Not Sponsored, But Should Be: OHARA nails/Vanity Table
Disclaimer: as the title says, I’m not being paid to review this product. All of these opinions are 100% my own, with no influence other than my willingness to share what I’ve learned about it with you!
Hello everyone! Today’s next little review of mine is for Vanity Table’s OHARA nails. If you read my end-of-month post, you’ll know that I was introduced to the concept of nail stickers by my friend Mari and her Color Street stickers. She let me have some of hers and I fell in love with the concept of it all. Not having to get nail polish all over my fingers while I paint them?? Sign me up!
After trying the Color Street brand, I decided I wanted to have some nail stickers of my own. I did some research to see which ones would last the longest. I work with my hands and I wash my hands and use lots of strong hand sanitizer while at work, so I needed a product that would last. I also am not allowed to wear press-on nails as a server, so custom press-ons were out of the picture (which is unfortunate because I want to try them SO bad!).
I finally stumbled across Vanity Table’s website and saw that they offer nail stickers. What caught my eye is that they have semi-cured gel nail stickers, which means that the finished result requires a UV nail light. Luckily, they offer a free one with every purchase! I loved the nail art and the wide variety of options they have for sale, so I bought three sets of nail stickers, a top coat, and got that free UV light too!
I was happy with how everything came in one little box. You’ve got your nail stickers, your alcohol pads, your cuticle stick, and your nail file all in one place. For someone who loves a good mis en place, I really enjoy having everything all right in front of me!
Actually using the stickers was very simple. The application process is straightforward: find the sticker that fits your nail, peel it off the plastic, press it onto your nail, and press it down further with the cuticle stick to ensure a good seal. Then, trim the excess and file downwards to wrap the nail! Using the UV nail light was easy too. There’s a button on the back that turns on the light for 40–60 seconds (depending on if you hold down the button or not). Hold your nails under the light to finish the curing process of the gel and bam! You’ve got nail polish!
I suggest using the top coat to seal the nail sticker and preserve the style for the appropriate two weeks. Admittedly, I haven’t tried using the stickers without the top coat, but base coat/nail polish/top coat is what I’ve always done, and I don’t see a reason to stray from that formula. You have to paint on the top coat like normal nail polish, so try to avoid painting your whole finger like I do and clean up any excess polish before curing the gel or else you’ll have a nice gel shell on your fingers!
The first time I tried the stickers, I had a little trouble figuring out which sticker would fit my nails, and I quickly realized that the stickers are not made for wider nails, like the type I have. I figured that this would be the case since finding ready made press-ons has always been impossible for me. That is honestly one of the only problems I have with OHARA. The other problem I have is that the instructions on the box are in Korean, so if you want to read directions, you’ll have to go online to figure out the process. That is more of a mild inconvenience than an outright problem, however, as I can easily look up what to do on their site.
Even though the stickers aren’t very wide, I realized that they are slightly stretchy. With the third set I tried, I ignored their “use the smaller sticker if you’re in between” advice and trimmed the excess sticker as best I could as I applied my set. I also tried to stretch the sticker itself as I applied it to my nail, which worked a little bit, although not as well as I would’ve liked. Next time, I’m going to try to stretch the stickers again and see if it makes any difference!
So, how did they last for me? As I said earlier, I work with my hands and wash/sanitize them constantly. A normal manicure lasts about 7-10 days for me. The OHARA nail stickers lasted almost to their lifespan of 14 days, getting to about day 12 before I had to take them off. For me, that’s a huge win. I suspect that someone who doesn’t work with their hands as much as I do (or who can avoid high alcohol-based hand sanitizer) can make them last longer than two weeks!
Taking them off is easy. There’s two ways to do it; they have a product that helps dissolve the adhesive (Easy Peel Remover) or you can soak your nails in warm water and they’ll pop right off. You’ll need to use a cuticle stick to help pry off the sticker, or if you’re impatient like me, a long thumbnail underneath the sticker works wonders! Any way you go about it, you’ll have to take care to be gentle. After all, your nails are under that sticker!
All in all, I really enjoy Vanity Table’s OHARA nails. The variety of designs and the ease of application outweigh the lack of width and the quick research needed in order to follow the instructions. The price tag isn’t bad considering the ease of application and the wear length, and they do say you can wear the nails again (although I’m sure it’s a nail glue situation for a rewear of your old set and I’m not confident enough to try that quite yet).
If you’re interested in buying the stickers, I suggest getting the top coat and easy peel remover. It will make your application process longer, but the results look better and the easy peel remover helps with the removal process SO much. There’s less pressure/pain and it’s much faster than simply soaking your nails.
Check out Vanity Table’s site and see if any of the designs stick out to you! I’ve made three separate purchases as of this post, and I’ve worn three different sets. Every time I try again, I get better at the application process. No one can really tell the difference between the stickers and a normal manicure (unless they really LOOK), and I honestly think this will save me money in the long run; I can give myself a. basic manicure…I just can’t paint my nails without making a mess! OHARA nails eliminates that mess and makes it easy to have cute nails.
Thanks for reading, y’all! I have had lots of fun with these nail stickers so I had to write up a review! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a tip on ko-fi! Every tip I get goes straight to the self-publication of my novel, but don’t feel like you HAVE to donate. Simply seeing people reading these blogs makes me a happy camper!
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Thanks again, and I’ll see you next week!
