Jamberry Nail Shields Product Review

The lovely respresentatives of Jamberry Nails contacted me about reviewing their product. I have to mention that it was such a pleasant exchange of information! Their product is made in the US and they only have US reps, so that means they spoke/wrote proper English that didn't require decifering. (Unlike some other nail art companies that are based out of other countries that send broken English e-mails that just confuse me...)

What is their product?

It is a vinyl-based film covering that is both heat and pressure activated. They are NOT stickers or decals. Nor are they made of nail polish like the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips. They have so many different designs to choose from on their website! Many patterns would be easy enough to recreate by using Konad stamps, but others are much more intricate.

I picked out the Blue Damask pattern.

They come as a sheet of 18 individual strips. The range of sizes available really impressed me! I have large nail beds and often times have trouble finding the right sizes. This was great! The left side is large enough for your big toe! Down to the far right is for a narrow pinky nail, or perhaps a little toenail. :) Each strip was long enough for me to get 2 uses out of it if I cut it in half lengthwise.

How do you apply them?

1. Use acetone to remove any oils from your nails, lightly buff them if they are really slick...
2. Once you select what size will fit you best (I found it easiest to cut the strips in half while still applied to the backing sheet), peel it off of the backing with tweezers. This is important because you don't want the oils on your fingers to have contact with the adhesive. (It won't stick to your nail as well.)
3. Once you are holding just the strip with tweezers, hold it under the warm heat of a blow dryer for 15-20 seconds. The heat activates the adhesive and you can see it start to look more "wet" and the strip almost starts to curl as it gets more flexible.
4. Then you align it to the cuticle and smooth it onto your nail bed.
5. Once you get to the free edge, just cut away the excess and lightly file in a downwards motion to match the edge of your nail.
6. Then press the strip down firmly all over, to ensure good contact.
7. You can hold your nail under the blow dryer for a few more seconds to heat it again, and apply more pressure.

Here is a link to their YouTube instructional video if my directions were confusing.

I didn't have much trouble with these at all! They were pretty easy to apply. The only complication I had was some wrinkles along the free edge. I couldn't get the sticker to lie flat where my nail started to curve downwards.

 But that's it! They are dry immediately and you don't have to wait for fear of them messing up. You do not apply a topcoat because they are already shiny.

18 nail shields is more than enough for one manicure! In fact, I applied these as an entire manicure and an entire pedicure..... and I ended up with 7 whole strips left! For short toenails I was able to get 3-4 uses out of each strip. Because of this I feel like the price ($15 per pack) is very reasonable.

How long do they last?

They are said to last up to 2 weeks like other similar products boast. My nails only lasted until the next night before I got bored and started to pick them off from where they wrinkled. I mentioned that I also put them on my toes and they are still there! I applied them on 2/12 and it's now 2/18 as I type this and they still look good as new! I don't have any lifting or tipwear on my toes. I will update this post on the day I end up taking them off to let you know.

Are they difficult to remove?

Not at all! You just find a loose corner and peel it off. It comes off easily and in one whole sheet. It doesn't chip or tear. It also doesn't leave any residue on the nail bed. There is no adhesive left behind, and it does not appear to damage the nail bed. You can hold your nails under the blow dryer again to loosen them if needed.

My end opinion? I think they're pretty cool. For this type of product that boasts a long wear time, this is the only one other than Sally Hansen Salon Effects that I've found to live up to the claim. (But again, they are made differently. One is nail polish, one is vinyl.) So go check out the many designs on their website and buy some to try out yourself. :) They have a special offer of buy 3 get 1 free. You can get yours HERE and at checkout make sure to choose Leslie under "party." ;)

More about → Jamberry Nail Shields Product Review

Nail art decals

Thanks to nail decals, you can easily add flowers, birds, symbols and more to your manicures. There is a wide range of quality in decals, so you'll have to experiment to find the ones that work for you. For the best and longest lasting results, follow the application and care instructions carefully.
foto: Sakura

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Bling Nail Appliques

I got these during a recent trip to Sally's and they were price $2.49. I hadn't yet seen them reviewed on any blogs that I frequent, so I thought I'd give them a whirl. End result = pleasantly surprised!

These are similar in concept to the Sephora Nail Bling. Full nail art stickers with a textured effect.

There are 18 individual stickers in the packet. I'm one that usually has problems with fit. My thumbnails fall on the large side, but the biggest sticker in this pack was PERFECT for my thumbs! So I'm sure it will fit well for a wide range of consumers.

 You can almost see the bubble texture to these stickers. Each bump/rhinestone is just a tad smaller than bullion beads. I fell in love with the gradient arrangement on this set.

 I painted my nails with 3 coats of Orly's Pink Slip (this polish is quite sheer, but I just wanted a light flush of pink as my base). Make sure your base polish is completely dry before proceeding. 

Simply peel the sticker and place it along your cuticle.

Smooth it down along the sides of your nail.

