Born Pretty Store Nail Art Practice Tool Review

Born Pretty Store actually calls these a "practice tool", or, technically, Nail Art Polish Display Tips Stand Practice Tool, but I prefer the term "swatch sticks" as that is all I have ever heard them referred to as before. I was contacted about reviewing a product from their shop, and I chose this 40 pcs practice tool because I felt it would be most beneficial to and is something affordable my readers could purchase, it is something easy to use for many different things, and something that I would be able to test and extensively review with great detail.

So, to start off, the 40 pcs Nail Art Polish Display Tips Stand Practice Tool arrived enclosed in a plastic bag and wrapped in a foam paper-like material to keep anything from breaking; it is always appreciated when a seller takes the steps to ship something safely. It avoids problems for both of us in the long run, rather it be me having to complain about a broken item or them having to replace it to shut me up. ^.^

I debated going with a nail wheel, but I really like how this can be disassembled and the swatch sticks can be rearranged, whereas with a nail wheel, they cannot. I'd like to eventually have enough swatch sticks that I could swatch every color in my collection and have them bundled by brand, and arranged either by collection, or alphabetically within each brand.

The sticks are individual and fit on a long screw with a nut at the end to keep them on. The only problem I foresee is the nut possibly coming off, but I haven't had that issue. It is a little annoying to have to take them all off if I swatch a new polish with a name that starts with 'A' or 'B' because I have them arranged on there now alphabetically, but I still prefer this to a nail wheel because I do have the ability to arrange them however I want.

I also love that you have so many options with these. I do wish the stick was white instead of clear, though, just for visibility purposes because I wrote the names of the polishes on the stick/handle with a black permanent marker and it could be a little difficult to see sometimes. It wasn't too big of a deal, though. They were long enough I could fit everything I needed to on there, including how many coats I used at the end of the name, so I really like that feature.

These are great to do comparisons on, as I have with Wet'n'Wild Rest in Pieces and Wet'n'Wild Night Prowl. You can put them right next to each other to see how they measure up.

Since the nails are clear, these also make for a great way to see different layering combinations. For instance, the two below are painted with Lush Lacquer Mr. Bubble and China Glaze Peachy Keen. The glitter nail can be placed on top of any other nail so you can get an idea of what that combination looks like, as opposed to painting the combination on your nail and hating it, guessing at what it would look like, or wasting scrap paper (or whatever you use to preview polish combos on).

I also like being able to use these to practice combos on directly (below shows Kleancolor Neon Purple topped with Lush Lacquer Lite Brite) and to practice water marbling. I would much rather dunk one of these nails into a water marble and end up not liking it, rather than having the polish all over my finger and having to remove it and start all over if I don't like it. When it comes to water marbling, these can be used to just practice different designs without having to use your real nails, or to test different color combos on. Personally, I have not even come close to perfecting water marbling, so I love having these to use. I can just keep dunking false nail after false nail and not have to worry about it if I can't get it right or end up with something I don't like.

While they have their pros, these practice nails do have their cons, too. I noticed when I swatched some creme polishes that are one, two, and even three-coaters, that even though the nail feels and looks completely smooth, there is a slight texture left once the polish dries. I couldn't quite get a good picture of it, but it takes away from the shine a little bit and leaves it more rough then it would be on your natural nails. This really isn't a problem for me, though, because there's always topcoat to fix any roughness or lost shine that a polish may have when it dries. I just didn't want to waste my topcoat on the practice nails.

In the past, I used to swatch my polish and use practice nails in a way similar to this; however, this form is much more efficient and useful. Before, I would glue plastic nails to pencils and write the name of the polish on the pencil. The nails would frequently pop off, though, I didn't have a great way of organizing them, and there wasn't really enough room to write the full names and everything I wanted to on the pencils. I definitely like the Born Pretty Store practice nails for doing swatches much better!

So, if you think this would be a perfect way for you to swatch polishes or practice designs, you can pick these up for $7.82 USD. I was also given a code for you guys to use in their store. If you use the code ANL91, you will receive 10% off your order. As well as polishes and tons of other nail art supplies, they do have other kinds of practice nails, too, if these aren't your thing! So stop by and find something that suits your fancy! And, of course, thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day! :)

This product was sent to me for review. I did not receive any type of compensation, and all opinions and both entirely truthful and completely my own.