I tried the best press-on nails – Boots ‘claws’ flew off in the jacuzzi & I couldn’t even flush the loo

LIKE galore quality buffs astir the world, I emotion getting my nails done - not lone does gel past longer than mean varnish but I besides find the small pamper league therapeutic.

What I don't emotion arsenic much, however, is the bill astatine the extremity of each league which costs maine astir £30 depending connected the plan - oregon a staggering £60 each month, arsenic I get a chic mani doubly a month.

As I'm presently successful the process of saving up for a trip of a beingness to India adjacent year, I've travel to realise that forking retired a mini luck for nails is possibly not the astir financially-smart determination - and I whitethorn person to springiness up my visits to the nail shop for a while.

Not 1 to locomotion astir with bare nails, I decided to spot which fashionable press-on nails could assistance maine slash the costs - and whether the at-home manicure tin basal the trial of time.

From basal monochrome designs to thing I would champion picture arsenic unsafe claws, the high street offers thing for everyone - with prices starting from arsenic small arsenic £1.50.

Here's however it went on...

Elegant Touch, Cat Eye French Press-on Nails, £7

One of the retailers that, I found, offers a immense assortment of artificial nails is Boots - determination are French Tips selling for £6, Polished Nails successful a gorgeous heavy reddish shadiness going for a specified £3 and more.

However, contempt the immense collection, I encountered a small occupation - and realised the nail connected my thumb was excessively wide for astir of the purse-friendly picks.

After going implicit each the options disposable astatine the store, I stumbled upon 1 of the precise fewer finds that suited my nail beds - Elegant Touch Glitter Nails.

The pack, which comes with a full of 24 mendacious nails and a peculiar nail glue, sells for £7 and boasts the on-trend chrome plan with a subtle sparkle - perfect for the festive play astir the corner.

The process of applying the fake nails didn't instrumentality agelong astatine each and wasn't messy - however, you bash person to beryllium cautious with the glue, arsenic it dries beauteous quickly.

As I'm an avid gym goer and walk hours lifting weights, I've ne'er opted for agelong nails, fearing they'd beryllium impractical and I wouldn't beryllium capable to spell connected astir my time with these claws - and however close I was.

Although these nails looked gorgeous and made my sausage fingers look slimmer and much elegant, mean mundane tasks proved to beryllium a large situation - specified arsenic flushing the loo.

It felt similar the nail connected my scale digit would alert off, truthful I had to edifice to bending my digit successful a weird mode aft popping to the bathroom.

Perhaps I'm simply not utilized to rocking agelong and crisp nails - and kudos to everyone who tin relation with them - but adjacent taking disconnected my gym bra was much hard than I'd imagined.

Another task I was petrified of was attempting to popular my contact lenses successful - but someway I didn't extremity up poking my eyes out.

If you're a gym bunny similar I americium and emotion weightlifting to support immoderate mental sanity, it's bully quality - the sparkly claws didn't travel successful the mode of deadlifting and immoderate different taxing exercises.

The container didn't person immoderate notes connected however agelong the press-ons would past - but they remained coagulated for implicit a week, without immoderate fallen soldiers that I'd person to reapply.

Design: 10/10

Price: 7/10

Functionality: 6/10

Durability: 10/10

Ardell Gel Nail Strips, £10

One of the latest additions to onshore astatine stores are Ardell Gel Nail Strips, which you tin find astatine Superdrug for a tenner - however, you request to acquisition the Ardell Led Gel Lamp separately for £15.

The easy-to-use strips travel successful plentifulness of gorgeous on-trend designs, specified arsenic a small cute nude moment, a marble effect people with aureate speckle and a sparkly achromatic manicure, conscionable to sanction a few.

Each battalion contains a full of 16 nail strips, 1 mini nail record and a wood instrumentality to propulsion backmost cuticles - arsenic good arsenic instructions connected however to usage the kit for champion results.

Following the usher astatine the backmost of the packaging, I utilized a manicure prep pad to cleanable the nail beds (not provided) and shaped my nails.

Once done, I selected the strips that champion suited my nails - if you are betwixt sizes, the marque recommends sticking to the smaller one.

Next, I firmly pressed and smoothed the strip, applying other unit on the escaped borderline of the nail, earlier curing nether the LED airy for a infinitesimal and snipping disconnected the excess.

Unlike the cat-like claws, these gel nails, unsurprisingly, were much comfy and practical, not getting successful the mode of immoderate of my regular day-to-day activities.

Boasting a gorgeous shine, it so looked similar I had conscionable walked retired of my section nail salon successful London - however, though the marque promises an awesome durability of 2 weeks, this couldn't person been further from the reality.

Perhaps I hadn't followed the instructions properly, but determination was immoderate chipping conscionable a shocking 3 days aboriginal - and 1 by one, the gel strips started peeling off.

Although they're casual to region if you fancy switching up designs, the terms didn't bespeak the mediocre prime - which was a bummer, arsenic I got heaps of compliments astir the festive reddish nails I'd picked.

Design: 10/10

Price: 4/10

Functionality: 10/10

Durability: 2/10

 French Nails - Ombre Delight, £6

During my arduous hunt to find press-ons that would acceptable my wide nailbed, I besides recovered  French Nails - Ombre Delight from Boots that volition acceptable you backmost conscionable £6.

Boasting an awesome 3.8-star standing online, the fake nails committedness a gorgeous effect that would past up to 7 days - which, sadly, didn't unrecorded up to my expectations.

Just similar with the different Boots buy, I cautiously applied the integrative nails with the provided glue - but they were truthful ridiculously long, I had to record them down rather a spot to marque the falsies conscionable that tiny spot much manageable to relation with.

Once again, I was forced to usage the peculiar finger-bending method to flush the loo - and adjacent typing connected my laptop proved to beryllium a mega challenge, fto unsocial attempting to reply to my friends connected WhatsApp.

Due their hideously agelong and claw-like shape, each connection I typed retired ended up with a typo - and I soon gave up, earlier resorting to sending dependable notes to prevention time.

On the 4th days of sporting these affordable press-ons, my pals and I headed for a spa break we had arranged a portion backmost - and whilst chilling successful the jacuzzi and catching up connected each the latest gossip, I discovered that 1 of the nails had flown off.

I was beyond mortified - not truthful overmuch astatine the information I'd person to locomotion astir with a missing nail but much truthful immoderate mediocre idiosyncratic enjoying their relaxing clip and abruptly being greeted by a lone nail successful the water.

Fortunately - for maine and different spa goers - the nail mysteriously appeared retired of obscurity close adjacent to me, earlier I instantly collected it and chucked successful my bag.

Design: 8/10

Price: 8/10

Functionality: 6/10

Durability: 6/10

Poundland range

The fashionable discount retailer is your champion stake if you're looking for the cheapest DIY manicure, with astir nails selling for conscionable a quid oregon £1.50.

The options are so endless - I spotted a basal achromatic acceptable with an intricate wood greenish detailing for that popular of colour, nails with sparkly gems if you privation to adhd other radiance and glam and more.

However, if your nail beds are similar excavation - Poundland is not the retailer for you, arsenic not a azygous acceptable acceptable my wide thumbs and I had to permission the store with a large disappointment, arsenic I'd seen truthful galore rave reviews online.

''They enactment connected for days and don’t ruin your earthy nails similar acrylic ones do!'' wrote 1 ace instrumentality of the fund retailer.

Design: 10/10

Price: 10/10