Unfortunately with my career choice there are only certain times of the year that I can have my nails looking as I'd like - and when that time comes I am normally the first down to the nail bar to get my acrylics applied. Problem being that it is an expensive thing to keep having done, and have done in the first place - so I went out on a hunt for the elusive home acrylic kit, and this is what I found for an average price. I was quite looking forward to trying them.....

~*~ Sculpting Kit? ~*~

It sounds a bit ominous doesn't it when you look at it, but it is actually a kit that you can use to create your own Acrylic nails. Some of you might not know what acrylic nails are, but basically the acrylic goes on top of your natural nails and will harden the top; most have tips added to their natural nails which are nail glued to the end of the natural nail and the acrylic brushed over the top to create a natural looking nail. Though some of the time the tips are added and painted over the acrylic so they don't look natural at all. I personally go for the most natural looking nails I can manage really, with the white tips and just the acrylic overlay it looks natural - well sort of... Since my nails don't grow square on the ends unfortunately, this is why I get artificial nails in the first place. There is a bit more to it than that, because you can have other overlays that acrylic - but this kit is acrylic and claims to be as good as a salon so we shall see...

~*~ What comes in the kit? ~*~

In the kit you get;

Acrylic Powder,
Acrylic Liquid,
Nail Glue,
40 nail tips,
Nail brush,
And a Nail file...

~*~ How do you do it? ~*~

Instructions tell you to pick a nail that fits over the top of yours - there are 8 different sizes to pick from so you won't find it too hard to get one to fit, but there are limited numbers of each so make sure you are certain which one you want on each finger. Then you need to glue the tip onto the end of your natural nail, and wait for the glue to dry then trim it down to the length you require. Dip your brush in the acrylic liquid once it's been decanted into a small bowl, wipe away the excess liquid and dip brush into the powder until you get a ball of gel that you can then brush over your new nail tip and natural nail underneath. Then apply a clear varnish to finish off the design.

~*~ How easy is it? ~*~

If I'm honest it's a really difficult thing to do, even though I have seen the experts in the salons do it so many times it doesn't make it any easier to do when you try it yourself!

So I got myself organised and decided to work out which one of the nail sizes I wanted for each finger and placed them out on the table - took me a little while to find a small bowl to put the acrylic liquid in, in the end I picked an old shot glass as it was probably the smallest thing we have in the house. But be warned this liquid smells, it is advised that you do this in a well-ventilated area, and with good reason to be honest because it's such a potent smell - that gets in your nostrils and doesn't want to go anywhere. I did it in the front room of our house and had both windows open despite the cold, and about five hours later I came back in the house and could still smell it. So it's potent stuff unfortunately! They suggest only putting half the bottle in the bowl you use as in theory you have enough nails for more than one set - so don't use it all up, and you definitely won't need even half the bottle for one set of nails, I used about a quarter of my bottle for all ten fingers.

So sticking on my tips on, was a little bit fiddly for the first few fingers because I was getting glue that had seeped out all over my fingers and sticking them to my other fingers. It was getting all stuck up for first couple, and even though the nail glue they provide is meant to be a quick drying one it's not. Unless it is sticking your fingers together it does that in a matter of seconds, gluing your tip to your nail, takes a fair bit of patience if I'm honest and even though they say to only apply a small amount you'll need a line on the inside of the tip to keep it attached while you cut and file down your nail. Which is actually a bit easier than it sounds; although the kit doesn't come with the proper nail clippers designed for these tips, you can just do it with normal nail clippers but be prepared to spend some time filing them into the shape they need to be. Thankfully the nail file you get in the pack is brilliant for filing them down, but make sure you use the white side for the tips because it is a bit coarser than the black side which is meant for your natural nail.

Once you have your tips on it is time to try and apply the acrylic on top of your natural nail. Now I started on my right hand, so did it with my left hand, I am right handed so figured if I could do it with my weak hand the strong hand would be fine. So I dipped the brush that comes in the set into the liquid and drew up a ball of gel and applied it to the first finger nail (Check Photos) only problem being the brush is absolutely useless the bristles separated, and just made an absolute mess of the nail and given that the gel formed from the powder and liquid combines dries pretty quickly you haven't really got any time to do anything about it. So to be honest the first nail is a bit of a bad looking one. As I went across each nail on my right hand it got a bit better, but that was because I changed brushes to a make-up brush I'd been given, but the problem being the bristles were made from the wrong material so the acrylic was bunging them up.

By the time I got onto my left hand, so therefore applying the acrylic with my writing hand I'd just about got it down to a fine art.... Well as good as you can with a semi hard brush, but never mind, it was initially quite difficult to work out how to get the thickest application of the gel so that the nail tip didn't look out of place, but by my left hand I'd got it about right so my left hand is a lot smoother than the right! My complaint with the gel that forms is that it does become a bit grainy on the nail and in patches looks a little bit like icy patches on a pavement after a cold night, you know the sparkly concrete I mean - so you definitely need to apply a coat of clear nail varnish over the top. Well I say one coat, I've got a Barry M clear varnish which is normally fantastic - however the dried gel seems to drink the varnish and it took me three coats to get anything of a shine off my nails at all. The bizarre looking patches were getting on my nerves so I got a nice sparkly coloured nail varnish to put an even nicer shine on the nails, and now I can say I am quite proud of my work, despite it being the first time I've ever tried to do it myself.

Since putting them on I've done a few things to test how strong they are, the first being buttoning and unbuttoning my jeans that is normally the first thing to flick fake nails off my fingers, that and cleaning out my hamsters cage. Both of those have been done to great success, that and filling the car up, and in general living, showers, hair washing, doing the washing up - and so far we haven't had a nail in any of our dinners. So I think they are staying put for the time being. Which impresses me, either way it's not too bad the nails are on, can't pull them off, so I am very impressed with this kit apart from the dodgy brush - which I can replace now I know I am capable of doing the nails on myself and others if they fancy it! Also these nails are quite comfortable the acrylic isn't too heavy so isn't weighing on the nail bed or hurting my nails at all, which I have experienced from salons in the past. Not struggling to open my cans of coke either and that is a sign of a good nail, almost forgot to say that!

~*~ Price and Availability ~*~

I went round all possible places I could get hold of one of these kits in my town and only found it in Savers. On the Nailene website it only offers American shops to buy it from so if you don't have a Savers, eBay or Amazon will probably be your best bet, there are other similar kits about but they are almost twenty pounds where this one was only eight. Considering going to the nail salon to get them done will cost upwards of twenty pound it's a bargain if you've got a steady hand. Now to eBay to get all the extras so I can keep on doing it for myself!