Awhile back I was contacted by KKCenterHK Online Store to do some product reviews for them. One of the products that I was most interested in were their full nail water decals. I love water decals, and was curious to see if they would perform as well as regular polish appliques. These decals come in a pack of 12 and are pre-shaped, so no need to cut - just soak in some water for a few seconds and apply.
I chose the black and white dragon image, and since I have a fairly deep C-Curve decided to wear some white undies to start. I'm actually very glad that I did since the water decals are slightly sheer and did not cover the sides of my nails entirely. However, that's really my only complaint, and it's barely a complaint. These decals blended with the base polish seamlessly and created a very cool look!
All photos are 2 coats of Finger Paints Paper Mache under the Dragon Water Decals and topped with a coat of A-England The Shield (this top coat is so shiny that I'm still having issues with glare! Wow!) Do not adjust your screens - these decals are pixelated images, so up close in macro mode they look a bit fuzzy, as you can see by the close-up photos vs. the standard shots. IRL, they are crisp and clear, until you get very very close, and then you can see the pixels a bit. Not an issue unless you tend to magnify your nails IRL. )
As you can see, I wasn't kidding, the image is kind of pixelated in macro mode - this is because the image really is comprised of small pixels in the decal - , but IRL looks clean and crisp. The combination of the black dragon against the white is really stunning and I developed a serious problem with staring at my nails when I should've been doing other things.
Application:
These water decals are so simple to use! They come in a strip of 12 decals, in 3 different sizes: 2 thumbnails, 8 in between nail, and 2 pinky nail. Just chose the closest size, cut the selected decal off the strip (no need to shape to your nail - these are shaped well and have some sheer excess on the sides for coverage), soak in a cup or bowl of water for about 5 seconds, slide the decal off the strip and apply to your nail. Once on the nail, I did have to do some adjusting, but I found a technique that worked well and took mere seconds. I laid the decal on my nail, held the strip just at the edge of the cuticle and pulled taught over the free edge. Then I took the sides of the decal and folded them in like a flap of wrapping paper, folded the center over the free edge and gently filed off the excess. Since I was wearing polish underneath and had wrapped my tips, I had no issue with filing off my nail, and the way I folded and wrapped the decal ensured I had no wrinkles in the decals as well. Add topcoat to protect your decals and voila! Easy Peasy! I'll admit it took a few tries to find the right technique, but once I found it I was finished with this mani in under 10 minutes. As a bonus, when you add your topcoat, the decal tends to melt down onto the nail even further, eliminating any stray wrinkles and any bits at the tip.
Since I loved how they looked, I decided to put these to the test. After doing a sinkful of dishes, cleaning half the kitchen, doing a loaf of laundry, bathing the baby, feeding to dog, emptying trash, diaper and outfit changes for the baby, My nightly cleansing and moisturizing routine, a bit of Xbox, watching Walking Dead, rummaging through 2 giant toy boxes searching for my keys, a full petsit, and countless handwashings, they still looked exactly as they did when I first applied them. In fact, removing these made me a sad panda, and I'm currently sitting on KKCenterHK.com looking at more. :)
I am so impressed with these (and now that I have found a great way to apply them, even more impressed!) that I am going to order a few packages. I wasn't kidding when I said I was on the site ready to order! KKCenterHK has literally hundreds of designs in these full nail Water Decals - all of which are seriously cool. The dragon decals are item number ANE-1007, and retail for $8.00 USD. You can find this particular design here, or by visiting KKCenterHK Online Store.
Don't forget! You can save 10% off your order by using code KIMBERSKORNER at checkout! KKCenterHK ships worldwide, and has impressively fast shipping! Act fast, since this code is only valid until 1/31/13!
What do you think of these decals? Would you prefer a Full Nail Decal or Polish Appliques? (I vote for decals!)
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Decaling! (haha!)
-Kimber
**Items featured were provided by KKCenterHK for honest review. For more information please see Disclaimer/Legal Page**
