jamberry Nail Wraps for Beginners

   I've been using jamberry nail wraps for awhile now and have absolutely fallen in love with them.  The first time I applied them there were some issues, true, but I just knew as soon as I saw it on that I was going to make these things work.  My husband was struggling to understand what the big deal was and I told him, "Imagine 2 houses next to each other.  One is painted and the other one has vinyl siding.  Which one will last longer?"  "Ohhhh" he said.  Lightbulb.  Just like Gru in Despicable Me.  It's no different with your nails ya big goof!  Who wouldn't want to find a whole new way of dressing up their nails that is cost effective and hassle free and lasts and lasts and lasts?  It's like, when normal nail polished nails are going to bed, these things are still up partying for hours and hours more fun.

    Some of my friends attended an online nail party with me and one of them ordered the French tips.  I DO NOT recommend these as your first purchase.  You have to order the correct tip length or they won't look right, and they are mostly clear so your own nail has to look nice in order for them to work.  I will be posting a tutorial for the best results with the French tips in the next week so he sure to check back if you are interested in learning how to get that perfect French manicure.

    What I DO recommend for your first try with these is any of the chevrons, tigers, plaids and stripes.  

   Here is a photo of my first wrapped nail ever.  

wrap: teal mini polka

Here it is after a week.

Here's my favorite jamberry design: prissy plaid.  I cannot even begin to tell you how many compliments and rave reviews I got on these things.  I highly highly recommend them as a beginners choice for anyone thinking about taking the nail wrap plunge.  The bad news is they will be going away very very soon but the good news is that the fall/winter collection will also be debuting very shortly (like, in the next few days) and I just know there will be tons of amazing new seasonally appropriate designs.

Here is a zebra stripe, a very nice neutral look, once again glammed up with some bling.

   As you can see, I was not shy with my initial picks.  I got right on board and bought 4 different sheets and it was grew to be able to play around with them, rip them off after a few days and try something else.  They did no damage whatsoever to my nails and if anything they act as a protectant to help people who have a hard time growing a nail.

   

The Perfect French

A French manicure is kind of like the holy grail of nail perfection to me.  Ever since I was a high schooler and my sister picked me up from school in her bright red Subaru station wagon with a Marlboro Lite dangling from her exquisitely sculpted French manicured fingers, I've been hooked.  On the nails silly, not the smokes.

Now, normally, if I saw someone sporting elegant, sophisticated nails like this I would assume she went to the salon, paid $35 dollars or so and was now stressing out about every single thing she did lest she mess them up and waste her investment.  Because let's face it, nothing looks more elegant than a perfect French manicure but nothing looks trashier than a chipped, grown out French manicure.  But what if you didn't have to worry about that? What if you could sport your French manicure for 2 weeks without worrying about messing it up?

   I give you the nail wrap French.  In order to get that beautiful, luxurious pink and white look, I recommend getting a bottle of nude polish.   Even though you're using polish, the vinyl overlay with the white tip is going over your whole nail and it will keep everything looking tip top for a lot longer than polish alone will.

   The first step is to prep your nails (always).  Remove any old product and wash your hands with soap and water.  Then wipe each nail with a pure nail polish remover product (something without any added conditioners which mess with the effectiveness of the adhesive on the wraps).  Push back your cuticles if you need to.  Don't worry about clipping or filing, it's best to do that after you apply your nail wrap.

   Now apply a coat of the nude or pink color of your choice.  Jamberry nail lacquer in Barely There is just about perfect for this. 

   Match up your first nail with the wrap that fits the best width wise.  You'll be custom trimming the length.  Remember, too narrow is better than too wide.  These wraps in particular are very forgiving so don't feel like you have to have it perfect.  I did mine standing at the kitchen counter while my daughters were arguing over which Disney Priness is best and the baby was taking a nap.  

Look how cute mine came out!

   So once you heat your wrap using the method of your choice (I put mine on the end of my tiny nail scissors or an orange wood stick and hold it in front of the mini heater for about 5 seconds), lay it on your nail curved side down and stretch it over your nail just a tad bit to get a nice close fit.  Pull the end down over the end of your nail and if it's still nice and warm you'll notice it almost looks like it's shrink wrapping itself to your nail.  If the white isn't right where you want it or it goes on crooked then just gently pull it back up and rewarm it and try again.  I've gone 2-3 times to get it just right so don't worry, you can tweak it.  Just don't do any twerking, hehe, it'll ruin the classy atmosphere you're going for.  

   Now that you have applied your wrap, you should have a long white tip.  Trim it down with your scissors.  Then take your nail clippers ( the big ones you normally use to do your big toe) and clip the very end of the nail and the wrap.  I find using this step helps the wrap to crimp itself to the end of the nail for a really tight fit but if you don't have enough of a free edge, don't worry about it.  Finally, take your nail file and file in a downward motion only to achieve a rounded, smooth appearance.  Congratulations!  You just finished your first nail.  Now do it 9 more times and you'll be rocking the sweetest little pink and white without any of the toxic fumes you would have inhaled at the nail shop.  Don't forget to tip yourself.  A "you look fabulous" will do nicely.

   As always, thanks for stopping by!  Here's to fabulous nails!