For basically a first attempt, this didn't turn out so badly. I used Gold Crush foil from dollarnailart.com for this manicure. I put a coat of China Glaze Passion on first, then applied an even coat of the foil adhesive over it and let it dry. Then taking small nail-sized pieces of the foil, I applied the film to the nails. Some still had bald spots, and this is where the base coat of similarly-colored polish comes in handy, but I took a part of the foil that still had some film on it and applied it to the bald spots and the adhesive picked it up for a better finish. Then I used a coat of Orly Glosser over it. Using a fast dry topcoat will make it wrinkle up (which in some cases is kind of cute) so a simple slow-drying topcoat is perfect. It will still shrink and wrinkle just a bit, but as it dries it will relax back out.

The gold isn't the most flattering shade on me, but the flimsy nature of this foil seemed like it would be the easiest to start with. It definitely was easier than some of the other foils I tested out before this manicure.

I wanted to try this as an alternative to Minx manicures since I don't really know of a salon very close that does it. I'm sure it doesn't compare, Minx supposedly has a completely smooth finish and lasts a lot longer than foils. These foils don't last as long as a traditional manicure, but you get 5 feet of foil from dollarnailart for, well, $1. Not bad. Plus if you have patience, you really can make it look nice. Either way it's a far cry from traditional nail enamel manicures.

So what do you think of foils? Have you tried them before? Are you interested in trying them?