Get The Nail Look For Less
I never thought I would be writing an article about nails. I owned a surf and skate shop for 6 years. Manicures, tips, acrylic anything was an impossibility when I had to shave down grip tape nearly everyday. But when I closed up the shop, I decided to treat myself to a nice manicure. $60 later, and after crying “WHYYYYYYY?” trying to get them off, I chose to never get my nails done again.
Then one night, I was binge watching Hotel De Luna and I couldn’t stop gushing over IU’s awesome nails and nail art. And after getting sucked into some girl group k-pop music videos, I wanted to get my nails done all over again. Then I remembered the price tag, as well as how they grow out and all the other problems I had with them, I ended up choosing not to get them done again.
The following day, my husband and I had to grab some stuff from our local CVS, and I wandered down the makeup aisles and when I reached the end I saw press on nails. I giggled remembering I used to play with them when I was younger, but I noticed these were all adult sized nails, with gorgeous patterns, colors, and many of the shapes you could get at a nail salon. Some of them even reminded me of nails I had seen in the k-pop and k-drama world and I decided to grab a pair to try them out.
When I went to work the next day a ton of my coworkers were complimenting my nails. They asked where I get them done and I smiled and told them, “CVS for $9.”
When I tell you their eyes bulged out of their heads, they really did. They grabbed my hand so quick to look at the nails, still not believing me. I even took one of them, on our lunch break, to the CVS near the office to prove to her where I got them. They not only had the ones I bought, but even more options than my local CVS. And so I bought another pack.
I soon became “The girl with the nails” at work. I even had several people buy them saying they had become hooked on them and how much they save their monthly budgets! They came to show me all the different ones they were using. I loved having the connection with them. Sadly with Covid we can’t share these moments the same way anymore.
I even wore press-on nails on my wedding day, and got a ton of compliments! Best part? Half my bridal party did too!
I have become a nail addict and I am always looking for new brands of press on nails. My two most favorite press-on nail companies have been KISS (found in CVS, Walmart and a lot of other large chains) and PS… (Primark’s private label brand). KISS prices range from $8.99 to $12.99 depending on the style and art. And PS… is the best value with nails ranging from $2.50 to $3.50! Yes you read that correctly, $3 for a full set of nails!
These sets tend to last 7-10 days, which makes it fun to change up your nail style more often. I’ve had some that have lasted a full two weeks. While they still leave a little damage on your nail from removing them, I will say it’s a lot less than the acrylics I’ve had done professionally.
So go ahead and ball on a budget. Go out and try them for yourself! Tag us in pics on Insta (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt) and let us know if you’ve found any other brands that you like!
