Glamnetic Press-On Nails: Wear Test and Honest Review of Sizing and Fit

Exploring the Short & Sweet Collection: A Review of Glamnetic Press-On Nails

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Not new to press on nails, but I am new to Glamnetic! I had previously not been interested in this brand because their longer styles did not really fit with my mom of 3 lifestyle and just my preference for my nails to be shorter. 

Up until they recently started to roll out nails in Short Round and Super Short styles, their offerings had mostly been geared toward those who preferred longer nails. 

A friend recommended this brand to me, and after a few requests for me to test them out and report back, I decided to go for it in one of their newest styles, Goal Digger, which is in the Short Round shape and length. 

Glamnetic Nails in Goal Digger

Some background

I've been doing my own nails as a hobby for over 10 years. I've tried most systems from regular polish, of which I have an extension collection, to gel, to dip, to complete nail systems, to polish strips, to gel polish strips, to sticker-like strips. I've tried most things. I've been going to the nail salon on and off since I first got a job at age 15 - from acrylics to gels to dip powder. 

Press-on nails are a newer fixation of mine. With 3 kids, I entered a season of my life where my time was super limited and I didn't want to spend it polishing my nails 2-3x a week and waiting for it to dry. I stopped finding joy in doing my nails because I got interrupted so much by motherhood tasks, and I was so tired at the end of the day to want to paint them or even wait for them to cure and try to get them perfect. 

This began my foray into press-ons, with their longer wear time and not having to wait for them to dry. 

I started regularly doing my nails with press-ons about 6 months ago as of this writing, and since then, have gifted or given away a lot of my other systems, polishes, gels, and kits! I might come back to regular or gel polish another time in life, but I can't see that happening for a while. 

Here, on this blog, I may demo and review other no-dry-time systems like nail strips, semi-cured gel strips, and other press-on brands and styles. Anything that isn't wet polish and can last a week or more! That's my goal for wear time! 

Okay, back to Glamnetic. 

You can find Glamnetic at Ulta (where I went), on Amazon, or on their website. 

Inside the Box

Price: 

Ranges from $15-$20 per set, which is on the higher end but the regular range for the nicer-than-drugstore category where this brand seems to fall. 

Style

Goal Digger

Short Round

Sizing and Fit 

There are 30 nails in this set (some sets have 24), Sizes 0-9, with extras of sizes 5, 5.5, and 6. As is standard with press-ons, 0 is larger, and 9 is the smallest.

One thing I noticed right away, was the sizing is much smaller than other brands - I had to size up in my usual sizes and I consider my hands and nail beds to be smaller.

This Goal Digger set that I tried is in the shape Short Round - I am curious to try their new Super Short length too!

For the larger sizes, I did have to file down the sides of the thumbs and index fingers to get a better fit for my nails.

For myself, I sized in mostly the larger sizes and didn't use many of the multiple smaller/narrow sizes in the kit.

Here you can see the abundance of extra sizes I didn't really use - and I consider myself to have short nail beds, but I supposed not narrow ones.

Again, I have short/small nail beds, so it was a big surprise that I had to use mostly larger sizes. Seemed like it might be more appropriate for my 10-year-old daughter, but I found sizes that fit.

I don't know if this sizing is just for the Short and Sweet collection styles or if all their sets are for narrower nail beds.

But, at least for the Short and Sweet Styles, these would be great for narrower, smaller nails, not wide nails, as at least this short set, is smaller sizing than other press-ons. Again, not sure if this is true of all Glamnetic styles, as this is my first set, or if this sizing is specific to the Short & Sweet collection styles.

As far as fit to the nail shape goes, these are better than drugstore and discount stories varieties. They curve to the nail bed and don't leave a gap so long as you aren't sizing too big. I have curved nails and these do not have any gaps, which I tend to get with drugstore brands.

Application Video:

My Application Process:

Applied a bead of glue to the natural nail and back of press on, then used the nozzle to spread it around on both - I applied by placing the nail at the cuticle and slowly lowering it at a 45-degree angle, to get as few air bubbles as possible, then in place 20 seconds.

Any glue I got on the nail surface I quickly wiped away with a gentle acetone blend (like a moisturizing one) and this did not damage the nails.

Overall, the process took me about 30 minutes from sizing to application. I was super pleased that this process left extremely minimal air bubbles, especially on a sheer style.

Right after application, not filed or cut down yet:

As you can see, short nail beds, so even the "Short Round" style is long on me!

It's pretty, but not functional for my mom-lifestyle

 So I used press-on nail clippers and then filed and shaped them to a more comfortable length:

Important to note the air bubbles were extremely minimal!

More manageable, but still looks polished

Notes on length:

Surprisingly for being a Short Round style, they were not short for me, but I do have short nail beds. With longer nail beds, perhaps these would be short for you! 

A pro of this length is it makes them easier to apply at the angle needed to get fewer air bubbles. 

To get the short length out of the box and similar to the social media marketing you see, this set seems to be ideal for narrow, but longer nail beds.

