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Friday, May 9, 2014

A Jamberry Experiment and a Giveaway

Like my nails?

I did them all by myself. This may not exactly seem blog-worthy...but I do my own nails approximately twice a year. Usually on a whim. It never lasts more than a day without chipping, so it's rare that I invest the effort required to get so little reward.

I don't prioritize time or money for professional manicures. Even professional manicures don't last long enough for me to justify. The last manicure I got was a gel manicure that chipped on Day 2. Ugh. Before that I think it was the fancy one I got for my wedding (9 years ago...) it was chipped before we got off the plane for our honeymoon. I still remember how annoyed I was to walk around Italy for a week with bad nails.

Pedicures I can justify because they last FOREVER and- the massage chair. 80% of the reason I get pedicures is for the massage chair. The last pedicure I got was in October and I left it on through Christmas. Yes it had started to chip, but only just barely and it was winter...so yeah, I get pedicures maybe 4x a year. I'm a high maintenance gal.

To get these purple ('Orchid' actually) puppies, I tried something I've never used before, nail wraps. Have you seen these things? The ones I tried are from Jamberry. They come on a plastic strip and you peel the right sized sticker off and apply it to your nails with heat and pressure. When I first pulled them out of the package I had serious flashbacks to elementary school and my brief but fervent obsession with Lee Press-On Nails. They would pop off the second you tried to open your Capri-Sun, but as long as you sat really still they were fabulous.
It took me about 25 minutes to do my Jamberry manicure that night while B Daddy surfed the internet in bed beside me. I did my toes the next day which took A LOT longer...I can't decide if it was because my huge belly was in the way or because I have straight nail beds on my toenails instead of deeply curved ones, which meant I had to trim the pre-made wraps to fit each nail (the sizes for fingernails pretty much fit perfectly). My kids were awake while I was doing my toes too, and you know how a peanut gallery of three tiny tots makes for a super efficient time doing anything.
I had serious doubts about the wraps from the moment I finished applying them. They looked pretty good right off the bat, my only issue being that the edges looked a little rough (maybe I could have filed them better so they were smoother) but I knew how well professional polish jobs held up to my mom-routine of diaper changing, dish washing, seat buckling and meal prepping and figured these suckers would chip or peel within a day or two.

These are my nails on Day 7 folks. I actually removed the wraps around Day 9 because my nails were starting to grow out and I was over purple. I can't believe they lasted this long. You can see they started to wear at the tips, but no chips and no peeling.  And my toes? My toes lasted an entire month. Even with the extra time it took me to apply them, that seemed worth it.

The wraps come in a set of 18, which the site says will give you 2-3 applications and costs $15. It's more expensive than painting your own nails (although if you do a per-day cost analysis, these might come out ahead).  It is much cheaper (and less time consuming) than going to a professional. Especially if you're not pregnant and your nails don't grow super fast. For me it lasted longer and looked better than a DIY job for sure.

Oh and the fun part? They have tons of trendy nail designs too. I'm not a crazy nail girl, but I love the idea of using some of the design options for special occasions - like football season. ;) If you like the whole nail art craze, I can't imagine that you could find a better option than these wraps.

I liked these enough that I'm about to order another set of wraps and thought I'd offer up the chance for one of y'all to join me and try them out!  Leave a comment on the blog, become a follower or a subscriber (and comment letting me know you did) to be entered to win a free set of wraps.  Share this post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and get another entry.  I'll pick a random winner from all entries by next Friday and you'll receive an email or be contacted through direct message to see what design/color you want! So fun. I'm ordering Haute Pink and Tropical Mirage this time around.

Have you ever used nail wraps? What was your experience like? Which is your favorite Jamberry color or pattern? Tell me in the comments and be entered to win. Contest entry is closed now - sorry! 


**I was given the Jamberry wraps I used in return for writing this post, however all opinions are totally mine and I am sponsoring the giveaway.**

9 comments:

  1. I haven't tried yet, but would love to! It would be interesting to see how they hold up after a 12 hour shift of constant hand-washing at the hospital. I like the haute pink color! Fun for summer!

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  2. You & your blog are big time with fun giveaways! Sign me up!

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  3. I have a good friend who has them and RANTS AND RAVES about them. Sadly, us lowly Canadians can't get our hands on them as they only sell them south of the border. :( My friend has family in the US. I'd love to be a recipient!!

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    1. Oh so sad for you Ash! If you don't win the giveaway and want to try them out, I'll order for you and mail them to you. :)

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  4. I love the bubble gum color! I'm like you in that I can NEVER get polish to stay on my nails more than one day. No matter what I do! Would love to try these :)

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  5. I have used them and I love them! My current favorite pattern is Lotus.

    kcindyloo at gmail dot com

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  6. my favorite is the wild thang pattern
    email - freebies_samples@Aol.com

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  7. Welcome to LVL Julia! Thanks for stopping by!

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