Stuck on the Galaxy

I've been wanting to get creative, pulling out my sponges and nail polishes and glittery top coats to design some kind of 'galaxy-inspired' look for my nails since Seonaid posted her take on them, but it all just seemed like too much effort. The perfect solution then came in the form of these ncLA nail wraps that I won from Ash's giveaway (thank you Ash!). I loved how the design Stephanie's Galaxy looked on her nails so I picked the same for myself. I'd never tried nail wraps before, so I was curious to see how I'd get along with them.

The set comes with 26 nail wraps of varying sizes and a small nail file which you use to trim any excess sticker once it's placed over the nail. The print on each sticker is unique, with one side being more predominately green and blue, and the other more pink and purple (both have orange, black and are punctuated with flares and stars). The included instructions make the process of applying the nail wraps seem simple and fuss-free, which it largely was. The only challenge was trying to pick which size sticker to use over which nail. It was a little hard to find the exact match (I did get one of the thumbs completely wrong and had to peel it off and start all over again), but after a while you get the hang of it. Generally, my experience is to go for the one you think might be slightly too big, as the sticker has to wrap over the curve of your nail.

The only nail I had issues with was the thumb, because the edge of these stickers are quite rounded and my thumb is more square-shaped at the base. There was a bit of a gap around the sides and for some reason, the sticker bunched up at the top, leaving small but obvious creases. My only other quibble is that after you've filed down the sticker, the top edge of your nail is left with a thin white line.

All in all, I found my first experience with nail wraps surprisingly straightforward to apply and a whole lot of fun. If there was one significant plus, it was no stinky, toxic fumes from applying nail polish normally (well, except for the clear base and top coat). The complexity and detail in the design isn't something I would've been able to recreate with nail polish only anyway (unless I had a hefty chunk of time to spare), so these nail wraps are a convenient, easy way to sport the space theme with minimal effort. It really is like wearing a little bit of alternative art on your nails. Extra cool but still neatly manicured.