For a more manageable length, I clipped them down with artificial nail clippers and filed them down to the desired length 

Initial thoughts: 

• They are thin and comfortable to wear. Not too tight, and not plastic-y in feel
  
  
• The length they initially had made it easy to lower them onto the nail and hold them in place to adhere with minimal air bubbles - which is important on sheer styles
  
  
• They are nice and curved. I have curved nail beds with the curve more pronounced on a few nails - normally, drugstore nails don't curve as well leaving gaps between the false nail and the natural nail. Not these. No gaps. 
  
  
• If you have small/narrow nail beds, they are sized quite small with a LOT of sizes in the smaller sizes. There were 4 of each for sizes 5-6, and I hardly needed them. I had to size up in my regular sizes by 1-3, and I have short nail beds, but apparently not narrow ones. I would NOT recommend these for wide nails. 
  
  
• Fit is better, for me, than drugstore brands and does not leave any gaps between the natural nail and press-on.
  
  
• The glue seems sturdier and doesn't spread as much as other brands I've tried.
  
  
• Worth the cost? $15 for regular styles seems fair to me. They seem nicer and fit better than drugstore. The glue seems to be sturdier also, less liquid-y, and doesn't spread as much. $20 for trendy styles but around $17 with the ulta coupon, which is standard for nicer-than-drugstore nails.

Wear Test

I have 3 kids and did everything with these, but I do wear gloves to do dishes. Showered, bathed kids, helped with the garden, and used them as tools to open cans (I know, bad, but I like to push the limits).

Day 2

Next day, still flawless

Day 3

I usually prefer funky patterns, so bare feels uncomfortable. But by day 3, I was feeling the lipgloss nails vibe and loving them.

Day 5

Day 7

Still sturdy, but a crack appears. 

In the afternoon of Day 7, a crack appeared on the tip of my right thumb. Continued to wear them.

Day 8

No picture, but this is the day they started lifting at the tips of my natural nails on a few nails 

Day 9

Significant lifting on 3-4 nails started this day. 😕 Once it gets to this point, I don't love keeping them on because then I keep messing with them. But still shiny and have held up; you could reuse them with careful removal

They wore really well, aside from the tip crack, they only kind of dulled. I am removing them because of lifting alone. If they weren't sheer, I could probably remove and reapply those few for a few days. But because they are sheer and have glue residue, they would have probably had air bubbles.

Final Comparison

The only wear was reduced shine and cracking on one nail. I think they held up really well and could be reused if you were a reusable person.

How Long Do Glamnetic Nails Last?

According to the marketing and some users, up to 2-3 weeks. But for me, a person who has oily nail beds, 3 kids, and lots of chores, baths, and dishes, they lasted 9 days. Getting 9 days on ANY nail product for me is extremely good. It is rare to get past 7 for me. 

I am happy if I can get 7 days with no pops off and lifting - and this wear time exceeds other products I've tried. 

Do Glamnetic Nails Damage Your Nails? Do they Come Off Easily?

Short answer: no damage if you are slow and careful. Easily? Ehhhh

Long answer: The removal process, not gonna lie, was a pain. The ones that were already lifting were removed easily, and the ones that were not lifting, didn't want to come off. 

You're supposed to break the seal, apply oil, then soak them in a mixture of soap, water, and oil for 10 minutes, all of which I did. At around 20 minutes of soaking, and refreshing the water mixed twice, only 2 nails that were already lifting came off.  I gave up around 40-50 minutes of soaking and started using acetone and press-on nail remover (that does make the nails not reusable).  I also tried soaking 10-20 minutes longer a few hours later. Still, not all were removed. 

All in all, it took me over 2 hours, and actually I went to bed and waited until the next morning to remove 2 of them, to get them off. I'm not a newb to this type of removal process, but for some reason, the glue seems to dissolve on some nails faster than others, and some aren't ready to budge when others have lifted completely.

If you are very patient, and wait for the glue to dissolve and the nails to lift, there is no nail damage. You just have to buff off the remaining glue. 

Can Glamnetic Nails Be Reused?

If you are careful in soaking them off with soap, oil, and water, and not using other products that may dissolve the nail, yes, they can be! 

Personally, I'm not a use-again kind of person when it comes to nails. I want to try new designs and styles! I get bored and like new, trendy looks and seasonal styles. But, they do hold up a lot better compared to other reusable competitors when it comes to the finish of the nail staying shiny and tip wear. 

Overall Summary 

They wore beautifully, fit nicely, and looked good right up until they started lifting for me on day 9. They were sturdy and felt strong, unlike the thin, plastic-y feel of some drugstore brands. The only thing I didn't love was removal, but this is an issue I have with "reusable" nails, in general, is that the removal isn't great and takes longer than desired. 

For next time, I may try an additional dehydrator or pH bonder to add to my application routine, or perhaps buffing the nail beforehand, to increase wear time. However, I wanted to test them as per the instructions fully first!

Overall, I do feel they are worth the price point due to their wear, nail fit, appearance, and overall nail feel and sturdiness. Most people get better wear than I do, so you'll probably get longer!

Try them yourself here!

xo,

Sarah