The Cowbridge company's gold nail stickers check a drink for GHB, Rohypnol and ketamine with a dip of a fingertip, as it also brings the UK its first IVDR-certified rapid chlamydia and gonorrhoea self-tests.
U-Test Diagnostics, a home health testing company based near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, has launched Sip Tips: drink test nail stickers that let people check a drink for three common spiking drugs without anyone noticing. The launch is timed for the Christmas party season, when office parties, nights out and house parties mean more drinks bought, shared and left on tables.
The company has also become the first in the UK to sell rapid chlamydia and gonorrhoea self-tests certified under the EU In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR), giving a result at home in 10 minutes.
How Sip Tips work
Sip Tips look like ordinary nail art. Each pack holds 15 gold stickers in three designs, and each design checks for a different drug:
- Hearts check for GHB
- Stars check for Rohypnol (flunitrazepam)
- Bees check for ketamine
The wearer dips a nail tip into their drink and checks the sticker. A green colour change is an alert: stop drinking that drink and tell a friend or bar staff straight away. Because the stickers are worn as nail art, checking a drink is quick and discreet, with no testing kit to pull out at the bar.
"Every parent worries about this, and so does anyone heading out with friends," a U-Test spokesperson said. "We wanted something people would actually wear on a night out, not leave in a drawer. Sip Tips give people a quick, discreet way to check their drink, and a reason to talk about looking out for each other."
U-Test describes Sip Tips as an extra check alongside the usual precautions: keep an eye on your drink, stay with your friends, and get help straight away if you or a friend suddenly feel very drunk, confused or unwell, calling 999 in an emergency.
Why it matters
Drink spiking is far more common than many people think. Drinkaware's 2025 research estimates that nearly one million UK adults believe they were spiked in the past year, and around three in four of them did not report it to the police. Police in England and Wales received 6,732 spiking reports in the year to April 2023, according to the Home Office.
U-Test has published a free guide bringing together the latest UK drink spiking statistics, with every figure linked to its source.
Sip Tips drink test nail stickers cost £19.99 for a pack of 15 and are available to pre-order now, with delivery before 10 December, in time for Christmas parties. U-Test also sells SipSafe drink spiking test stickers, and both are in its drink spiking tests range.
The UK's first IVDR-certified rapid STI self-tests
Alongside Sip Tips, U-Test has launched two rapid self-tests: a rapid chlamydia self test and a rapid gonorrhoea self test. U-Test is the first company in the UK to sell rapid chlamydia and gonorrhoea self-tests certified under IVDR, the EU regulation for diagnostic tests.
Both tests are designed to be done at home, start to finish:
- Male and female swabs are both in the box
- The result is read in 10 minutes
- No lab, no posting a sample and no waiting days for results
- Delivered in discreet packaging
In the manufacturer's clinical study of 220 people, compared with laboratory PCR testing, the tests showed a sensitivity of 96.0% and a specificity of 98.3%. Each test costs £12.99.
"People want to check their sexual health privately, without waiting for an appointment or posting a sample off," the spokesperson said. "Bringing the first IVDR-certified rapid self-tests to the UK means they can do that at home, in 10 minutes."
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are among the most commonly diagnosed STIs in England, and many people who have them notice no symptoms. U-Test also sells a chlamydia and gonorrhoea combo test, its best-selling kit, as part of its sexual health tests range. Anyone with a positive result is advised to contact a sexual health clinic or their GP, who can confirm it and arrange treatment.
About U-Test
U-Test Diagnostics is an independent Welsh company based near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. It sells rapid home health test kits covering sexual health, men's and women's health, fertility, vitamins and drink safety, delivered across the UK, with free delivery on orders over £25. Its health guides are medically reviewed by Dr Rohit Kulkarni, U-Test's Medical Director. The full range is at u-test.co.uk.
Media enquiries: info@u-test.co.uk
