The products: KISS Mani Pop Nail Accents (and other Halloween & Holiday 2018 releases)
Kiss Mani Pop Nail Accents are not simply a nice, fun thing to add to your manicure in your spare time. They are, in fact, nothing less than a cheat code to real life.
Like so many other people out there, I take forever to paint my nails. It takes a painstakingly long time for me to put down an even coat on each hand, and for most polishes, you then have to go back and do it all over again. And that’s not even the worst part! After all of that effort, you still have to wait for what seems like two hours for the polish to fully set!
I scoffed at appliqués like these ones from Kiss for years. They look like children’s playthings in their packaging, and they’re aggressively themed more often than not. But after trying them out just once, I am an absolute convert.
The Kiss Mani Pop Nail Accent process
If you take longer than 15 minutes to put these on, you can email me and shout at me for as long as you’d like. I can’t offer you your money back (because I’m not a vendor), but you can yell your heart out.
To apply Kiss Mani Pop stickers, you literally just clean off your nails, peel them off of their plastic backing (which is super easy) and stick them on. Then, you press down to make sure they’re evenly adhered, and you file off the free edge.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing. There’s no glue, no second coats; no topcoats or liquids or waiting. They trim off with a good nail file in seconds, and peel off just as easily when you’re done with them. I only tested them for two days, so I can’t guarantee wear time, but they held up well without any peeling within that short timeframe.
The caveat(s) of the Kiss Mani Pop Nail Accents
As with all things, these come with a few small caveats. Nothing in this world is perfect (except, perhaps, Jennifer Garner), and these are no exception.
They won’t wear for as long as traditional nail polish will, and because they’re single-use, they’re considerably more expensive if you’re going to go off-label and use them for a whole manicure instead of just a few accent nails. There are also a limited number of sizes per package, so if you want them to fit your nails exactly, you’ll need to very carefully trim them.
But for a quick manicure that looks great at a distance and doesn’t need to dry – well, these are unbeatable.
Halloween and Christmas Kiss styles
Kiss was lovely enough to send me home from Toronto with a mountain of nail products — including some awesome Halloween and holiday styles. (What? Edmonton has had snow for weeks! I’m in the mood!) The ones that stuck out to me from their fall/Halloween collection are the autumnal accents (Kiss Mani Pop in Chai Latte, worn here), their spooky black spider web nails (Tombstone), and their shiny, navy imPRESS Press-On Manicure (Flash Mob).
For a super sexy accent to your Halloween costume, look towards the vampy, point-styles KISS Gel Fantasy line, which come with glue and press-on stickers. (I tried these on in burgundy and they were a breeze to apply!)
Another thing I’ve learned about nail products recently: press-on nails come in different sizes. I have a few different Halloween sets, and the box with “medium” noted in the top left corner has nails of a distinctly different size and shape.
For the holidays, I’m loving the Kiss Jewel Accents (Treasure Trove) — which really are accents, so you’ll need to polish underneath them. The Face Time Mani Pop stockers are super cute as well, with little Santa faces and Rudolphs to keep you company through the holidays. Face Time is another truly accent-oriented style, but I think it could look cool as nail wraps without polish underneath, too!
The Kiss Mani Pop Nail Accents verdict?
I’m slowly getting more and more into femme-adjacent nails (basically, think a lot of black and green) in my everyday life, and I couldn’t be happier to have finally tried the KISS Mani Pop Nail Accents. They’re not quite as precise as traditional nail polish, but they’re a breeze to use — and a major time-saver.
I’m going to be looking for these in plain black (or as close to it as possible), and would absolutely recommend them. They’re pretty sweet in general, but I think they’re a major win for those with coordination difficulties or scent sensitivities!
Availability: $3.99 CAD KISS Accent Stickers, $8.97+ KISS imPRESS Press-On Manicure (one-step with pre-applied gel), $4.99 KISS Mani Pop Nail Accents, $9.97+ KISS Gel Fantasy Nails (traditional glue and glue stickers included). Retailers across Canada.
