NOTD: Rosy Nail Patches

Hello, how are you =] ? I'm so glad that winter is finally over in Australia and it is now spring! However I can't officially farewell the cold weather this year yet because apparently it will be raining later this week - what a shame :(

Anyway, I've decided to do a blog post on my nails hehe. My main reason is that I haven't done one in a really long time but also, my face hasn't been in the best condition lately due to allergic reactions my sensitive skin has experienced. So for the past few weeks I've had to put up with uneven swollen eyelids and blotchy, red, dry and flaky patches on my cheeks: not good at all! That's the bad thing about having super sensitive skin like mine, you never know when an allergic reaction can occur when you start using a new product. And once it happens it's hard to trace back to the cause when you're also applying random creams to try and help your skin *cries* My skin has gradually gotten better and now it's no longer red, just a little dry in areas :) Which means that I'll be able to show my face again on my blog posts haha.

Recently I've tried out these nail patches that were provided by KKCenterHK which became my NOTD (nails of the day).

Day 3 of wear. This was my first and only attempt

I was able to pick the design for my nails and I chose this one because I liked how they had a black background with red and white roses which stood out and looked quite cute. I normally wouldn't wear dark nail polishes such as black so I guess I wanted to experiment with a dark base colour.

I was provided with the following items:

☆ Nail Patch No. W08 - 16-Piece Stickers for Fingers and Toes ($5.20 US)

☆ Round Files Sanding Sandpaper Nail Manicure ($1.00 US)

I'm glad that I was also provided with a filer because well, having a nail filer to use specifically for these nail patches is handy. I noticed that this particular nail file was more rough than my usual ones and it felt just like sandpaper (as the name states). It worked really well for filing off the foil excess.

If you aren't aware of nail patches/foils, they are stickers that you stick onto your nails and ta-da, no need for nail polish or decorating :] On the front package, it states the following:

• 11-day wear

• 100% shiny

• Zero drying time

• Zero smudging

And this is the information on the back:

'Nail foils are a revolutionary, easy-to-use nail system that allows you to create unbelievably gorgeous nails in minutes'

The instructions on the back are brief yet informative. They are easy to follow and are clear.

This is what they look like as a set of 16 (Credits to KKCenterHK)

I ended up doing this mani at night while catching up on my YouTube subscriptions (watching videos consecutively) and once I was done I snapped a picture under my lamp:

You can sort of see the holographic-ness to it =)

Since this was my first time using nail patches/foils, it took me quite a while to put them all on! It would have been cool if I filmed the whole process! I needed to cut each one to fit perfectly onto my nails, stick them on and file off the excess foils.

My very first nail patch stuck on and completed!

With the first one I put on as shown above, I carefully trimmed the nail patch so that it could fit my nail perfectly x) In my opinion my left thumb was the one that turned out the best because that was when I had the most patience! I kept having trouble with smoothing out the edges, thus creases were made -_- It happened for all of my nails and I didn't know how to fix it argh.

The stickers themselves are not too thick or thin, just right. They aren't hard to work with and if you stick one on crooked, you can peel it off and re-stick without making a mess or ruining the pattern. Also, they aren't stretchy so they will retain their shape. The stickers reminded me of those book covers/wraps, if you know what I'm talking about. The ones that are found in rolls with patterns/pictures.

After I was done I had the 6 biggest patches left over - what to do with these? Hehe

Now to see how my nails look after all the patches are on...

They surely do look shiny and the pictures don't show how holographic these are, but I do have this picture:

Depending on the lighting etc, these nail foils can give a rainbow effect - very pretty!!

I'm going to talk about those points that I mentioned before which were on the front of the packaging.

Q: Was I able to wear these for at least 11 days?

A: No, however it may have been possible. Maybe it had to do with the way I applied these but even so, I wasn't keen on having these on my nails for long. To me it was like using nail stickers and we all should know that nail stickers don't last either. A top coat is useful but it doesn't give that same 'stay effect' like glued nail items. In fact I had used a top coat over my nail patches and I don't reckon that helped. I wore these nail foils for 4 days and I easily peeled them off as they were starting to get really annoying :/ The ends were... I guess you could say 'fraying' and no longer stuck to my nails so I kept having the urge to rip them off. I could have put some glue on the ends but quite frankly, I couldn't be bothered :| Off they went!

Q: Were the nail patches 100% shiny?

