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I was kindly sent a rather large box of Revlon’s Runway nails for trial and review. Not being in need of false nails myself (really??), I thought I would share the love and offer these out to some of our loyal readers and friends to try out. First up is Rachel. She and I used to go to a youth theatre group together as teenagers, lost contact, then got back in touch again via the wonders of Facebook. Happy days. Turns out GlitterMillie also attended the same theatre group – small world, eh?
I have never tried false nails before. With an active toddler keeping me busy, I don’t think I’m really living a very ‘false nails’ kind of a life, to be perfectly honest. But when I saw Helen had several sets for review, I must have had a rush of blood to the head. ‘I could do that!’ I thought, ‘I could be that woman! I could wear false nails!’
So I received my pack with interest. There seemed to be hundreds of the little blighters, in a range of different sizes, which was good for me as I quickly discovered that either Revlon false nails are gigantic, or my fingernails are really incredibly tiny. The largest ones supplied looked like a joke on my hands, even on my thumbnails, and were quickly discarded.
Sticking on the nails was a rollercoaster journey, punctuated by such thoughts as, ‘Wow, this nail glue smells like superglue…’ then looking at the bottle where it said, ‘bonds skin in seconds’ and realising that, as far as I could make out, it really was superglue. I kept vacillating wildly between two extremes whilst putting these things on. First thinking, “Ooooh! Glam!” and then, only seconds later, wanting to scream, “Get them off! Off off off!”
I am still on the fence, to be honest. The first one went on beautifully, but my skills at applying them went down as I had more of them on, and a few of the nails were definitely wonky. I found it almost impossible to stick them without air bubbles (though I’m prepared to concede that this might come 
with false nail practice) which somewhat ruined the effect. Although I could find enough nails small enough for my evidently titchy little digits, I found they were all too curved and had to be flattened slightly in order to stick on. Fine… until the one on my thumbnail actually started to split at the bottom where I’d had to flatten it so much to get it to stick.
Cracking nailbeds, eh? 
Not the look I was aiming for.
Once I had them all on, I looked down at them and had to admit they looked pretty good … or did they? Good in an evening glam kind of way? Or just too drag queen for words? I honestly don’t know. All I know is that after only a very brief period of having them on, I was trying to do something and thought, ‘I don’t like how these feel’… and looked down and thought, ‘And I don’t like how they look, either.’ Which meant my next thought segued seamlessly into, “Off! Off! Get them off!”
The instructions said that I should soak the nails in acetone nail varnish remover and they will ‘dissolve’. The instructions lie. What they should have said was, ‘soak your nails in nail varnish remover for a year and a half. Then remove your hands, and admire your shrivelled finger-tips. Look at the pretty false nails, still totally stuck to what was once your fingernails, but now starting to bubble and peel weirdly at the end like a special-effect from a horror film. Feeling glam now? Hmmm?’
God it took ages. So long, in fact, that I had to remove only the nails from one hand whilst my little girl was napping, then do the rest of the day with one hand drag-queen, one hand manual worker. Which was even weirder and more annoying, frankly, than just leaving the damn things on. Perhaps you can tell that I was a little grumpy with them by now.
I managed to get the other hand off that evening, sitting in front of the TV. I found a method where I soaked the nails for an eternity, then kind of poked at them with the stick they came with, which would eventually loosen them so they’d swing off. I won’t lie, it looks and feels –in a painless odd way – as though you’re ripping your nails off. Which is not as gruesome as it sounds, but actually bizarrely fascinating.
On the plus side, I can verify that they stick to your nails really, really well. My initial worries that they’d go pinging off everywhere were totally unfounded.
Overall, perhaps they just weren’t the product for me. I am not actually very into variations on French manicures: I prefer a straight French manicure or a plain colour on my nails, and found the little lattice work, though appealing in the box, a bit too bling once on. I found the feeling of having long nails quite odd – and wonder if this is less odd if you grow your own nails, since then you can get used to it gradually?
Perhaps the main clue though, should have come from my lack of preparedness generally. I ended up soaking my fingertips in nail varnish remover that I’d poured out into those little Tupperware pots you’re supposed to freeze purees in.
I mean, really. Turns out I am, in fact, not that woman. I can’t wear false nails.
Here’s the press release from Revlon. UK readers can get these for under £9.00 in Boots. US readers….well, this isn’t the first time you’ve read about these nails so I’m sure you know where to get them by now! I’ll be bringing you a couple of other reader reviews of these nails over time in order to offer you some impartiality but in the meantime, thankyou very much Rachel! I really appreciate your efforts in the name of Nice Things!
Lol poor you! I went through a face of getting my nails wrapped and extended professionally then I spotted someone wearing falsies they had done themselves which were quite impressive so I decided to give it a go…I have to say I was very impressed! They were from Claire’s Accessories (yes really) quite cheap in the world of falsies but convincing. Its all in the preparation. You need to choose the size for each nail before you begin and file and trim as you go. Less glue is more, a bit like putting on false eyelashes…..leave till it goes tacky then press on lightly! You can then file again once they have dried and you should be good to go! Mines would normally last me 10-14 days and that included me tapping away on a key board with enormous frequency! To get them off…alternate between soaking in warm water and in nail varnish remover!
