The last time I was in my nail salon, I sat there anxiously shaking my leg up and down wanting nothing more than to leave. The woman was kind, but she was going so unbelievably slow and creating SOMETHING on my nails that looked nothing like the image I brought in from Pinterest. I was just so frustrated, especially because walk-ins don’t even happen anymore and it took forever to get an appointment time that worked for me. 

I love the feeling of having my nails done, but boy was each passing nail appointment wearing my patience thin. And my freaking nail beds.

And then, as I’m looking at the design thinking it wasn’t my favorite but it was fine, the woman says to me “just so you know, we raised our prices”.

I was just so over it. I was so over waiting 2 hours doing nothing while some woman pocked at my cuticles and making them bleed. I was over the pain my sensitive nails felt when they aggressively buzz off my previous dip set. I was over being somewhat satisfied with the design (and don’t even get my started on the shape). I was over the fact that I felt pressured to get a new set every time I walked in there, because they would seem so unhappy with me if I came in just to get a set taken off and pressured me to get a new one. 

And above all I was so over paying $75 for a dip set every 4 weeks. My wallet was over it. 

That’s when Glamnetic reached out to me on Instagram and offered to send me a set of press-on’s. My experience with press-on’s had only been at 12 years old, sticking on corny Halloween nails from Five Below. And every time any sort of nail collab came along, I knew I had a dip set stuck to my nails for at least the next 4 weeks, and so I always passed up on the opportunities.

But what did you know — Glamnetic seemed to come at the perfect timing because it was when I decided I needed to be saving money and had to stop with the expensive dip sets. So I let them send me a set. 

Press-On Nails Were An Absolute Game-Changer. Here’s Why:

1. They’re quick and easy to put on

What used to take 2 hours at the nail salon took 15 minutes. I was shocked at just how easy it was for me — an absolute clutz— to get them on so easily and so perfectly. 

I literally threw on the nails right before leaving for a photo shoot, and I transformed my nails in a matter of minutes in my own time. It felt so good. And it felt like I was saying goodbye to wasting my hours at the nail salon. 

2. They hurt less and are less damaging

Obviously with press-on’s, nobody is taking a shrieking razor-looking thing to my sensitive nail beds. No bleeding, no pain, no tense muscles as I wait for the inevitable cut from the random lady holding a scissors across from me. It was a miracle.

I would absolutely love to shamelessly self-plug here the collagen I use. Every time I went into the salon I was praised for how long and strong my nails are. I take pride in their health and how fast they grow, so of course I’m not going to gate keep here. 

I put a collagen supplement in my shake or coffee every day, and for those of you who don’t know about collagen it helps strengthen your nails, hair, and skin. It’s a must for all my beauty babes out there.

After I started taking the Shaklee collagen, I noticed my nails were growing faster and healing from all the times I put dip on them. It makes them stronger, and whether I have dip or press on’s they don’t break as much with the added protection from my daily collagen supplement. 

You can read why Shaklee collagen is different than the collagen you’d buy anywhere else here

3. I can take them off!!

Finally. Something I can take off at home whenever I want. I play the guitar, and nothing is more frustrating than having perfectly shaped long almond nails keeping my fingertips a whole inch from my guitar strings. In order to even play my guitar, I would have to go all the way to the nail salon just to remove them.

And some weeks I’m really busy, so if I don’t have a chance to go in and my nails keep growing long from the collagen, they start to look like claws that get in the way of everything. Plus they look super outgrown, which is obviously not the cutest look.

With the Glamnetic press-ons, I soak them in warm water (and sometimes Acetone if they need a little help) and then they lift right off when I slide my nail under the side of the nail. Super easy and I usually just soak them for 15 minutes while watching a show or something.

4. I can have nail art without breaking my wallet

First of all, press-ons allow you to know exactly what a design is going to look like on your hands with no risk of having a flower look like an egg. 

Second of all, the Glamnetic nails are only $15 compared to my $75 set. I did the math — that’s 5 sets of press-on nails that will last you about 10-15 weeks of nails vs. 1 set of nails that will last you 4 weeks. Game. Changer. 

5. They last long

When I tested out my first set, they lasted me a solid 2.5 weeks with no breakage. My mom’s lasted her 2 weeks. It’s going to vary on how active your lifestyle is, but overall 2 weeks for plastic press on nails reaches my standards.

A viral TikTok went around about another nail hack to use with your press-ons, and that is to use a home UV cure light to make them last even longer. 

The trend is to apply your press-ons as you normally would and then take a top coat gel over the top of them afterwards and set them with the UV light. I have set to try it because I have to purchase a UV lamp, but I’m so excited to test this out and see if it adds to the life span of my new go-to nail solution.

I would also like to add that I tried a few other brands after trying out the Glamnetic ones and none compare. I’ve heard so many people praise Glamnetic for their magic glue, and I can attest that their nail glue is the superior nail glue out there. 

If you would like to have your world changed to, and to save your wallet some troubles, you can use my code KRISTENMC for a 15% discount off your Glamnetic.com order.

And if you try these out and love them, let me know! Leave a comment below on this post of your nail salon and press-on experiences, because I would love to know who else out there has had similar or different experiences than me!