A: Yes. I didn't think that shine factor had a percentage but indeed they were shiny. They have a glossy film which makes them holographic :D They were really smooth too... shame they weren't as smooth when they were on my nails (due to the silly creases on the edges - my fault I reckon). I seriously wouldn't be able to stand a matte feeling on my nails, that would just feel too dry and icky. Therefore I am glad that the nail patches were '100% shiny'.

Q: So was there zero drying time and smudging?

A: Yes. I don't really want to say this but whatever - DUH! Haha I kid. Seriously though, they are simply stickers so of course there wouldn't be any 'drying time' or smudging. The pattern is printed onto the stickers and even though they are glossy, they aren't wet lol. They will stay that way so no worries about smudges. Stick them on and voila, you're done.

Pros:

- Images on the package help with directions

- Clear and precise instructions

- Instructions include preparation, application and removal

- Simple to apply

- Perfect for those who lack skills in nail art (like me)

- Desirable pattern and there are plenty to choose from

- Smooth and shiny stickers give a glossy finish

- No need for glue

- Holographic-rainbow effect

- Various sizes of patches

- 16 pieces allows room for error

- Easy to remove, just peel and won't leave any residue

Cons:

- Difficult to file evenly due to creases which can occur on the edges

- Patches aren't sticky enough, ends are able to 'fray'

- Uneven surfaces can be created, can't be smoothed out

- 6 left over patches doesn't allow for a second application on all nails

Overall thoughts:

I know I said that it took me quite a while to apply them on both hands (at least half an hour) but I'm sure for me it's quicker to apply patches instead of painting my nails and then decorating, which I suck at anyway hahaha. Using nail patches with patterns already on there is beneficial as it's good to know exactly how your nails will look once you're done with your manicure! Nail patches are a great alternative to false nails if you already have long nails and if you're blank for nail art ideas. They'd be perfect for a day/night out because you can easily peel them off afterwards. They'd also be perfect for people who can't wear nail polish on a daily basis i.e. school/work reasons and so instead of putting in the effort of applying nail polish, decorating and removing it all with nail polish remover, it's much easier to use nail patches =]

Repurchase?

I would definitely use nail patches again. I think I can improve with my application skills after my first attempt so bring it on! I love how these are very common to find in stores as well as online. I've seen ones similar to these carried by Sally Hansen I believe. I had always been curious about trying them and now I have had the opportunity to do so, I would recommend these for sure :) To be honest, I did think that that these nail patches could be my nails for the week which was a bit of a let down :( It's okay though, now I know to only use nail patches for special occasions and whatnot hehe. I'll go back to using nail polish for my nail designs to last longer than a few days!

Thanks KKCenterHK for sending me the nail patches, the design is gorgeous and they made my nails quite classy - yay! And thank you guys who have read my review, I hope that I have perhaps inspired you to try nail patches and/or given you some new information about them ^_^ If you're interested in purchasing nail patches for yourself, you can go to this direct link HERE and browse through the many designs available!

Current KKCenterHK promotion:

Now's a great time to purchase from KKCenterHK as they are offering a 15% off discount on your entire order - no minimum spend required! But hurry as this offer ends on the 30th of September.

Okay I'm going to get back to having questjens of the week for you guys. This one's going to be simple one:

What's your favourite pattern?

Are you into stripes, polka dots, swirls or something else?

Yeah, it's a pretty random questjen haha I'm very curious! No one really talks about their favourite patterns but I reckon we all have at least a few that we tend to stick with when we choose designs for anything such as a shirt, nails and quilt covers lol.

I like stripes for shirts but other than that it gets a little over-the-top for my liking xD Same with polka dots - in small doses it's okay. Swirls are pretty abstract and they're quite girly and cute which represents my personality. Whenever I attempt to draw I always do random swirls on a page. Other patterns and shapes that I adore are floral, hearts, bows and stars :) Checkered patterns can be nice too however they can remind me of tea towels x) Don't get me wrong though, I am more of a 'simple and plain' kind of person who rarely shops for patterned items like clothes :P

Speaking of patterns, I recently decorated a part of my iPod Touch's screen ^_< I used a whole heap of nail stickers that I had lying around and my main purpose of decorating was to cover up the crack on the top left hand side of the screen. Clumsy me dropped my iPod while I was running for the bus and it left a nasty crack T_T *feels so ashamed*

Perfect to incorporate this image here, my iPod makes a great 'holding' prop for my mani to be seen