8 best false nail sets: From classic nude manis to intricate art

Best: Overall

Rating: 9/10

Part of Elegant Touch’s luxe look range, a pack of the brand’s Daydreamin’ falsies offer 24 nails in a variety of sizes, with 2g of nail glue included. The quality lives up to the luxe name – these chic nails feel robust but crucially, not too plastic.

We loved the natural way the nails fit, and the vast range of sizes to suit each finger. A mid to long length style, these feel like a comfortable extension of your own nail, rather than having that rigid, stuck-on feel. The fresh ombre design is both fashion-forward, yet subtle enough for everyday wear. The glue stood up to our robust testing, with the nails looking perfect for an impressive five days. That said, the small glue included was easy to pop in our bag, just in case.

Want to look like you’ve just stepped out of the beauty salon, with minimal effort? These are the nails for you. At just over five pounds, this is bargain beauty at its best.

Best: Nude set

Rating: 8/10

Fond of a classic nude nail? You’ll love this elegant-looking set by Suzanne Jackson. Coming in the perfect nude hue, these strong and sturdy press-ons have a gorgeous shine, yet look natural enough that it’d never be known they weren’t your own.

The natural shape of the nudist set is easily matched to the wearers nail, with ten sizes to choose from in a pack of 24. At under £10, you can get multiple wears out of one pack, with a pair staying put for five days.

The stiletto style is on the longer side, but didn’t deter us from completing any must-do day-to-day tasks. Not only that, the set comes with a handy nail file, as well as 2g of glue.

If you love a simple but polished mani style that goes with everything, but don’t want to fork out for infills at the salon, these are the ideal solution.

Best: For long nails

Rating: 8/10

Technic offer a wide range of colours and designs, but our favourite are their false nails with nail art, offering hard to master styles quite literally at your fingertips. The tortoiseshell trend is a classic – always chic and outlasting seasonal fads.

The 24 nails come in a long, natural almond shape with 1.5g of glue included. Technic’s sets offer the option to “try on” in the packet, placing your fingertip under one of the faux nails – helpful if you’re trying to choose which style will best suit your outfit.

These were super-speedy to apply, meaning we were good to go in under five minutes, and could wear with confidence thanks to hard-wearing nail glue that lasted five days with no ping-offs. Despite this style having a slightly opaque finish, they were not at all false-looking – this hit the ideal falsie sweet spot, providing expert-looking nail art with ease, while still looking ultra-realistic.

Best: For nail art

Rating: 7/10

If you don’t have the steady hand needed for nail art, Shrine’s styles offer a high level of detail at an affordable price. This pack of 20 nails comes paired with 2g of strong glue, offering an easy way to work an eye-catching nail look that’s begging to be Instagrammed.

The high gloss finish to the “eyes on you” design felt luxe, and the length was perfect for long-nail lovers. These did feel marginally thinner in width than other faux styles, so didn’t fit our tester’s slightly wide nail bed as perfectly, but this wasn’t noticeable to the naked eye. The five individual designs for each finger more than made up for this, in our opinion. We wore them for five days straight with no problems encountered, only compliments.

Best: Short set

Rating: 7.5/10

Do you prefer a shorter style of nail? Then this sophisticated set in rich red is the one for you. Boots’ own brand of falsies are made with a flexible fit, so you can rest assured they’ll suit your nail size to a tee. There was plenty of choice in 24 short, square styles, and whilst there was no cuticle pusher or file included, there was 2g of nail glue which caused no damage to our natural nail when removed.

Boots say this style can last up to 7 days, and though we found five was the limit it was much easier to type in these, in comparison to the longer styles we tried. Once again the oxblood’s have the option to “try on” a nail by placing your own under the packet, which is so helpful if you’re debating between sets in a shop.

Best: Range of styles

Rating: 7/10

If you enjoy amping up the nail ante with a new style weekly, Claire’s has choice galore (we counted 208 styles on their website alone). With that huge range to choose from, we bet you everyone will find something they love.

We opted for a mood-boosting lilac style, and with a choice of 24 nails we could easily find a good match for each fingertip. The square tip made a fun change without having to alter the shape of our real nail underneath. But there was a cuticle pusher which is a handy addition to this pack. At just £4, this was a great way to trial a more experimental style, which lasted solidly for four days.

Despite offering a vast array of styles, our only critique would be that some designs appear see-through, so look slightly falser than others we tried.

Best: For easy application

Rating: 7/10

For those of you who would usually avoid false nails due to the glue needed to keep them in place, this set could be a game-changer. Kiss impress has developed a new generation manicure, meaning these freshly-updated, next-level nails require no glue. Instead these use the brand’s purefit technology which ensures a slimmer and more comfortable false nail that looks and feels just like your own.

Inside the packet there’s an impressive 30 nails to choose from, as well as a file and wooden cuticle stick. This was the only style we tried to come with a prep stage – a small alcohol wipe to clean the nails before application – and as we say there was no glue needed. Rather a small super-hold adhesive pad can be applied easily to each nail, which also helps with hassle-free removal.

We tried a short, square style that looked extremely realistic, as if we’d just stepped out of the salon. The matte finish looked and felt expensive, with the combination of navy and glitter wonderfully seasonless, looking stylish year-round. And while these weren’t as long lasting as long as others, they still felt sturdy for four whole days of busy activity.

Best: Value for money

Rating: 6/10

You can’t go wrong with this set of suit-all shades in tonal beiges and browns. Versatile enough to pair with any make up look – the opposing textures of matte and gloss make these nails look way beyond their £2 price point.

While the 2g of nail glue included didn’t feel as strong as some others (we had to reapply the thumb as it didn’t stick initially) these ultimately still lasted four days. The 24 nails provided great value for money and complimented a variety of outfits. For lovers of subtle nails who want to venture beyond a full set of nudes, these offer the ideal step-up.