I recently was approached to review Jamberry Nails. With there being several designs to chose from, I chose the Silver Floral on Magenta. When they arrived I knew I had made the right choice – they’re very pretty.
This picture doesn’t do them justice, but I wanted you to see that they come on two sheets – this is just one of them. You can see they are quite long and are of various sizes.
One must understand that I am not a girly girl by any means; nor am I high maintenance. I’ve had my nails professionally done once in my lifetime and decided that was not worth my time or money. One of the nails lasted two days before it came off. The last time I polished my nails has to be over 10 years ago. I can’t be bothered with the upkeep they require. I also can’t be bothered by protecting my nails and hands with using gloves when I garden, clean, fish, do dishes etc. Given all that, I thought maybe the Jamberry Nails would be a great alternative for me.
A solution for me – not. Although the shields were rugged and very pretty, the time involved in preparing my nails, heating the shields up, applying them to my nails and then cutting and filing them down – is just not for me either. The application process took a lot longer than I expected…like I spent an hour and a half on my nails! It’s not that the process is a difficult one, and for those who keep up with their nails, I’m sure the process would be a lot less time consuming.
The process of applying is as follows:
- Push cuticles back
- Shape nails
- Buff nails – buffing is said to be a way to have them adhere longer
- Clean the nails with nail polisher remover to remove any oils
- Find the nail shield that is NOT as large as the nail bed you’re applying it too
- Warm the nail shield with a hair dryer – you’ll see how the nail becomes much more pliable as the shield is heated.
- Place nail shield on the nail – making sure it doesn’t touch skin
That’s it! I did all the above steps and when all was said and done – I wasn’t happy with the results. All of the shields bubbled/rippled at the tips of my nail beds. I tried to rub the bubbles/ripples out, but that just didn’t work. By the time I was done with all ten nails; I was very frustrated for having crappy looking nails after spending so much time on them. The instructions say that you can cut them and given that I used the size that I felt was appropriate for that nail (you always chose a shield a size smaller than your nail) if I had cut them, then once they were applied – they wouldn’t have covered a good portion of the sides at the end of my nails.
Needless to say, I can’t show you my nails. One came off right after I went to bed. I’m sure that was because of it not making good contact with my nail from the ripples. Come the next morning, my daughter asked what I did to my nails – I told her. She looked at them and said they look awful. That’s all it took – off they came!
To remove them wasn’t difficult for me at all – they peeled right off. The correct way to remove the shields though, is to do either:
- Quick Removal Process – heat the shields with a blow dryer for 15 secs. Next break the seal by getting under the edge of the shield with your opposite thumbnail. Now slowly peel the shield from side to side. If the Nail Shields are not peeling easily or the adhesive is still bonded to the nail bed then follow this process:
- Gentle Removal Process – soak the nail shields in nail polish remover for 20-30 seconds and then gently rub them off.
Would I buy these for myself? No, I wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them a try. My nails may be shaped oddly – and that’s why they rippled; or maybe I just missed the boat somewhere. Regardless, I can say they are pretty and weren’t thin which leads me to believe they would stand up to the test of time. I also think teens might enjoy playing around with these. I would rather my teen ask for these, than to ask for professional nails.
Visit the Jamberry Nails website to see all the different designs available – there are SO many! If you think you’d like to become a consultant or host a party – that information is on their website as well. You can also find Jamberry Nails on: Facebook.