I Tried a Bunch of New Press-On Nails — These Are the Sets Worth Coming Back To

Chillhouse, best known for its wavy designs, has become a main player in the modern press-on space. I chose a short chrome set from the brand, planning to wear them for an event. I liked that they were classic but not boring. The set came with 30 nails, and I was able to easily match sizing to my nail beds. After prepping my nails with the buffer, I glued on my set, which took less than 15 minutes. (One small thing: I missed the alcohol wipe for prep — it’s a purple pack tucked behind the packaging. Make sure you don’t miss it, but skipping that step didn’t seem to affect the application.) They stayed put all night and for six days after. At no point did they feel like they were going to budge, even through doing daily dishes, lifting at the gym, and hot showers. I still have the nails saved for reuses (the highest compliment for press-ons), and they feel as sturdy as they did when I first unboxed them.

I’ve only known Glamnetic for itsfauxlashes, so I was curious to see how the press-ons would hold up. Picking from the online selection was the toughest part of the process, since the brand has over 69 pages of sets to choose from. I narrowed it down to the Short Almond options and ultimately went with Sanded for its ocean-inspired nail art. The set was even nicer-looking in person; the base color was shimmery but not overly glittery, and the delicate 3-D design looked very refined. The set came with 30 nails, so I was easily able to find sizes that worked and glue them on in under 15 minutes. The nails felt very sturdy, and I received plenty of compliments out in the wild. They lasted just as long as the Chillhouse set, and it’s another one I kept for later wear. I’ve since gone back to Glamnetic’s site and saved a few more I have my eyes on. All’s to say, I’d definitely repurchase from the brand.

Nail Reformation’s another brand with plenty of design options. Again, I went with a Short Almond set, this time in a pretty translucent teal shade. The nails were as sturdy as the ones above, but I had trouble with sizing. The kit came with 30 nails, but they all were on the larger side. I ended up using up all the smaller nails, and a few were harder to glue on because of sizing issues. But after a couple of tries and some extra glue and pressure, the nails felt secure. I was able to wear these for five days with just one popping off and needing reapplication. Overall, I liked the plethora of design options and sturdiness of the nails, but my main issue was the sizing.

The nontoxic nail-polish brand expanded into press-ons in 2021, notably making its nails from 94 percent post-consumer recycled materials. Olive & June’s design options skew classic, mostly consisting of solid colors, though it also has some designs catered more toward tweens and teens. I went with a very simple set: extra-short white nails in a “squoval” shape. I opted to try the brand’s sticker tabs over its nail glue, since it was one of the few companies I saw offering that adhesive as a separate option. The nail tabs were very easy to apply, thanks to the tab wheel. This lets you size correctly without peeling off the stickers and form the tab around your nail bed to ensure there aren’t any air gaps. The set also came with 32 nails, and sizing was on the smaller side — a plus for me, but I can see it being an issue if you’re someone with larger nail beds. The set didn’t last as long as glue-on options. I had one nail pop off while washing dishes three days in, but it was easy to replace the sticker pad and reapply the nail. I also liked how easy these were to take off without worrying about potential nail damage. Opposite from the above, I had no problem with sizing, but my qualms were with the lack of nail designs and shorter wear time.

Kiss’ press-ons are a classic drugstore option, but the brand has expanded its line a lot, branching into fun nail art. I went with this set from the Drip collection, featuring 3-D designs on otherwise nude nails. Compared with Glamnetic’s set, which also features 3-D art, I found these to be less elegant-looking. I ended up gravitating toward the plain-looking ombré nails over the ones with the drip effect as a result. The kit comes with 32 nails, and I was able to file down some that were slightly big for my ring and middle fingers. Once applied, they felt very secure and lasted over five days. I don’t see myself reaching for the Drip collection in the future, but I would be open to trying Kiss’ more classic nails.

Never Have I Ever’s one of the newer press-on brands, having launched in 2023. I had high hopes, since its designs are on the more artistic side, closer to enviable sets you’d see on Pinterest. I went with this fun green set featuring gemstones, French tips, ombré effects — the whole nine yards. The sets are as beautiful as they look online, and I did like that it included both nail glue and glue stickers. However, they nails are flimsy. While the others have a slight give, these were easily bendable. The kit comes with 24 different-size nails (the smallest amount of all the options in this story), and I found that the sizing skewed larger. That meant I had fewer options to choose from and struggled to mix up the designs. They’re also quite long, despite me picking from the “short” selection. The nail glue was sufficient, though, and the set lasted five days with my normal wear and tear. Because of the flimsiness, sizing setbacks, and higher price compared with the others on this list, I’d skip these.