Jamberry Nail Wrap Review & China Glaze Sun of a Peach

This post is long overdue, but here I am, ready and willing to give my full report on my only experience with Jamberry Nail Wraps.

If you haven't heard of it, the concept is similar to the full coverage nail stickers (Sally Hansen, Revlon, etc.), except that these are vinyl and are applied with heat. They're said to last way longer and generally be of better quality. I got a free sample from a friend-of-a-friend, and although the concept really didn't interest me I thought I would give it a shot.

I was sent two different samples, Funky Cheetah and Pickled Paisley. I paired them with China Glaze Sun of a Peach (one of my favourite summer colours).

Funky Cheetah

Pickled Paisley

My first thought was: wow, what a pain to apply. You have to take a hair dryer and hold it up to the wrap while the vinyl heats up, then apply it to the nail with an orange stick, file it down, and heat it again. This process annoyed me enough with only two nails to do, let alone ten. I also have very sensitive hands to cold and heat, so the second round of heat was a little much for me to handle.

Once the two wraps were on though they did look incredible, I'll give them that.

Fast forward 7 days.

Now you can see here that the wraps still look like the first day I applied them, and the nail polish is quite chipped. If you were someone who didn't feel confident with polish and wanted something long lasting, and didn't want to spend $30-40 at a salon, I would recommend these wholeheartedly. They'd also be potentially great for someone who doesn't want to risk ruining their nails while waiting for them to dry.

That being said, If you're someone like me who loves changing her polish every 3-4 days, and doesn't mind actually painting her own nails, I would pass on these. At $15 each I can't really see it being affordable for me, and it's way beyond the effort I'm willing to put in. At least with regular nail polish I can be at my computer or watching TV while I apply. The nail wraps are limiting because the dryer is loud and it's a pretty involved process.

So there you have it, they look excellent and they're durable, but they just aren't suitable for someone like me.

NOTD: SH Xtreme Wear Red Carpet + Polka Dot Accent Nail

This is another mani partially inspired by Nailside, she's so talented and creative!

For the polka dots I used the tip of a bobby pin (with the rubber bit still in tact, obviously) and it worked like a charm. I practiced a bit on my nail wheel first to see what techniques yielded different sized dots. It works really well. To think I was about to go out and buy a dotting tool!

The bow was tricky, I used a paint brush dipped in polish and had to redo it a couple of times, but it still turned out decently. I didn't even bother trying the bow on my right hand, but the dots are there on the ring finger.

This one is really appealing to the vintage lover in me.

NOTD: First Tape Mani - China Glaze Refresh Mint + Accent Nails

Sorry about the post delay, this week has been crazy with school, no time to blog. That being said, my manis this week have been nothing short of extremely frustrating. I've discovered that Revlon is the worst brand of polish on the face of the planet. It takes forever to dry and dries sticky/rubbery. I am never, ever purchasing it again.

That being said,China Glaze is one of the best brands I've ever used, so I needed to make up for my week of nail polish horror. I got inspiration for this one from Nailside, whose manicures are absolutely beautiful - simply by using strips of tape! I'd tried it before for french manicures but I didn't really have the patience to pursue it.

I used China Glaze Refresh Mint as the base colour, For Audrey on my index finger and Secret Periwinkle on my ring. On my left hand I did the opposite colours and angles. It looks awesome.

 

And just because: Let me tell you about my new-found obsession. Survivorman. Les Stroud is the MAN. All I want to do is go up to the lake and be in the wilderness now. I really, really want this shirt:

I think I'm going to go to American Apparel today and check out what the sizing is like (probably preposterous, their clothes look terrible on me), maybe I'll pick it up.