The COVID-19 pandemic has had us do many interesting at-home things from stirring a thousand times to make dalgona coffee to binge watching K-dramas on Netflix nonstop.

Another homebody hobby that I picked up in the past year or so is DIY nails. Thanks to the DIY nail sticker trend in Korea, we don't have to be artists to create amazing nail designs at home.

What started as simple stickers now offers gel nail stickers that can be cured with an LED gel lamp and even a nail sticker printer!

Below you'll find my DIY gel nail sticker recommendations as well as a review of using one of them myself.

DIY Gel Nail Sticker Recommendations

Ohora

Price Range: 12,000 won and up

Ohora is the brand that has showed up on every local's social media feed at least once. Thanks to their vigorous marketing, many seem to think of Ohora first when it comes to gel nail stickers.

They have lots of mani and pedi designs for you to choose from and new designs are getting released constantly!

Dashing Diva

Price Range: 12,000 won and up

Recently, Jennie became the new muse for Dashing Diva. Given my love for BLACKPINK, this brand will definitely be the next gel nail sticker brand I'm going to try!

They have two lines of products: Magic Press and Glaze.

Magic Press is a simple stick-on nail kit that doesn't require an LED lamp. For a longer-lasting, shinier gel finishes, go with Glaze!

Gelato Factory

Price Range: 9,900 won and up

Gelato Factory was the very first brand that got me into DIY nails when Taeyeon was their muse.

As the other Korean brands are emerging into the market, the brand awareness may not be where it was before, but they still offer great design choices!

Gelato Factory has three lines of products: Hatto Hatto Fit PRO, Hatto Hatto Fit BASIC and Ddibu Ddibu Tip Nail.

Hatto Hatto Fit PRO is the gel nail stickers, Hatto Hatto Fit BASIC regular nail stickers and Ddibu Ddibu Tip Nail press-on nails.

Long Long Gel Top is gel top coat that can be used on all of their products for longevity.

EDGEU

Price Range: 12,000 won and up

EDGEU is a brand I came across when searching for gel nail stickers recently. Their social media page started in December 2020, so it is quite possibly the youngest player in the DIY gel nail sticker game.

The prices and how-tos look similar to all the brands mentioned above. They don't have a wide selection of designs available just yet, but I'm excited to see the catalogue grow and try their designs in the future!

NAILPOP

Price Range: 179,900 won

Okay, what's with the crazy price jump, right? NAILPOP's product is a bit different from the ones introduced above.

The kit comes with a nail sticker printer. You can design your one-of-a-kind nails on the app and have the printer print it out on the spot!

The initial kit comes with 10 sheets and the stickers are FDA approved.

Many celebrities including actress Lee Si-young from Netflix drama Sweet Home and Yura from Girl's Day endorsed and demonstrated using this unique product!

The stickers are not gel, but the top gel at the end has to be cured and helps make the stickers last longer.

Our Review Of DIY Gel Nail Stickers & How-To

With spring just around the corner, I wanted to put on colours that resemble the season of blooming flowers, so I went with Freesia Nails which is pastel yellow and white with touches of gold.

I decided to try out new spring 2021 colours from Ohora because I had already used their products a couple of times and application is really easy!

Applying the stickers only sometimes causes lifts between the sticker and your nail, causing small things like hair to get stuck in between.

So from studying online reviews, I've decided to also try their top gel which many reviews claim helps with making the stickers stay longer.

You'll find another box when you open the package. I assume it's black in colour to prevent any light from getting on the stickers and curing them.

If you do accidentally cure the gel nail stickers by exposing them to light, you can easily soften them again by applying heat with a hairdryer.

Inside the box you'll find 30 gel nail stickers, prep pads, a nail file and a wooden stick.

30 gel nail stickers! You can definitely use them at least twice!

First, you want to get rid of any oily substances on your nails with the prep pad.

Simply apply the prep pad on all of your nails and wait around 30 seconds for them to dry.

Next, find stickers that fit your nails. Apply the sticker on the nail carefully and press it down firmly with the wooden stick or with your other hand.

File away the excess sticker that hangs off your nail. I've seen some people like to also use a nail clipper to cut the excess sticker off first so find out which way works best for you!

Now, get your LED gel lamp going and cure for about a minute or two.

Finish it off with the top gel and cure it for another minute.

Let's take a look at the end result!

I was pretty happy with how they turned out and the whole process took less than 30 minutes.

It is by far the best stay-at-home hobby I've newly discovered!

This is what my nails looked like after a week.

Based on my previous experiences, the stickers would gradually become loose after a week or so, but I think the top gel really helps keep them intact!

What did you guys think of the DIY gel nail stickers in Korea?

Would you be willing to try any of the products mentioned above at home? Let us know in the comments below!