*Press Sample*
Hey There Polished People!
Recently I got the chance to try out Nail Mates, a product that promises “Quick and easy removal of nail treatments and polishes.” Since I use a lot of glitter polishes, and recently picked up a few REALLY gorgeous large dot (circle glitter) indie glitter polishes, I thought this could potentially be a really great product. We all know about the foil method to remove polish, right? You put your saturated cotton balls on your nails, then wrap them up with foil, let them sit, sometimes dripping acetone and wait for a while looking like Edward Scissor-Hands after he got his hands stuck in the garbage disposal. When you remove the foil and cotton balls, the glitter comes off easy peazy. I love that method, however there are a few problems- 1. Dripping acetone is not only bad for your skin, but also bad for your table’s finish. Just ask my family. I’m known as the table killer. 2. I tend to wrap too much of my finger to get it to stay on well and the acetone makes my skin burn after a little while. And 3. Foil doesn’t stay all that snug on my fingers no matter what I do, so I still have to be careful.
Nail Mates promises no dripping because of their special pad, promises to stay on so you can actually go about a little business while you’re soaking your polish off, and claims to work better than foil because it allows less evaporation with the rubber caps. The caps and pads were specially designed for removing gel polish, which I would like to try in the future, but for now I just tried it with a big chunky indie glitter (Candy Lacquer Unicorn Bubbles) and a semi chunky China Glaze glitter (Your Present Required).
Nail Mates
My Nails “Soaking”
How Did They Work?
I was really pleased with these! Upon my first use with the indie glitter, after I removed the pad and cap the polish was gone but the glitter stayed. I tried rubbing it off with the pad, but the pad was too soft and the glitter just tore it up.
The next time I tried soaking my nails a bit longer (5 minutes? I’m not really sure, you’ll have to play around with it depending on your polish) and then instead of fighting with the soft pad, I just grabbed a cotton ball and used that to slide the glitter off of my nail and it worked like a charm. With the China Glaze glitter, the pad mostly held up, only getting damaged a little. The pad is definitely the perfect material to hold a good amount of acetone without letting it drip. Honestly I never had one single drip of acetone. Also, using the little caps instead of foil was SO MUCH EASIER. No awkwardly wrapping my fingers up with my foil-wrapped opposite hand. You just put the acetone on the rounded end of the pad, slide it into the cap and then slide the cap onto your finger. It’s a cinch! And the best part- no more burning of acetone on my skin as the pad really does just keep the acetone on your nail. Overall I was just really impressed with these. My husband was laughing at me with my little pink caps on, but c’mon… Like foil looks so stylish! 😉 Also, just as important as how well I liked the product, when I contacted the company about the pads not standing up to the extra large glitter, the company rep was super polite, helpful and respectful. She explained some r&d they did to find the just-right foam for the caps and said that originally the caps/pads were for gel and shellac but then they tested them on some glitter and they worked well without damaging the pads. Finer glitter would definitely not be a problem, but the bigger glitter just doesn’t come off without a little tugging and the pads are just too soft for that. Good thing it’s easily remedied by using one cotton ball on all 10 nails. 🙂
Yes, Please! Or No, Thank You
I wasn’t totally convinced that I would like these when I first saw them, but after using them I say “Yes, Please!” and can hardly wait to try my first gel polish and use these for removal. The pad works exactly as it claims- holds plenty of acetone to “soak” the nail, and never drips. The caps are much easier to deal with than strips of foil, and they’re smaller and more sleek than foil so you can more easily use your hands while soaking off your polish.
