Edicures are conceived and designed by Ilana Mitchell, professional artist and director of the production company Wunderbar. Wunderbar are known for making art events but, in keeping with their strapline “playfully disruptive, seriously curious”, they are branching out with this new venture.

Edicures are handmade by Ilana and a team of artisan craftspeople in a health and hygiene certified commercial kitchen in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Before we started making Edicure to sell in boxes, we ran stalls at festivals and they were super popular with children and teens. So the simple answer is yes. But, like any small objects that can cause choking, they are not recommended for children 3 years old or under.

They are also made almost entirely of sugar. A total manicure - i.e. 10 decorated nails - is probably about the same as two boiled sweets. So if you are mindful of sugar intake, this is something to consider.

Please be aware that the colours used to decorate the nails are not natural ones, and some of them may have adverse effects on activity and attention in children. We’d love to use natural colours, and are experimenting with them - but so far have had less than great results. We’ll keep trying though.

The best thing though is that Edicures don’t have to be eaten - they will dissolve completely in water. So if you don’t want to eat them all, they are super easy to dispose of. Truly biodegradable.

Each set of Edicures comes in a range of sizes. They are based on adult sized nails, so might be a bit too big for your child’s hands. But in our experience, children don’t mind their sweet treats being bigger.

Definitely!

Edicures are to false nails as candy necklaces are to real jewels - though made with a bit more love. They are a handmade novelty item and are essentially very beautiful sweets. They’re not designed to have the staying power of traditional acrylics, gels or shellac.

That’s not to say that they can’t look like an alternative - we’re hoping by spreading the love and the pics of Edicures being worn, people will think they look that good.

And who wouldn’t prefer eating a sugary treat rather than soaking their fingers in a harsh acetone bath?

The best before date for eating is on the box. They will last quite a while in their box or on display.

The nails are made from the kind of icing that wedding cake flowers are made from, and that can last for years, even if you wouldn’t want to eat it after all that time. The colour may fade or run a bit. Keeping them in a dry place is best - dampness may cause problems - remember, they will dissolve in water.

The glue is also a bit like a boiled sweet, and should last if kept wrapped and dry.

Once they are on your fingers, how long they last is pretty much up to you. You can eat them straight away, or admire them for as long as you like.

The glue will soften with body heat, so if you are warm they may slip around a bit. But it also makes them easy to slip on and off, so if you want to keep them for a bit longer than just one use, or take a break - say to do something that would be impractical to be wearing them for - they should slip off, glue attached. Keep them somewhere clean, and then when you want to reattach, just warm up the glue - you could even lick it - and stick them back on.

Each set of Edicures includes a range of sizes that should work for most people. They are modelled on standard false nail sizes. However because Edicures are hard sugar, rather than flexible plastic, they may not be a perfect fit for every individual nail - but within each pack we hope there are enough that are a reasonable fit for most people.

It's easy! See How to Edicure page for full instructions. There is also a printed set of instructions in each box.

The glue will soften with body heat, making it easy to slide the Edicures off your nails. Any glue residue can either be licked off, or it will wash off with just water - warm water will work quicker than cold, but you won't even need soap.

In order to keep Edicures vegan, we haven’t coated them. Shellac, which we could have used, is an excretion made and collected from beetles. We are experimenting with a vegan coating - if we get it working we will use it.

Because Edicures are uncoated, it is possible that some of the colour may transfer to your fingers when you handle the outside of the nails to attach them, especially if your hands are hot or slightly damp. If you’d like to avoid any colour transfer, use a piece of dry tissue or greaseproof paper to hold the nails.

Edicures are currently only available to buy through this website. Choose your pack and quantity in the shop and we’ll get them in the post to you.

Absolutely. Everyone involved with Edicure is paid fairly (above Real Living Wage) and we’ve put a lot of thought into sourcing the ingredients to have minimal impact on the environment. Edicure packaging is fully biodegradable, recyclable and plastic free. We’ve used recycled packaging where possible. Edicure is also a small-scale operation, we haven't made thousands of units that could be wasted.

Edicure's parent company, Wunderbar, has a very comprehensive ethical and environmental policy, because we recognise that how we do things is as important as what we do.

We send Edicures via the Royal Mail postal system, and they should fit through your letterbox. All packaging across the process is biodegradable and/or recyclable and made from recycled stock wherever possible.

From when you place your order, please allow 5-8 working days for your parcel to arrive.

We always get a proof of postage, but otherwise put our trust in the mail system - fingers crossed they won’t let us down.

We don’t accept returns except in the event that the whole set arrives broken. If that is the case, please get in touch and we will issue a refund or send you a new set.

We currently only post Edicures within the UK. If you are looking to buy them from further afield, please get in touch.

You should receive your Edicure set in 5-10 working days by free delivery option. Paid for options should arrive more quickly.

The most likely scenario is that your full set of Edicures will arrive intact. However, we are mindful that they are delicate and occasional breakages may occur. That’s why every box comes with many more nail tips than the 10 you need to make one full set. The rest are a bonus to enjoy or share with a friend or family member.

In the unlikely event the whole set is destroyed, do let us know. We’ll be happy to refund or send you a new set.

You will automatically receive an email which is your receipt. This should arrive pretty quickly. Occasionally, the emails can take a bit longer to come through. If you don’t receive an email from Edicure within about 90 minutes of your online purchase (and have checked standard things such as your Junk mail folder and internet connection), please let us know. NB If you choose to use Paypal you may get a separate notification from them.

We collect only the details necessary to send you Edicure. You can also choose to sign up for emails to hear latest Edicure news, and from our parent company, Wunderbar, but this is your choice, and will never use your data for any other purpose than that for which you have agreed.

You can set up an account on the website - this will allow you to quickly order subsequent Edicure editions, and take advantage of any rewards for buying multiple editions.

We don’t store any card details - we use Stripe and Paypal which are entirely separate from us but both meet the stringent Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.

Our full GDPR compliant Data Protection Policy is here.