BTArtbox French Tip False Nails - 150 Pcs Short Almond Nail Tips for Gel Extensions, 3 in 1 X-coat Tips Press on Nails, Pre-applied Tip Primer & Base Coat Cover, Nude Soft Gel Fake Nails,15 Sizes

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In total, it took me about an hour to apply my first set of nails. It was a bit of a learning curve – I’m sure I could get it down to 30 minutes or even less after a few more applications. Although the X-Coat series doesn’t have many finished designs, I love that their false nails are essentially a minimalistic base coat that can be added onto if desired. Also, if you’re debating between a longer set or a shorter set, I’d go for a longer set. The Short Coffin nails were easier to apply compared to the Extra Short Square nails I got. Since you need to press down on the nail while curing it, it can be hard to get a good grip on the shorter nails.

I’m calling them press-on nails, but they are more like a cross between press-on nails and gel nails. They really just add a couple of additional steps (such as curing the glue under a UV light), but this doesn’t take too much longer and it makes the nails last for weeks longer. As great as this sounds, do these actually live up to the hype? I received a few X-coat nails to test out myself and see, so let’s dive into it (spoiler: I’m highly impressed). How Do X-Coat Tips Work? Instead of using regular glue that typically comes with press-on nails, these come with glue that is designed to be cured under a curing light. This makes them last extra long.I selected a couple of the French tips styles in various lengths/cuts. They do have a wide variety when it comes to different nail shapes and lengths, which is nice. They also have a few X-Coat Natural options, which is essentially just a blank canvas. Aside from this, their X-Coat Cat Eye option with shiny finishes in different colors and they also have some cute pastel French tips that I’m loving. If you don’t want to deal with the extra effort of painting your own nails, you can just skip painting on anything extra and add the builder gel they provide in the kit, then just paint the top coat over the top (which is exactly what I did because I’m lazy).

I will say that I thought these would be fairly difficult to apply after reading the instructions, but they weren’t too bad. They are a bit of extra effort compared to your basic press-on nails, but I’d say it’s well worth it. As great as this sounds, do these actually live up to the hype? I received a few X-coat nails to test out myself and see, so let’s dive into it (spoiler: I’m highly impressed). I will say that I can see the glue and my normal nails underneath if I look super closely, but it’s not super noticeable unless I look at them super close. And if you end up painting a solid color over the base coat, you’d never notice glue underneath.Instead of using regular glue that typically comes with press-on nails, these come with glue that is designed to be cured under a curing light. This makesthem last extra long. I will say it’s a little difficult to hold down the nail and put it under the tiny UV lamp they provide in the kit (the glue doesn’t dry unless you cure it under the lamp). I think it would have been super useful if they provided nail clips in the kit, this would be significantly easier than holding it down with my other hand. I have some of these clips from when I tried doing polygel nails, so I’ll have to search for those and give them a try. As much as I love the ease and affordability of press-on nails, I hate the fact that they almost always come off within a couple of days. Then, you can add your own nail polish and/or decals (or just leave it blank), then use the builder gel provided in their kits and cure, and then finish it with the topcoat and cure.