Sounds like way too much effort for me
You should really soak them in acetone, rather than polish remover that contains it
Yes – I’m pretty sure the instructions say 100% acetone. Not overly sure how easy it is to come by that stuff here though – I’ve never been able to find it.
It’s easy when you get the technique but I remember the first time I ever did false nails. I ended up with an entire hands worth of fingers stuck to each other and it was bad! I think Rachel did a pretty good job!
Liz, you are an absolute oracle! You should have your own blog 🙂
Ooooh, look, I’m practically famous! How exciting… 😉
Reading the comments with interest. I did *think* I’d checked the instructions re: 100% acetone, or acetone-containing remover, but I’m willing to be corrected here (can’t help feeling that my experience of taking them off was so awful that surely something must have gone wrong!)
Liz – you have almost inspired me to give them another try! Think I’d need to find a brand that made false nails for people with weirdly small hands, though. Children’s false nails, perhaps? No?!
Helen blogging is too much like hard work lol
Rachel…….there are some makes on the market that are smaller than others but its so long since I used them…Nailene and Elegant Touch I think, but honestly the ones from Claire’s were the cheapest and smallest I could find….I have quite small nails so I used to bin the ones which were for your thumbs and have to use all the tiny pinky ones for my index finger ha!
What a shame and kind of funny! Drag Queen Nails, oh my! I don’t think I’d like the feel of them on top of my real nails. I know some people wear them with great success. I thought they were all really pretty designs. Shame you had such a problem with them.
You can buy 100% acetone in Boots, you just have to ask for it at the pharmacy. Or places like Sally’s sell it. I hope that helps someone!
You can buy special nail remover kits in Boots/Superdrug which has acetone in it and a brush attached to a narrow opening so you can gently create some friction and remove the nails. Its not a job to be rushed…either applying or removing. I used to sit and do it with a bowl of nail varnish remover and another of warm water in front of the tv for an our. After removing them I would rub olive oil into the nails and cuticles then gently buff them. They can make a mess of your own nails if you are not very gentle with them!
I think Rachel did a good job with hers as a first timer!
Oh and when you first put them on there is a strange feeling of pressure on your own nails but this very quickly goes and they actually feel real!
Rachel, I used these as well about 3 months ago and it was a disaster, not the getting them on part (I had no problem and they actually looked GREAT) but the getting them off part. Absolute nightmare. My nails were as wrecked as if I had taken acrylics off!! I was furious. I had to grow out the damage and they are only just now getting back to my own, undamaged nail. They are VERY difficult to get off and, yes, I used 100% acetone (which I cannot imagine is good for your body/skin to be soaking in for an extended period of time). I ended up having to file off/buff off (with a hard grain buffer) most of the remainder of the nails as it is, indeed, superglue that they give you to adhere them to your natural nail. I would NEVER use these again. Might as well get acrylics so you can at least get fills on them and have them maintained. Anyone thinking these are great for a weekend glam look and then ‘just take them off’, think AGAIN.
Only time i ever tried false nails I couldnt even undo me pants to pee, wash me hair or even eat very easily!
Hi Beth, Read your comments with interest…
Actually, in the interests of total fairness to these nails, I found that my nails underneath don’t seem wrecked at all. They didn’t look pretty immediately afterwards, and I was anticipating exactly what you said: having to grow out the damage. But now (just looking down as I’m typing) they look absolutely fine, you’d never guess I’d had false nails on. So, for me, although I found them annoying, they totally would be something I could wear for one weekend and then just take them off!
Britny – you want to try changing a nappy whilst wearing false nails! Not pretty!
Rachel, you must have just had a really good experience or maybe the glue didn’t bond so strongly to your nails as it did to mine? I also have found that acrylics (which I’ve had in the past) adhere to my nails super hard and fast (even tech told me) so maybe it’s just me. I do think it is fair to warn people though that the taking off is a lot more of a project than it is purported to be. Even if your nails are fine afterwards (which, good for you, they were :-)) it’s still not this little 1-2-3 zip, they’re off. Just not worth it to me. If I had a special event that I knew about in advance I would just try very hard to get my own nails in shape for it rather than go this route again. Glad you had a better experience than me.
I just recently started using “falsies”. I have horrible nails & hate going to the salon for tips & then my fingers hurting for the next 3 days. So I decided to try them out. I have petite hands & I like the nails to be fairly short, about to the tip of my finger & I found using Nailene nails not so good, they came off in 3 days…so I purchased “Fingr’s” for Petite hands & so far, they have stayed on for about 5 days now & I check them everyday, I am somewhat OCD, & no lifting yet. I just love the way they look!!