upsides to this product. The chrome background with the black shattered glass pattern is so unique and I love the design because you couldn't possibly duplicate this with regular polish. As well, these stickers usually cost a lot more (from Sally Hansen or professional Minx or Inoco, etc.) but these Essence stickers were around $2 USD. Oh and another thing, my nails are pretty slender so these fit really well and I didn't have to trim the sides or anything (having said that, if you've got wider nails than I do then these probably won't be the best choice for you.) Overall, I liked using nail stickers and I just might try out some more in the future!

Thanks for reading!
Mandy