Last year I started seeing nails adorned with nail strips everywhere. I fell in love with a set of mirrored silver nails that I later found out could only be done in a salon. The cost was more than I wanted to spend and I started looking for a less expensive alternative. I couldn't find anything close, until now. I was contacted by Noel Giger, a Jamberry Independent Star Consultant. Noel offered to send me a set of Jamberry Nail Shields. I was thrilled to find out that Jamberry had the coveted silver mirrored nails I had been dying for! This is a photo and video heavy post. Click below to check out the full post and enter the giveaway!
I received my nail shields from Noel way back in July. You all know how much I love to do my nails but when I read the steps involved I was a bit intimidated, you'll see why. It took me a little while to carve out the time to try them out. I used Noel's guidelines but I also looked up a tutorial on You Tube. Since I'm not a video goddess, below is a video from Jamberry that shows the process very well.
Jamberry Nail Shields gave me the look I wanted from the salon shields. The cost is $15.00 per sheet. However, I believe I'll be able to get two manicures and two pedicures from the same sheet. My nails are small so your results could be different. They are made of vinyl, not nail polish. They won't dry out like some of the other nail shields. They are also safe on acrylic nails. The adhesive is activated with heat (a blow dryer) and pressed onto your nail. It took some time to get the hang of the process. I found the time to be the biggest drawback but I'm thrilled with the results. I did them before a Blogger event and the ladies loved them.
You'll need a few supplies for your manicure. Polish remover or alcohol, scissors (I switched to curved cuticle scissors after the photo), tweezers, nail file or nail buffer, a hair dryer (not pictured), and cuticle pusher or orange stick (not pictured).
The instructions state that you can file the excess nail shield off of the end of your nail. I wasn't successful at this. The issue may have been because the file wasn't coarse enough. For my next mani, I'll purchase a coarse file used for artificial nails. I found that trimming the shield with my cuticle scissors right at the edge of my own nail gave a much cleaner look and I skipped the filing.
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As you can see by the photo above, I learned this the hard way after doing my left hand. I noticed the gaps and began trimming when I did my right hand. I don't have the same gaps on my right hand but didn't want to waste the shields and redo those nails. Honestly, they are barely noticeable.
I love the way my nails look and all of the compliments I've been getting. I've compiled a few of my Pros and Cons.
Pros
- Final look is fantastic.
- The cost is great compared to other nail shields and strips. Based on my calculations of getting two manis and two pedis out of a sheet, the cost is $3.75 per manicure.
- There is no waste since the remaining shields don't dry out.
- They are supposed to last 1-2 weeks for a manicure and 4-6 weeks for a pedicure. I'll update you later.
- Watching the tutorial was helpful. I used tweezers to hold the shields as another blogger suggested. This helped me to keep my finger oil off the shields.
- Time consuming. My first try took about an hour.
- Doing my right hand was tricky.
- If you aren't a manicure girl like I am, you'll need buy a few new tools.
All in all, even with the time, I think the results were worth it. Especially for the mirror effect (and other cool patterns) that you can't get with nail polish. The price is also great (at about $3.75 per mani or pedi). You know I love Sally Hansen nail strips. They cost about $9 for a single manicure and if you want to use the unused nail strips, you have to do it right away because they dry out. Jamberry is a better value.
I'd love to do this for a girls night and have someone help me. Jamberry Consultants will come to you and do a Jamberry party if you're interested. Noel is also running a special right now. Buy three sheets, get one free! That is about $2.81 per mani or pedi!
GIVEAWAY!!!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
If you'd like to try out Jamberry for yourself, enter the giveaway! Noel has generously offered to give a set of Jamberry Nail Shields to one of you!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck! The contest ends at midnight on Saturday or Friday night whichever you prefer. Make sure to enter. Free is great!
NOTE: I received complimentary Jamberry Nail Shields for a review. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.
