Hello lovely readers! I have something a little different for you today. Shea over at
OMG Wait What Polish Is That is a Jamberry Nail Shields consultant, and she posted on her
Jamberry Facebook page about a 7-day challenge using a Jamberry Nail Shield and nail polish. I thought it would be cool to try it out, so I said I would do it :) I bought some Jamberry Nail Shields a while back and have only used one shield on my big toenails, so this is my first time using them on my fingernails. Come check out my results!
Shea asked me what nail shield design I wanted, and I told her to surprise me. When I got the parcel in the mail, the shield she sent me is called French Pepper. Now, my first impression of this design was "it looks like a bandaid", but I shouldn't complain because I left it up to Shea to choose a design :) I had a bit of an issue finding a polish that worked with this shield, but I finally picked one - I decided on Julep Tina, a gorgeous purple creme that I believe has a tiny bit of a shimmer to it, but it's not overly obvious on the nail. I applied the mani last Saturday afternoon.
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| Day 1 - Left Hand |
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| Day 1 Right Hand |
When I applied, these, I applied my Avonn Cuticle Remover and pushed my cuticles back, and then I sprayed my nails with 70% rubbing alcohol and wiped dry. Then cut the Jamberry Nail Shield in half so I could use one shield for 2 nails (middle finger on each hand) and held it upside down over the rice bag (like a Magic Bag) that I heated in the microwave. I stuck it to the nail, and then using some pressure to seal the shield to the nail, rubbed the warm rice bag over my nail. I did this until all the edges were sealed to the nail and there were no puckers.
Unfortunately, a couple hours later there were some parts of the shield that had begun to lift. So I warmed up my rice bag again and smoothed the shields onto my nails again. I also had to do this the next day (Sunday) and Tuesday. I needed to do it a few times after that, but with the amount of lifting that was occurring, the shields were getting dirt and water under them, so I didn't figure it would do any good to reheat them, so I didn't bother. And by this morning, I couldn't wait to get the shields off my nails! Even putting my hair in a ponytail caused hair to get stuck under the shield and pulled out a few strands of hair. Not my idea of fun :(
Here are what they looked like this morning before I took them off:
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| Day 7 Left Hand |
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| Day 7 Left Hand |
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| Day 7 Left Hand |
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| Day 7 Left Hand |
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| Day 7 Right Hand |
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| Day 7 Right Hand |
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| Day 7 Right Hand |
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| Day 7 Right Hand |
As you can see, the Jamberry Nail Shields are both in quite a state by the end of the week, but the polish is still basically perfect. Now, I will say, my polish does NOT normally last this long! I don't normally spray rubbing alcohol on my nails before polishing, so I'm wondering if that is the reason it lasted this long. I will be trying this from now on, though I don't normally leave polish on for a week at a time :)
So, my conclusion with this Challenge is that while Jamberry advertises that the nail shields last 14 days, I have to disagree. For me, they really only lasted a couple days, but I did leave them on for the entire week for the Challenge. I will be trying these again as I do have more nail shields in my stash, but I don't think that they are something I will buy more of, if not for the fact that they don't last then because I normally can't stand having the same polish/nail design on for more than a couple days at the most. Therefore, they are not really worth the money for me.
If you are interested in buying some Jamberry Nail Shields, make sure to head over to
Shea's Jamberry site to place your order. They are only shipping to the US right now, but in September, they are coming to Canada! If you are in Canada, you can e-mail Shea and arrange something, I'm sure! They have an on-going sale of Buy 3 Get 1 Free, so you will get 4 sheets of nail shields for $45USD + shipping.
Oh my! That didn't last at all. I like Sally Hansen press on nail strips... they seem to last a while. I've never done a 7 day challenge though.
ReplyDeleteI like the Sally Hansen ones better too. They feel more "natural", if that's the right word to use... they feel more like polish on the nail rather than a plastic/vinyl sticker.
DeleteOh no. Well, at least the polish looks good. That seems to be a lot of work..and money.. for such a low performing product (Jamberry). Thank you for that very realistic comparison of polish/Jamberry, Erica. I would've pulled them off by day 2!
ReplyDeleteI was pretty impressed with the polish survival actually. Normally, if I leave my polish on for a few days it's chipped all to heck, but this time it really lasted! I'm going to have to spray my nails with rubbing alcohol from now on and see if that is the trick :D
DeleteI will definitely be trying the Jamberrys again, it could have been user error, or the fact that my nails aren't the right shape for the Jamberrys, but just from this challenge, I can't see myself recommending them :\
Eek, this challenge looks like a fail! except it did make me want Julep Tina haha :) The acetone trick is great, although I take off my polish pretty fast as well!
ReplyDeletewritingwhimsy.com
Tina is a gorgeous colour, and with purple being my favourite of all colours, it hit all the right buttons for me :D I was kind of sad that the Jamberry didn't last like advertized, but I'm going to try them again in the future to see if I can improve on my application and wear of them :) Maybe there are some tricks for them that I have to research ;)
DeleteI've never heard of anyone using Jamberry Nails and "spraying" their nails down with alcohol. You are supposed to wipe the nail with an alcohol wipe or cotton ball. Maybe you could retry this and do it the way that Jamberry says to apply? Push back cuticles (skipping the Avon), buff and then wipe down with alcohol. I am wearing Jamberry right now. When I wear polish it lasts ONE DAY (I'm not being dramatic, I'm lucky if it lasts a full day. I haven't painted my nails in so long I can't remember, it's pointless when running a household and with a 3yo). I've had my Jams on for 3 days now, with several showers and lots of hand-washing dishes in hot water - my Jams still look beautiful and I know for a fact they are going to last a lot longer! I have a friend who routinely wears them for 2wks and they ALWAYS look amazing. Also, your hands may be oily. From what I've heard soaking your hands in dawn and black tea works wonders.
