An honest Jamberry nails review

So I know that in the States and Australia, Jamberry nails has been going for a little while but it has only recently come to the UK. I had heard about them before and was quite excited to try them out. I do like having nice looking nails although with that said, I have never had a manicure or pedicure in my life!! I think that's shocking and I really need to do something about that :).

I don't usually do the whole review thing. I know that a lot of bloggers do and I've never done it here but when it comes to trying out make up, skin care products and nail stuff (such a technical term!) I have a lot to say about them so I thought I would share them with you! Just so you know, I am not connected with Jamberry in any way. I'm not selling for them, just throwing in my two cents worth.

I received a sample of the nail wraps to try, which I was quite excited about. If you don't know what they are, they are thin vinyl sheets that are heat and pressure activated to stick to your nail. They are meant to last for up to 2 weeks on your fingernails. I have to say, I found the application process a little fiddly. I used my hairdryer to heat up the wraps but I wasn't that brilliant at lining them up so one or two were a bit wonky! I also had to cut some to size because even though the wraps come in different sizes for your nails, I must just have freakishly small nails or something as a lot of them were too big for me, so that took a bit of time. Once they were applied, you then cut them to size and file the edges to make it smooth. I was quite pleased with how they looked. I found that the next day, the edges were a bit rough and I didn't really like the feel of that. I think I was worried about tearing the wrap if I filed it too much so maybe that was the reason why.

I thought I would give the wraps another go to wear to my sister-in-law's wedding. After all, who doesn't want pretty nails at a wedding?! (even though I say that, I didn't even have any nail polish on for my own wedding! I guess I was going through a phase of just not being that bothered about doing my nails at the time or something!). This time I think I got the hang of it a bit more. I managed to get the process down from just over an hour to 45 minutes. I usual manicure would take me just slightly less time, but then of course I would have to allow for drying time as well. It was a definite plus that once the wraps were applied, that was it. I still had to trim them down to size width ways and this time I did a much better job of filing down the edges so it felt a lot better.

I applied the nails on the Thursday evening and they lasted for the wedding, although come the Saturday, they were starting to come away from the tips of my nails a bit and again, they felt pretty rough. My two sons hated that because I kept accidentally scratching them! I don't know how long they would have lasted had I left them on but I took them off on the Sunday as they just didn't feel that comfortable.

Personally, I think I would end up using the nail wraps again. They do look pretty and there are some lovely designs. I also think that maybe I would have more luck with them the more I use them, as I would just get better at applying them. However, for the time being, they just don't really last long enough for my liking. When I do my own nails, I use a base coat (just a cheapy collection one), the colour which more often than not is either Rimmel or Barry M and then the Sally Hansen insta-dry top coat. This will usually last me a week with no chipping. I will get a tiny bit of wear right on the edge of my nail but it's only noticeable to me. More often than not, I remove my nail polish because my nails have started to grow out (my nails grow REALLY quickly. I cut them once every 10 days or so!). I also don't like having chipped nails but the longest I have managed to go is for 2 weeks, which isn't bad considering it's just normal nail polish.

I think the wraps are definitely worth a try but for me, it would definitely be just for an occasion rather than a regular thing.