Hit or Miss? Primark False Nails

I have always had a strange love affair with Primark. Why buy anything more expensively than you need to? Of course, I’ll admit that the quality isn’t there for everything, but when it comes to things like accessories and beauty must-haves, you really can’t go wrong.

I bought some Primark false nails ages ago and completely forgot I had, until I discovered them gathering dust in a drawer as I was packing up my uni bedroom for the Easter holidays. I had heard mixed reviews of these nails: I had seen some people raving about how great they were, however, I had also sat with my friend and watched them snap off her fingers after just a few hours of putting them on. So for lack of consistency, I thought it was necessary that I try them myself.

My undying love for pink inspired me to choose these nails in the shade ‘Cloud Nine’. I thought the sparkly chroming effect made them that little bit more interesting. I think they are really well packaged with this pretty metallic design and as it says on the front, it comes with 24 different nails of different sizes so you can find the perfect fit for every finger. The nail glue is also included in the packaging and it claims to be long-wearing, lasting up to 7 days.

Oh and one amazing thing that I forgot to mention that probably made you take a double take at the picture, is that these nails are only £2!!! With a normal set of acrylic or gel nails costing around £30, even if these ones don’t last anywhere near as long, it still works out infinitely cheaper.

The application was relatively easy. I first found all the nails that fitted each finger and laid them out in front of my hand. Then all I needed to do was apply the glue, press and hold the nail on and voilà. I applied the glue to both the false nail and my own nail, as I felt like this may improve the overall hold. The whole process actually only took me about 10 minutes and the nails felt pretty strong from the beginning so I was impressed.

I was really pleased with the colour and look of the nails. However personally, I found these ones to be too long and simple tasks such as typing on my laptop and phone became almost insufferable. This is all to do with personal preference and if you would prefer shorter nails like me then Primark have a whole range of other shapes and sizes that you can try!

As for the strength and wear of the nails, I was unable to find out if they really did last 7 days as I had to remove them for work before the end of the week. However, I had them on for four days and they still felt very strong and hadn’t shown any signs of breaking away from my own nails which is very promising.

To remove them, I bought a strong acetone nail varnish remover and soaked my fingers in it for a while just as you do at a nail salon. After a few minutes, I managed to get underneath the nails to peel them off. It was tricky at first (which bodes well for the strength of the glue) but didn’t take too long overall. I still have all the other nails left and almost a full tube of glue should I wish to apply them again- so not only does £2 get you a set of nails, it gets you multiple sets of nails.

Overall, despite the ridiculous length (in my opinion), I am extremely impressed with these Primark nails. Easy to apply, strong to maintain, and simple to remove. What I loved the most was that they didn’t absolutely demolish my natural nails underneath like a set of acrylics does. I can’t vouch for multiple wearings in a row, however from this set, my natural nails remained healthy and unaffected! I would definitely recommend these to anyone who wants a quick fix or is on a budget, Primark is your new best friend for all your nail necessities.