OMGNailStrips: First Impressions

Hello all! Hope you’re having a good start to your week. Something kind of different for me today – a first impressions post. Normally when I review a product I like to have used it more than once and really understand the ins and outs of it but I thought this post would be helpful for people like me who have not used OMGNailStrips or a similar product before because there is definitely a learning curve involved.

Disclaimer: Yes, these were sent to me to try out. I am in no way being paid for this review, links used etc and as ever all opinions are entirely my own.

I stupidly forgot to take a picture of these wraps in their packaging on their own before I jumped right in but here is a picture of the nail art supplies I have recently been sent for review (I am so excited and honored that people think I am good enough to test our their stuff and offer opinions, please don’t think I am bragging!).

As you can see the strips come in a cardboard sleeve and wrapped in plastic. There are two strips with 7 different sizes of nailstrip to choose from – as you can see these strips are also pretty long so I am relatively certain that there will be a size to suit nearly everyone here. I have short and also small nails so all of the best sizes for me were on the smaller end of the spectrum which means I have 4 of the largernail strips left over. This for me was good news as it meant I had some to play with and figure out the best way to use them as I have never used nail stickers or full nail decals before – only water decals (which I love).

There are some really simple and clear instructions on the packaging on how to apply these which boils down to: prepare your nails (clean, push back cuticles etc), choose your strip size, trim it as appropriate, peel off the plastic, stick on your nail starting at the cuticle line and smoothing down, file excess and topcoat. I had the slight disadvantage that I was starting with a strip completely the wrong size for my nail but trimming is a bit fiddly to get straight and I found it best to get down oneside of the strip in the right place and then trim any excess width from the other to ensure a good fit. There are also two layers of plastic – the base which is the same as any kind of sticker base and then a very thin layer on the top of the strip which I found only wanted to come off once I started filing the edge. Once both of those are removed on your nails is a strip of pattern which has a plasticy polish texture (it is real nail polish so I guess that makes sense). Placement and trimming were the trickiest part and I definitely recommend practising before attempting to do a full manicure, removing the top layer of plastic is fiddly but once you’re aware it is there (I totally had no clue until a bit popped off) things kind of come together. Topcoating is a no stress breeze.

I chose the pattern “Lizard” which is a patchwork puzzle of brightly coloured lizards – totally love this pattern and am so glad I will be able to do more than one manicure with this design. I placed offcuts from the strip down the side of my nails over the top of China Glaze Strawberry Fields and once topcoated there is no visible ridge between the stickers and polish which is really great if you do want to create nail art with these pieces. I love how bright and fun this manicure is and it definitely cheered me up mid uni work meltdown (yes, it is deadline week once again and once again I am behind *sigh…*). Removal is exactly the same as you would remove normal polish. I haven’t had time to do a wear test on this product but I am not someone who regularly wears designs for more than 3 or 4 days (too much polish, too little time!).

Overall I do think these nail polish strips feel good quality and will last on your nails (the packaging says up to ten days), I also think the designs are very nicely printed and they do have a good selection to choose from. You could make some really cute accent designs or chop them up for nail art (french tips anyone?) if you want to stretch out the pack or find a use for your excess pieces. Also, this is going to look awesome as a full mani and once you’ve mastered placement I think these are going to have a lot of visual impact for very little work. These strips retail for $7.99 for individual packs but there are multibuy deals which can save you pennies if you like this product (I am now thinking mix and match manis would look AWESOME).

I hope that all made sense! As you saw from the first pic as well as Lizard, I do have another pattern to try out and I am actually really looking forward to using these again. I will definitely give you some updated thoughts in that blog post. What do you think? I would love to hear any tips and tricks you have if you’re experience with this sort of product!