Saturday, November 16, 2013

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.

43 comments:

  1. These look stunning! I LOVE the look of galaxy nails (pretty much galaxy anything, space astounds me lol) but I've never tried the nail art. I've tried nail foils before and found they were finicky and quite annoying - lots of bubbles and ridges. I'm not sure what the difference is between foils and wraps (I assume wraps are just more like plastic stickers?) but the end result is nothing you could achieve by hand!

    x Tashi
    http://shiwashiful.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. Did you watch Gravity the movie with Sandra Bullock? :p

      I haven't tried nail foils before - were those the freebies from the Priceline goodie bag haha? I didn't even know there was a distinction - maybe foils are thinner and metallic as opposed to wraps which are more manageable and not as sticky (total guess here LOL)

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  2. omg this looks so genius!! I have always bad luck with nail sticker T.T have tried the ones from essie and sally hansen but they just didn't match my nail bed..
    the galaxy print looks very pretty and you did a good job applying them to your nails because they all look sos neat and tidy! :)

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  3. wow these look so pretty .. I have never tried nail stickers ..I keep thinking it will be very tough and never give them a go.. You did an awesome job :)

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  4. They look awesome! Galaxy nails take such a long time to do!

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  5. I havent used nail wraps yet but these look so good. I'll have to give them a try sometime!

    Leanne @ Leanne-Marie | Beauty, fashion & lifestyle. x x

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  6. They look great, you did a much nicer job of applying them than I did aha! x

    actuallyash.blogspot.com

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  7. Omg!! These look amazing... >_< Really want !

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  8. Wow! These look amazing! I haven't tried nail wraps yet! x

    Jasmine Catches Butterflies ʚϊɞ

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  9. These are so pretty!!! I've never actually seen galaxy designs before! Now thia is gonna be sonething I'll look out for. I've seen a lot of the stick ons like the ones from sally hansen but never bothered to try because the patterns were just not appealing enough. But these....are a totally different story! Is ncla an exclusive australian brand? I've never heard of it before! :P

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    1. I get what you mean about the Sally Hansen - nothing really appealed to me that much either.

      I don't know much about ncLA but I thought it was some Hollywood brand, lol!

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  10. I love space related stuff and thought about buying these recently, but I've yet to try nail stickers and don't feel all that inclined to. Yours do look pretty awesome though!

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  11. Omg omg...these look freaking awesome! Sounds like a bit tricky with making them fit your nails and cutting or trimming them etc...but wow, they look sooo good! I hope these come off easily because this would make a night out really fun!

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  12. Those look so amazing!!!
    Fell in love :)

    www.magdalennes.blogspot.com

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  13. Oh wow!! Those are so cool! I always feel like I need to pay more attention to my nails...

    { Teffys Perks Blog } X

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  14. These are actually the sickest nail wraps ever! NEED!

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  15. Wow those look amazing, really do love the effect! xx

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  16. These are lovely :) I definitely want to give nail wraps a try at some point as there are so many nice designs which would be quite hard to re-create with nail art. I think the white line at the top of the nails would irritate me as they would look 'not finished' even though you had, however I'd still try them.
    Amy x | A Little Boat Sailing

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  17. oh wow! you applied them so neatly at first i thought you did some serious nail art on your nails!

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  18. I don't like this nail sticker trend, but I've to say these nail wraps are really nice! :)

    http://happinessvictim.blogspot.com
    x

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  19. These look absolutely incredible! Such a pretty design!

    ahemitsemme.blogspot.com

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  20. I love how pretty these are! They definitely look like a convenient way to get detailed nail looks!

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  21. you applied these so neatly - I'm rubbish at putting on nail wraps but these are lovely x

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  22. Wow isn't the galaxy pattern just gorgeous! They are definitely worth more than creating your own. x

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  23. Wow, these wraps are so gorgeous! Definitely great that there are awesome designs like this so you don't have to paint your own. You did a great job with application, getting the edges so neat. :)

    ~ Yun

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  24. This looks fantastic! Goodness knows I'd never have the patience to work out a galaxy mani - slapping on some wraps sounds good to me!

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  25. Who needs nail art when you've got nail wraps! These look so great! I think if you filed them off at a different angle you might not get that white line :) I tried doing a galaxy mani once but this looks so much neater, haha!

    - Jess
    The Mod Mermaid

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  26. No way! I've been meaning to try NCLA nail wraps. They have the most beautiful designs...although I am worried about using nail wraps. They're a little fiddley! Glad to hear that it's not that hard to use. Love the galaxy-look of the nail wraps!

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  27. Your nails are so pretty *-*
    Sadly, the only time I tried to use something like that, it didn't went well :x

    Anyway, your nails are trully amazing!
    Please take care, have a nice day!*

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  28. I love them I might have to try and recreate them as I love the galaxy print xx

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  29. Neat! I love the galaxy trend but it's very fiddly to do myself so these wraps are perfect :) x

    Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves

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  30. A few days ago I showed your nails to my best friends who also loves nails and she loved yours! We love your nail shape and how beautiful any nail polish looks on you :)

    x

    http://holaflo.blogspot.com/

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  31. These look AMAZING!! I love them. Definitely going to have to pick one up for myself. Oh my gawwwdd.

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  32. Ohh they are so gorgeous, I love anything galaxy print <3

    Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com

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  33. Ah this is so awesome! I've tried galaxy nails before but they didn't really turn out, these would be ideal! xx

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