Aquabeads Nail Studio Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Helen O
Being seasoned users of Aquabeads, we’re always delighted to try a new twist on the range, so were really pleased to be offered the opportunity to test and review the Aquabeads Nail Studio. It’s always great to have an indoor activity to occupy the kids at the weekend, especially with all the rain we’ve had lately.
The Aquabeads Nail Studio (product number 35051) arrived after a short wait and was packaged in a cardboard box, which was recyclable. Inside the box, we found a smaller box which was attractively designed and very appealing for children- adorned with unicorns, nail designs and pastel shades.
Upon opening the item, we found the following:
40 Aquabeads Nails in 8 different colours
1 mini plastic work table
1 pair of plastic tweezers
1 water applicator with brush
1 sticker sheet
1 instruction manual
1 design sheet
All of the individual elements were individually wrapped in plastic bags, which although is likely the most cost-effective way of doing things, doesn’t necessarily seem the most eco-friendly way of packaging children’s toys. Fortunately our local supermarket has the facility to recycle single use plastics, but it would be great to see companies step away from over-use of plastic packaging.
The instruction sheet is pictoral, so it’s pretty basic and relatively easy to follow for all ages. There are videos available on line, to support the understanding of how to use the kit.
The Aquabeads nails were attached to 8 different coloured plastic swatches in various shades (purple, yellow, blue, green and pink) – each with 7 different sized nails, allowing the nail to be matched to the child’s fingernail size. My daughter is a relatively petite four year old, but thanks to the wide size range provided, we were able to find nails that fit her. What I didn’t quite understand was that there was only 7 of each colour, so you had to have different colours on each hand or to mix up the design. This is probably less of an issue for children than it is for adults who prefer things a bit more matchy‑matchy (or is that just me!)
To decorate the nails, the swatch simply needs to be slotted into the mini plastic work table, where the nails sit on top of the pre-moulded raised nail shapes. Each swatch contains a selection of different nail beads in various shapes like bows, flowers butterflies etc., which can be detached by twisting them off of the plastic, which took a little practice at first – these can then be placed in the tray on the work table and picked up with tweezers when you’re ready to apply them.
The stickers peel from the sheet easily and can be applied to the nails, whereas the beads need water to adhere them. This is where the little water applicator comes in. Cleverly designed to resemble a star-shaped nail varnish bottle, you literally have to fill it with water, then brush it onto the nail, as you would with applying nail varnish. The beads can then be applied with the tweezers and they just need to be left for 3 minutes to dry.
Although the kit comes with a design sheet, which contains some suggested designs, the beauty of this kit is that you can also free-style with the design accessories provided, creating your own unique designs. The designs are really cute, especially for young children who, like my daughter, really love unicorns and rainbows.
The nails are applied by brushing the child’s nail with water and then sticking the decorated Aquabead nail on top. This seemed to work reasonably well. My daughter hadn’t worn false nails before, so it was a weird sensation for her to begin with and therefore she didn’t want to wear them for long, so I can’t comment on durability or expected length of wear at this time.
I loved that this activity is mess free, can be done indoors, and can be completed independently by older children or enjoyed together with any younger ones. It’s also an activity with a clear start and finish in a short amount of time, ending with a wearable product, which I think is ideal for little ones who can be impatient and don’t enjoy long waits.
The Aquabeads Nail Studio has an RRP of £14.99, which I think is great value for this activity pack. I would happy to pay this price for the pack. I would recommend this item to anyone looking for a gift for a child in their life or even as an alternative to giving chocolate this Easter. Aquabeads are a great family-friendly activity and there are so many different sets available. The full range can be viewed here: https://www.aquabeadsart.com/en-uk/products/
The product is aimed at ages 4+, which feels appropriate — children of this age can generally complete most of the activity themselves with light supervision, rather than their adult doing it all for them, but it’s also a fun activity to do together.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £14.99
Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aquabeads-Unicorn-Designer-Crafts-Activity/dp/B0F4M9XYBW