ReplyDeleteHi Sar Ly!
DeleteI like to spray my nails with rubbing alcohol rather than rubbing with a cotton ball/round so that it doesn't leave the little fluffs, and so I don't miss any spots. I then wipe them with a paper towel. The rubbing alcohol application is to remove any residue and/or oil from the nail bed before applying the Jamberry. Even if my nails and hands were oily, the alcohol should remove this before I applied the Jamberry.
I used the Avon Cuticle Remover to help with pushing back my cuticles, and washed my hands afterwards, so there was no residue left on the nail.
I may give them another go next month. I think I still have a sheet of them left. I got rid of all the ones I had ordered because I had such terrible luck with the sample.
I think that you had trouble with you Jamberry application because you left the cuticle oil on. For the shield to adhere and stay put, you entire nail bed must be oil free.
ReplyDeleteHI Linda!
DeleteI used Avon's Cuticle Remover to help push back my cuticles before applying the Jamberry. I forgot to mention that I did (and always do) wash my hands with soap and water after pushing back my cuticles to remove any of the remover's residue.
I may give them another go next month. I think I still have a sheet of them left. I got rid of all the ones I had ordered because I had such terrible luck with the sample.
Just randomly came across your blog while searching for french pepper wraps on pinterest. i am so sorry that you had such a bad experience. I am wondering if the rice bag did provide enough heat for the wrap to adhere properly and if the wrap was too big for that nail. There are also several tricks for different nail types. I have wraps on right now that are on day 8 with absolutely no lifts or puckers at all. I have worn them for 13 days and my boss at work actually work her for 3 full weeks before taking them off because they had grown out. I have left wraps on my toes over a month. I hope that you did give them another try because they really are awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi James!
DeleteSo glad you found the blog! The Jamberry rep is the one that sent me the rice bag to apply the wrap to my nails. I heated it up until it was pretty hot, so much so that it was hard to hold it onto my nail for any length of time. I let it cool slightly then tried again.
I made sure the wrap wasn't too large for my nail. I have used the Sally Hansen nail polish wraps, so I do know that size is very important for proper adhesion of the wraps.
I may give them another go next month. I think I still have a sheet of them left. I got rid of all the ones I had ordered because I had such terrible luck with the sample.
Hi, Erica!
ReplyDeleteI just found your post while doing a google search for an image of Jamberry Nails "French Pepper." I'm an Independent Consultant for Jamberry Nails and am sorry that your first experience with our wraps was so disappointing! Truth be told, mine was, too! I had a sample applied at a trade show during a moms' convention I attended, and fell in love and bought a full sheet. The sample application was perfect and the sample lasted a full two weeks. However, when I tried to apply the ones I had bought, my results were terrible--much like yours except there is no way I could have kept them on a whole week. I had no idea what I was doing wrong, and didn't have the contact info for the person I bought them from to work with her and figure it out. 2-3 years later, I was still very interested in this product, despite my terrible first experience, but didn't know a single person who sold it. Then, one glorious day, I was invited to an in-home party. (Technically, I invited myself...but that's another story ;) ) I liked the product so much I signed up to be a consultant that same night!
I have found that I like to switch my wraps about once a week. While they remain sealed and smooth the way they are supposed to, my nails grow quickly and the gap at the bottom between my cuticle and the edge of the wrap really bugs me at about the one week mark. Plus, like you, I like to try new things all the time and get bored looking at the same nails every day.
I have learned that the application process is simple for some people and takes a little trial and error for others, but nearly anyone can find an application process that works if they want it to. Also, Jamberry recently changed the formula/process they used to create the wraps. The new ones are much thinner and more user-friendly. I'm not sure which type yours are, but if the Jamberry logo on the sheet looks like a handwritten font rather than a straight up-and-down one, you have the old formula.
My website www.debejams.jamberrynails.net has two videos at the bottom under Help>Application Instructions. One is Jamberry's official application video, and the other is a troubleshooting guide. If you are still interested in giving Jamberry another try and would like some new samples, please contact me at the email address at the top of my website. I'd love to help you out!
--Deb Erickson
p.s. Your nail art is fantastic!!!
Hi Deb!
DeleteTHANK YOU for your information. I am not sure which formulation this was as I received the sample from the rep and it was just the one strip, not on a full sheet with the Jamberry Logo. I will have to go home and see if I can find the sheet I think I still have to see if I can tell if they are the old formula or the new one.
I will see if I have a sheet left at home to retry these next month. If not, I will send you an email. I realize that everything is trial-and-error for most new things, but I was just so disappointed with how messy these ended up being that I got rid of the sheets I had purchased.
All the comments I have received in the last couple weeks have inspired me to try these out again, so we will see how it goes :)
I will be in touch!
I haven't seen this suggestion yet so I thought I'd add it. While the rice baggie works for some, it is not a Jamberry approved application because it releases steam so it is a wet heat. This can cause bubbling and peeling the next day. (sounds like what yours did). When you apply your next nail wraps, try using your blow dryer or space heater. Good luck!
DeleteHi Susie and Cody, thank you! I will add this to my list of adjustments to make when I redo this test. I am hoping to in the next couple weeks. Please make sure to look for a follow-up post on my new blog host - http://ericasnailsandmore.wordpress.com!
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