How to Make imPRESS Nails Last Longer!

      ImPRESS Nails were one of my best new purchase discoveries of 2019, and I'm still absolutely obsessed with them today! Discovering these press-on drugstore nails completely eliminated my expensive monthly nail salon visits. It's been so much fun to hear from a lot of you since I started sharing about these nails that have also tried them! However, one of the most frequently asked questions that I get in my DMs now is how to make ImPRESS Nails last longer. There are definitely some "best practices" for application that can be the difference between them lasting just a few days, to lasting 10+ days! Today I'm sharing my best tips for making your ImPRESS Nails last as long as they can.

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      If you're brand new to ImPRESS Nails, you might want to check out my original blog post about them here! These are truly a wonder product: they're affordable, easy to use, come in tons of color and pattern options, don't have UV light, and most importantly don't damage your natural nails! Last year I also made an IGTV video that shows exactly how I apply them. These are truly such an amazing product for the price point! The only thing with ImPRESS Nails is that sometimes there is a bit of a learning curve to getting them all to stay on for several days. I've had several friends try them out once or twice, and be frustrated that their nails only last a few days. It is possible for sure that with some practice you can get these nails to last 10-14 days! (I would say 7-10 days is average for me with them, and the longest I've ever had a pair last was 15 days.)

     Here are my six best tips for getting ImPRESS Nails to last over a week:

1. Begin by filing your nails well: When you go to the nail salon, your nails will be buffed, filed and trimmed way down before your manicure begins. All of that prep certainly does help, and the same goes for ImPRESS Nails. I don't personally use the little file that they provide in each package- I prefer to use one of my own better quality files. The first thing I do to prep for a new set of ImPRESS Nails is to file each one of my natural  nails all over- tops and sides! 
2. Use a lense cleaning wipe to clean nails if you can't use the wipe the nails come with: Each package comes with a small cleaning wipe that you're supposed to use after filing your nails. These little wipes work great and definitely help the nails to stay on longer! The only problem is that each package of ImPRESS has enough nails to get you through two or three applications... and it's hard to keep the small wipe moist for the next application in a week or two. I've tried applying the nails without using a wipe and I find they always fall off so fast, so I don't recommend doing that. Not sure what it is about wiping that makes them last so much longer, but it does! Anyways, a great alternative for the wipe that comes with them is using a lense cleaning wipe for glasses! I tried this on a whim one time, and found my nails lasted just as long as they would with the wipe they come with. 
3. Press nails on HARD: This might be a given considering their name is "ImPRESS", but you really do need to press them on hard! I hold them on each finger for a good 10+ seconds, and press each one on until it actually hurts. I press them right in the center first, and then move my fingers to specifically press down the left and right sides too. 
4. Wear dishwashing gloves when needed while cleaning: ImPRESS Nails are able to withstand water to a certain degree. You don't have to worry about showering with them, and I've also gone swimming with mine and been fine. But when I hand wash dishes, I make sure to always wear plastic dishwashing gloves! Doing things that are active in water like washing dishes aren't the best for these nails over time, so wearing gloves definitely helps. I also wearing plastic gloves for other strenuous cleaning activities, like scrubbing down the bathroom!
5. Keep nail glue on hand: Even if you use all of the tips here for making the nails last longer, chances are you might have one or two nails every now and then that are finicky, and still fall off only a day or two after you apply them. I mean- that's to be expected I guess with something that costs under $10? It's not going to be perfect 100% of the time. So I always keep some nail glue on hand to reattach the occasional straggler. Most of the time it works perfectly and the reattached nail ends up staying on until the others fall off naturally. This is the cheap nail glue that I normally have- I'm sure there are better ones at a slightly higher price point but this works fine for me. Nail glue isn't the best for your natural nails of course... but the good news is generally you don't need to use any and the ImPRESS Nails stay on fine on their own without glue! 
6. Wear regular nail polish (or nothing) in between ImPRESS Nail sets: Here's an interesting tip that took me awhile to figure out. My ImPRESS Nails stay on longer if I'm not wearing different sets back to back! After one set falls off, I try to give my nails at least two days with nothing on them, or just regular nail polish. If I apply ImPRESS sets back-to-back, I find the next set often doesn't last well at all, even if I follow all of the other tips above. I have no clue why this is! But I've found it to be the case time and time again, so now I try to never wear ImPRESS Nail sets without a little break in-between. 

     If you've tried ImPRESS Nails because you found them through my blog or Instagram- I'd love to hear. Seriously, it makes my day every time I get a message that someone tried them. There are so many gorgeous colors and patterns out right now! I try to buy mine at CVS with coupons generally, but you can also find them at other drugstores, Walmart, Target, Ulta, Amazon and the official ImPRESS website. 

     And be sure to check out my first blog post about ImPRESS Nails here, and my IGTV video tutorial for applying them!

    God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese