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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.

I grew up always painting my nails. My cabinet was full of nail polish, cotton balls, and acetone. I would explore all the new trends like water marbling or mix up my own colors if my options didn’t speak to me. As I grew older, however, painting my nails began to feel more like a chore and I only painted them during really special occasions.

Something I’ve never tried but have always been interested in trying has been press-on nails. My roommate is obsessed with them and it’s always fun seeing the new designs on her nails every few weeks. When I had the opportunity to try a design from Rave Nailz, I was excited to test how much I would like press-on nails and if these could be a part of my new beauty routine. 

I got to try the Rave Nailz’ ‘Palmy’ design, which were medium-length and half-clear. The nails were really good quality and I enjoyed the instructions since I had no idea what I was doing at first. My only complaint was that my kit didn’t come with nail glue, even though it was supposed to. This didn’t pose a problem, though, since my roommate had plenty for me to use. 

There were many things I noticed while wearing these nails. The most prominent thing was that I wasn’t able to use my fingers nearly as much as I thought I could. It took me forever to type something and found myself using the speech-to-text feature on my phone. I had to develop a new way of typing on my computer, especially since I had a long paper due that week, and I also found myself using scissors to open up any and every type of packaging. By the end of the first day, I spent some time trimming the nails shorter, so I could text and type a little faster. 

Something else I noticed was that I’m not a graceful person at all. I’m always hitting random things, bruising my legs in mysterious ways and having bad spatial distance with my arms. By the end of the first day, I had knocked off four of the ten nails and had to reapply them that night. I don’t think this was due to any fault by Rave Nailz, but rather my clumsiness and not putting on enough nail glue at first.

Despite these couple struggles, I had never gotten so many compliments on my nails before in my life. Whether I was in class or talking with my friends, someone would notice them and say how much they liked them. It gave me new confidence in my nails since it was a body part that was typically never accentuated, but it was fun to see how noticeable they were now.

While having these nails on was a lot of fun and a new experience, the life of them, unfortunately, ended short due to an activity that would simply not allow press-on nails: rock climbing. Climbing was something I did 2-3 times a week, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sustain the press-on nail lifestyle for very long if I was climbing. I had to make a sacrifice, so the nails came off.

Even though I wouldn’t say press-on nails fit my current lifestyle, I still really enjoyed having them on and being seen for something new. I definitely want to try them again when I have a less hand-active hobby, or maybe I can experiment with shorter press-on nails, too. Either way, I’ll be returning to press-on nails soon.


If you want to check out Rave Nailz, they’re releasing their new Evil Eye Collection starting Nov. 14. The collection offers four unique styles, blending galactic designs with deep blues, shimmery finishes, and sleek simplicity to complement any outfit. Save the date!

Anna Bedell

CU Boulder '25

Anna Bedell is a contributing writer at the Her Campus, CU Boulder chapter. She writes content mainly on entertainment and culture, along with personal essays and experiences. A senior at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Anna is majoring in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and a minor in journalism. She’s recently studied abroad at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy the last fall semester. An involved student in the business school, Anna writes for the school’s marketing department, is a representative for the Leeds Student Government, and works as a Leeds Student Ambassador. Outside of school, you’ll find Anna rock climbing, watching movies, writing, or traveling around. She’s sure to constantly update her Spotify profile and will never miss an opportunity to talk about her cat, Biscuit.