I found it easiest to trim the free edge with scissors before "filing away the excess" as the instructions state. Cutting through the tiny rhinestones is not that difficult. They seem to be made of a silicone type material.

Then I filed the free edge with a downward motion to shore up the ends. I had trouble with wrinkles on my nails that have a stronger curve to them. You know how not all nails are straight from cuticle to free edge? Some of mine have a stronger downward curve than others. Because the sticker is slightly thick, it's not easy to get it to lie flat against a curved nail.

 Two down! These took me a while to apply, mainly because I was trying to be uber careful and get them just right.

In the end, I REALLY loved how they looked! They have a slightly bumpy texture to them when you run your fingers across them. The instructions state to apply topcoat to seal the edges and increase wear time, so I applied 2 coats of Seche Vite. The topcoat didn't take away from the texture at all, it just lessened it a bit.

I wore them for 2 days before removing them. The only troubles I had after that time were slight lifting at the same spots where I had wrinkles. 

For $2.49 I think they are well worth it when you don't want to spend 72 hours placing individual bullion beads in complex patterns on your nails. :) I will buy them again if another pattern catches my eye.

More about → Bling Nail Appliques

Simple French Stickers

I used these decals the other day to see if they would look like a french tip. They come in a pack with varying sizes. They are already lines up and joined into the semi circle you see. It's simple but nice. It could easily be recreated using the bundle monster falling stars image and some loose rhinestones.

Swatch of Essie Sand Tropez. Two coats. Not a perfect shade of nude for my skintone, but I still wear it.

You can see that the stickers didn't fit the shape of my nail exactly. My thumb nails are large and they weren't big enough. I wore it for a day before changing it.

More about → Simple French Stickers

Pedicure Design

You might have noticed the poll to the right. I just wanted to get some feedback from you guys as to what you'd like to see more of here on my blog. This started because I noticed that a good portion of the traffic sources coming to my blog are google and bing searches related to toe nail art. Go figure?

I know that's not something I generally see a lot of on other polish blogs, but maybe that means there is a need for it. I also realize that many might be grossed out by looking at other people's feet. My toes aren't the prettiest, but I'll try to photoshop them up a little for your sake ;)

For the most part I just wear plain polish on my toes, but I will make a bigger effort to come up with art designs to incorporate.

This is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blue Blast;

Zoya Mira for the french tip,

random flower decal for the big toe.

I'm off to try and remember to moisturize my little piggies tonight.

More about → Pedicure Design

Nail Fraud - Nail Polish Strips

I bought this set of nail polish strips in the store Charming Charlie's. (Which is costume jewelry heaven, btw). These strips were sitting by the register for $9.97, so I picked up a set to see how they compare to the others I've tried.

 They come in the standard foil pouch that keeps them air tight. Set also includes a tiny emery board and orange wood stick cuticle pusher.

Sizing went well with me not having trouble finding strips that fit each of my nails. I've said before I have a larger right thumbnail, and the largest size on this set was a perfect fit. Application was a breeze and they went on just like Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips. It feels slightly stretchy like polish and not just a plastic sticker. It can be easily repositioned if you make a mistake in application.

I thought the design looked pretty cool, so I applied topcoat and was planning on leaving them on for a wear test.....

I got busy doing me other painting projects and smacked my hand accidentally against the table and when I looked down.... the entire strip for that nail was bunched up in the middle of my nail. The adhesive between the polish strip and my nail is a thick layer, and it didn't set and harden like the Sally Hansen strips! This was several hours later and it bunched up like I'd just applied it! And that was despite having a topcoat layer on too! I was able to just pinch the other strips and pull them off leaving behind a sticky residue. I was so disappointed. :( The residue removed easily with polish remover, but I shouldn't have had to remove them so soon! Perhaps if I had put them on and gone to bed? Maybe they need a longer time to finish setting? I don't understand, because with these strips the benefit is supposed to be that they are dry immediately and you can go about with your life.....

In the end, I found these to be a fail and a waste of my $10. They only lasted 2 hours.

They got it right when they named them Nail "Fraud!"

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Born Pretty Store - Nail Foils Review

I was contacted by the lovely people over at the Born Pretty Store to potentially review some of their products, so here we go!

The item they sent me was a set of nail foils.

"16pcs Black & Silver Grid LV logo Foil Nail Sticker Nail Art DIY" sells on the website here for $5.37.

 I love the rainbow effect in the writing on the package.

The directions are listed on the back and are pretty standard as far as full nail stickers.

Lightly buff nails, remove all remaining residue. Select the nail foil that is closest to the size of your nail, peel it from the backing and lay rounded edge against cuticle. Rub the foil firmly to adhere, you can stretch them to avoid creating ridges. File off remaining foil that extends past the free edge of the nail.

They went on easily, I didn't have any big problems. It was a little difficult to find an exact fit for my nails, but if I had been more patient and cut a larger one down to size... I'm sure that would have worked. I did find it very easy to lift up an area and reposition if need be, so that was nice. It helped me to smooth out the wrinkles.