You can find Nail Mates on their website here for $15 for a total of 40 pads and 10 caps with free shipping. They also sell replacement pads, but the pads are reusable so you won’t need new pads for a long time. $15 is a little expensive when the alternative (foil) is dirt cheap, but they are REALLY nice to have. And actually considering that you get 40 reusable pads (which I think a conservative estimate would be that they last 3-4 manicures each) and the caps are reusable forever (they’re a nice, thick material) that’s a LOT of manicures! I gathered a little info and other glitter/gel removal pad/pocket type products that I’ve heard described as “finger condoms” by several people (gotta stay safe when getting some a[ss]cetone! Did I really just say that?), sell for between 7-11 bucks depending on where you look (Sally, Amazon, etc) and those products are in packs of 20, so the price being $15 is probably quite a bargain compared to those other products that I guarantee don’t last as long as these. Anyway, I like em. I have already stuck them in my little nail implement makeup bag, and tossed my 100-year-old wrinkly as “tan mom” in 30 years (remember her- lookin like a sun-dried turd on Dateline? Ew.) foil pieces in favor of these. I’m not going back!! 🙂
Do you have the same problems as I do with foil? Are you looking for an easier alternative? Let me know what you think of this new nail product in the comments below. And a big thanks to Chris from Nail Savers and Nail Mates for sending me the product to try, and also for fielding my multiple emails and handful of questions, suggestions, etc. Thank you all for reading and commenting and till next time- Happy Polishing!!
This post was edited on 4-16-14 to include more pricing info and to change the pronouns to reflect that Chris from NailMates is a lady Chris, not a man Chris, cuz clearly I’m a sexist 😉
Polish Me, Please! 
I just found your blog yesterday, and I’m so glad I did!
Not only did I get a great tip on a very cool product, I also got pointed toward some awesome indie glitters at Candy Lacquer. thanks so much!
I can’t wait until I have time to go through your archives and look forward to reading your future posts.
I’m glad you found me too! Thanks so much. In a couple of weeks I’ll be sharing the Candy Lacquer that I used for this test today. It’s sooo pretty! I look forward to “seeing you around” more 🙂
Wow! It looks like an awesome way to clean our nails, especially for gels!
Yes it’s supposed to be ESPECIALLY helpful for gels, which I will try eventually, I just currently don’t use gel polish so I couldn’t try it yet. With the consistency of the pads though, I bet it will work really well.
Huh! At first I thought these would be gimmicky, but they make sense. I have the same problem with foil in that I end up dripping everywhere and then kind of panicking that it’s dripping down my arm or off my fingers. I also have the problem with the foil not being very snug (then I squeeze it to try and get it tighter and it drips more). I also do one hand at a time because I end up loosening all the foils on the opposite hand when I try to wrap the other and it’s just not worth the struggle for five extra minutes, haha. I probably won’t race to buy these, but it’s good to know they’re around and worth a shot at some point.
That was my first thought as well, and those are my exact issues with foil as well. The guy said he would send me another kit if I do a giveaway in the future so maybe you’ll win em. I’m going to start collecting some stuff for a giveaway I think. 🙂
This is a pretty nifty product!
Yeah I’m glad I have them! They’re pretty cool!
It’s an interesting product but not one I would spend $15 on. I bought something similar for like $2 except it didn’t need the little pads and you could use regular cotton instead. I think I used them once. I find them to be a hassle, and I’d rather just use the regular foil method if needed.
I really like these, but I do feel like 15 is a bit pricy. I suppose if I was a nail tech and just sanitized and reused them all the time they’d be worth the price, but probably for the hobbyist they’re about 5 bucks too much.
Hmmmmm I dunno. I like to stick with my foil method even though it can be a little messy, but I will put up with a small mess rather than spend $15 on these. This is a good option to have, but I’m set in my foiled ways.
I think if the price point was a little lower it would be more of a must-have. I suppose with their special foam and all they can’t make that happen but 15 dollars is a lot to spend (even though it’s just once) when you can so it for basically free.
I have given up on the foil. I just use a glass jar stuffed with sponges and filled with acetone. Works like a dream on glitter polishes!
Not a bad idea! They sell those jars with the sponges in them, I just never really thought they would work to get off glitter polish. Glad to hear the homemade version works well for you!
Pingback: NAILMATES Review |
Pingback: NailMates Promises no Dripping Because of Their Special Pads - NailMates Inc.NailMates Inc.
Pingback: Maesbeauty.com NAILMATES Review - NailMates Inc.NailMates Inc.
Pingback: POLISH ME, PLEASE! NailMates Review - NailMates Inc.NailMates Inc.