NailMates - Review

Hey everyone! I'm back with another fun one (I think).

Edit: This posting was meant to go up after the holo post, but what happens EVERY time I wear a holo? Yep. It rains. Holo post has been postponed until further notice. I wasn't quite done testing this, so I had to hop to it sooner than expected. If I leave something out, just leave a comment below with your question.

So...I had been hearing a little about nail caps from Julep, which are rubber caps you slide over your nails, along with cotton or some other material soaked in acetone to remove your polish, or gels.  I was interested in these, but I'm not a maven and really, I didn't want to pay $28 for them at Sephora (see:Julep glitter nail off).  So, I decided to wait it out. This seemed like something dupe able and I was just hoping something would come along. Well...luckily, I saw someone blogging about these by NailMates.  And even better: they're not even a dupe, because they're the original.

Nail Mates has been at it for while, making nail caps for those who get tans (I don't purposely tan so I had no idea these existed). They've done a slight redesign just for nail and gel polish removal.

I received these after just under a week of ordering.  I got no email to let me know they shipped, but they did provide contact numbers for those of us who are too antsy.  I was pleased with how quickly they came.

My order included ten pink caps (all same sized) and 40 foam acetone soakers.  

They recommend using their foam soakers, and to only soak the rounded ends of them, so as to prevent dripping.  I did this and they did not drip. But I have to admit, I don't care for the foam.  I was hoping they would be more felt like, but they're a soft foam, which easily tears.  I felt like they were just hard to work with and I was surprised at the easy tearing (I was wearing a foil, with glitter only on accent).   Additionally, the caps are a teeny bit big on me.  I have very slender fingers so they don't feel terribly secure on me.  They didn't fall off at all, however, cotton balls might work a bit better for the skinny finger girls.

I decides to do a "live" test of these, using pieces of a cotton ball. I did only test three fingers. My base is an old one, Zoya Bridgette and I topped it with a coat of Rainbow Honey Neon Blossom. A couple notes: this topper took a long time to dry. I'm still not convinced it was set but I did wait a few hours to remove it. I didn't mess with my ring finger because I'm nursing a patch. Cotton was a lot easier to use, but it is much more drippy, especially if you don't sort of form the cotton to your nail first. The first finger I tried with cotton dripped everywhere be because I kind of jammed the cotton inside the soaker. Don't do that. But it does fit a lot better with cotton and it removed so quickly, I was kind of surprised. I am excited to keep using these.

While you won't have your normal dexterity, you do still maintain some (for instance, I can still operate a remote control and browse the web without too much trouble). This is also a whole lot easier than foil. No more clumsily trying to wrap my fingers up and then be held prisoner to the foil.

One thing I did notice is that the pink does leach from the rubber. I had no trouble with the dye on my fingers or nails but did notice it in the foam and was a little confused as to why my polish looked so pink for a minute before I figured it out. This is a non problem since it doesn't stain you, but just a fair warning.

I have to say that I would repurchase these again, since they're easy to use and affordable.

Check out http://www.nailmates.net to learn more and purchase. These are currently $14, including extra soakers.