They are very shiny and Minx like. I still had a few wrinkles, but they weren't too bad. It seemed to me like the edges wouldn't lie flat. Around the cuticle, it kept looking like it was rolling up. :(

 The directions do not state that you need to use a topcoat. The removal process states wash hands in warm soapy water and peel off. So you can't wash your hands and expect these to stay on? That seems a little ridiculous to me. How much wear time can you really expect like that? The package states "11 day wear," I see no way that would be possible. (And gross! So you can't wash your hands for 11 days?!)

I decided to apply a topcoat after I initially put them on to see if that would improve the wear time.

In 2 hours mine came off because I had washed my hands and they kept rolling up anyway. The edges wouldn't lie flat. :(

Removal was easy, they peeled off in one sheet and the little bit of adhesive left on a few of my nails came off with a little nail polish remover.

Look at what happened when I put topcoat on it! This was one coat of Seche Vite over the sticker and it freaked out and developed all of these insane ridges immediately!

Eew, creepy looking!

Index was regular slow drying topcoat,

Middle was Seche Vite.

Ring was no topcoat, just the sticker by itself.

Pinky was Seche Vite, but no crazy reaction. ???

I don't much see the point in purchasing these unless you want super shiny mirror like nails for just a few hours. Maybe some kind of event? If you want to impress someone for just a short period of time? If you never intend to wash your hands again? That's just my opinion. :)

More about → Born Pretty Store - Nail Foils Review

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

So I don't know about you guys, but the nail salons in my area have no clue about nail art. They would never be able to do something as simple as this mesh pattern. They think that a few lines coming out on one side of the nail is "art." It's pathetic. They can't even do simple flowers. So in my mind, this far surpasses what is considered salon effect. ;)

I wanted to try these guys out for my trip. I knew I would not be able to change my polish as much as I normally do. So I wanted something that would at least look decent for several days. Great opportunity to do a wear test of these Salon Effects stickers. :)

I do have experience using these guys before. I think it was before I started blogging, so no pictures. :( I had a mixed review then. I tried the Denim print and it lasted for 3 days before I took it off just out of boredom, but I remember that they still looked pretty good! I was impressed.... Then I also tried the Laced Up design, and they peeled off within just a few hours. I think my application was a bit rushed though... So I'm hoping that was the only problem.

 This time I picked up Misbehaved because I needed something slightly neutral to go with so many different outfits. These are gold with a black mesh pattern. Similar to a Konad image, I get that.

 I was careful and took my precious time and perfectly prepped my nails. Made sure they were wiped with acetone to remove even the slightest bit of oils and residue before applying. I only had trouble with my ring fingers. I couldn't seem to find the right size sticker the first time around and had to remove and try a different sticker. Then they went on fine. My right hand thumbnail is a good bit larger than my left hand. (Long story involving a dog bite, and my mom saying she thought I'd be disfigured for life... Gee, thanks for caring mom, but why didn't you take me to the doctor then?! Lol) So because it's larger, even the largest sticker didn't truly fit the width correctly. It's not a terrible gap, but I notice it's there.

After I applied them all, I held them under the blow dryer for just a few seconds. Then I smoothed them down to be extra sure there was a good bond. I then applied a layer of topcoat and carefully wrapped the tips in the hopes to minimize wear. All in all, it took me about 30 minutes to finish them. A long time for some, but I was being super-extra careful, and hit a few snags.

I'll do my best to take pics of them each day of my trip to show you a proper wear test.

Don't worry, I'm packing a small makeup bag with some polishes and tools in the hopes that the girls I'm visiting with be interested in manis! And as a backup if my test fails early!

More about → Sally Hansen Salon Effects

China Glaze - I Wanna Lei Ya

I just love this color. It's such a delicate coral color. A gorgeous fine shimmer/pearly finish.

 I think this was just two coats. Then I added some simple decals that my mother gave me from eBay.

What do you think? Do you have this color? Do you like it?

More about → China Glaze - I Wanna Lei Ya

Cheating is not allowed on Sesame St.

But I did it anyway.... I saw these cute little stickers in the pre-op area of my hospital. They give them to the little kids in the hopes that they will forget they were just terrorized with medicines and needles. Lol. It doesn't usually work, by the way! I swiped a tiny sheet because I had been wanting to redo my Sesame Street nails seen here, and the little stickers would make a good reference. When I saw them next to the fake nails, I thought "that's a perfect size to use as a decal, I wonder if that would even work?" So I tried it, and it did! I know that's cheating on my part, but my exhibit project is simply "mixed media" it doesn't all have to be handpainted. 

Ernie was the first one I did, so he has the most flaws. Abby Cadabby's edges aren't as noticeable in real life.

Big Bird and I just had to freehand some cookies for the Cookie Monster!

Elmo & Oscar the Grouch (Kim named one of the cats she had growing up, Oscar after this very character.)

I'll try to get the pics of demonstration up this afternoon for you guys. :)

More about → Cheating is not allowed on Sesame St.