I know after seeing my monogrammed nails last week quite a few of you were waiting for this review so here it is 😀
I think it’s pretty obvious that I love nail art and when Eileen from Inspired Nails contacted me to get some feedback on her new products I was all for being guinea pig 😀 When that sentence included “custom designed with your logo” I almost had a heart attack with excitement! Stamp something else I own with my monogram? YES PLEASE! We chatted ideas for a while and eventually we came up with some designs together. Did I mention that Eileen is actually a long time reader here so everyone say hello!
This post is a mishmash of reviews, tutorials and discount codes so please enjoy ^_^
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This was the package that arrived in my post box: |
She even included chocolates (not pictured because I ate them mwahahaha) and some little flowers from her craft stash! So let’s break this review up into the different products: Custom full cover false nails, black/white decals and colour decals.
First up the full cover nails!
Inspired Nails offers a bunch of very pretty designs on their site but what’s more exciting to me is the option to design your own nails and have them specially printed for just US$12. Considering that most regular decent quality sets will set you back at least $15 here I think the price is really good because you can get anything you want printed and it’s cheap enough that you could just get them done for a special event. Some of the suggestions on the site are for corporate logos, photos and pets but I think the best use would be custom matching blog nails for events! I’m a bit biased though haha 😉
So what you get is 20 nails in 10 sizes, the design is printed directly on to the nails and top coated before being sent off. You apply like any other false nail, give it another top coat and you’re good to go.
I received 3 set of nails: pink leopard print with my logo and two of my custom logo design at difference opacities. I submitted my design and she printed several test sets to make sure that the opacity and colours were right which I thought was a really nice touch.
I know with most printers if you submit something and it doesn’t work out first time the response is “sucks to be you” so I was really impressed that she took the time to work with me until we were both 100% happy with the results. I think that’s the difference with working with someone who clearly has a real passion for what they do!
Quality wise the nails are on the thicker side but still flexible. I found them easy to file and cut to shape (they only come in square tips at the moment) but they didn’t splinter or shatter like cheap nails. Very close up you can see the individual ink spots from the printer but unless you’re looking at it 3cm infront of your eyes I don’t think anyone is ever going to notice.
One think I would watch out for in application is that because they are printed on a white base when you file or cut the ends you need to be very careful the angle you do it on otherwise the white base can show up on the tips. If that happens just paint over the tips with a matching polish colour.
In case you were wondering how I apply my nails here is a short video ^_^
Black and white decals!
I love these, they were hands down my favorite thing in the package. These are not those thick vinylish decals that I’ve reviewed before, think of these as like temporary tattoos but for your nails. That’s the best way I can think to describe them!
To apply them you cut out the one you want, dip in water till it’s soaked, slide off the decal and press it onto the nail. Smooth it and add a top coat and that’s it. I love these because #1 they look fantastic when you use the right polish underneath but #2 you don’t need to be a genius to apply them.
These are FANTASTIC for girls who want extra pop on their nails but don’t have the time or patience to sit and paint something themselves. These black and white sets range between $3-10 and the full cover sets come with 24 while the smaller ones like the comic book designs come with 82 in various sizes. For me I think that’s awesome value too because you can again get completely custom designs.
These are the nails that I used my custom monogram ones on for the Adelaide Beauty Conference, so cute! I gave the girls a quick run down on using these while I was there too XD
With these I would really suggest using them over a medium to light base colour and over the top of glitters they just look AMAZING. Glitter leopard print for the win and the fact that you can change up the base colour for different designs makes them very versatile. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about these and I know I’m going to be ordering a whole lot of other designs too.
And in case you were wondering, here is a quick tutorial I made on how to apply them 😀
The Inspired Nails website also has a bunch of tutorials and tips on application so if you get stuck check that out.
Full Colour Decals!
Ok last but not least Eileen sent me a second package with her newly arrived full colour decals and I tested them out last night. These ones are a new product and I found them a little bit more tricky to get the hang of than the b/w ones.
I was sent cupcake ones, Alice in Wonderland ones and also some more of my monogram but in colour. I tried out the monograms and the full cover cupcakes and these were my results.
Eileen gave me some tips on the application because while these ones are still thin they are a bit thicker than the b/w versions.
One quick tip with the color decals because the film is slightly different. Let them dry for a few seconds on a paper towel after you separate them from the backing. Place a drop or two of ordinary rubbing alcohol on your nail and then apply the decal. The alcohol will adhere the decal to your nail and allow you to smooth it out and press it in place before you apply the topcoat. It also makes the decal a little flexible so you won’t have any tearing when you apply the topcoat. However, you can’t “slide” the decal around on your nail if you use the alcohol method. Rubbing alcohol is also called surgical spirit, isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol. Our new packaging will include an alcohol soaked pad with the decals.
This is the monogram on a plain white nail base:
So I gave them a try, once with and once without the alcohol and I would definitely suggest using it to soften them up, without it they go on the nail fine but they like to spring back against the curve of the nail and so while drying mine tore a little bit. With the alcohol I found them to work like a dream and they applied almost as easily and the b/w version.
Full cover cupcake on a pink base:
One more thing to keep in mind is that these ones are opaque all over if you don’t top coat them so a white background can be seen if you don’t use a topcoat (which you really should be doing anyway). The photo below has half topcoated and half not so you can see what I mean:
Still the possibilities with these really excite me because I am imagining using them as a base while adding some diamantes and points of interest over the top. Much quicker than hand painting!
The end result here after top coating was really slick and pretty.
So verdict?
There wasn’t anything in the package that I wouldn’t recommend. The custom full cover nails are good quality and a really cool accessory to have. The designs up there that they’ve done themselves look really beautiful (go check out the Van Gough Starry Night nails and the pink leopard print French tips with diamantes especially!) and there is a good variety of both designs and products to choose from.
The colour decals are pretty awesome too and I can see them as being a great way for people with not much time/skill to have awesome show stopping nails. They are a bit more complex to use but I still think that a beginner could manage it and there are enough extras included in a pack that even if you make a few mistakes you’re not going to run out!
The show stopper, in my opinion, of the group had to be the black and white decals though. Perfect texture, perfect finish, great usability and I think I could put them on in my sleep and still get a great result. They are very forgiving to mistakes so perfect for beginners and are so versatile that I can’t see myself getting bored with them any time in the foreseeable future. The prices are very reasonable considering the volumes and still much cheaper than other places I’ve seen.
DO WANT.
Now what you’ve all been waiting for DISCOUNT CODE!!!
Being a reader herself, Eileen was kind enough to extend an awesome offer to you guys a great discount ^_^
Just type in VIOLET15 when you check out to get 15% off your entire purchase, excluding shipping costs. One use per customer. Expires December 31, 2011
I know a couple of the girls I spoke to were concerned about the shipping costs between the USA and here so here’s a word on that too, they use real-time shipping calculator so there’s no minimum charge rubbish, it’s actually worked out along the way so according to Eileen 1 set of nails to Aus is around US$5 and my whole box of stuff (including lots of chocolate) was under US$7. So even with that added on it still makes it worth it in my opinion.
Hope you enjoyed the review/tutorials/photos/discount code, I can’t want to think up more ways to use my monogram decals 😀
