I was recently lucky enough to receive some nail wraps to try out from the brand Jamberry.  They were running a Facebook page promotion (I will pop the link to Facebook here)and I was tagged by my good Insta-friend As Seen On Jean (click here to be taken straight to her awesome blog).  I have to admit I had never heard of the brand before and I have never used nail wraps before...ever.

For anyone who knows me or who has followed my blog for a while, will know I suffer with #toddlersizenails!! This is no exaggeration - I honestly think my 6 year old boy has bigger nails than me so I have always stayed clear of false nails and always gone for the easy option of just applying a few coats of nail polish every so often.  This is because false nails never fit and I once had my nails done for a wedding using acrylics and I just couldn't stand how they made my nails feel or look and I picked them off (I know, I can hear the gasps now) at the earliest opportunity.  So, bearing all of this in mind, I wasn't sure how my experience with nails wraps would go.  So, for anyone like me who didn't/doesn't know what nail wraps are they are thin vinyl sheets that apply using pressure and heat to stick to your nail.  They claim to be able to last up to two weeks on fingernails and four weeks on toes.

I received in the post a little envelope containing a small booklet explaining a little about the franchise.  The booklet I had was tailored towards weddings (Marcelyn, my Facebook contact sent her apologies for this) but overall the information inside made perfect sense and the samples I received on the back page were the same for all booklets.  Also in the envelope were an orange stick, some wipes to clean your nails before application and a tool to push the wraps securely onto the nail. As you can see above, there were five samples to choose from, each of varying width and I have to say, I loved them all and found it really hard to choose what one to go for.  In the end though I knew I wanted to do a "statement nail" so went with the best match, size-wise, for my ring finger which was the second wrap from the top.  The picture above doesn't do the colour justice as in real life it was a gorgeous pastel pink with light blue, pale purple and black accents.  To the left of the wraps was a "seven day challenge" tag which I was up for trying.  As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am extremely hard on my nails and nail polish doesn't tend to stay looking perfect for longer than a few days.

I started with clean, filed nails and followed the simple instructions to apply.

I cut the wrap in half and placed it on my ring finger.  I then heated the wrap gently for a few seconds with my hairdryer to activate the glue.  I used the little stick to press down on the wrap and made extra sure I got right into the sides of my nails.  It's important to make sure the wrap fits well onto your nail as it won't adhere to your skin.  I spent a little longer pressing down the wrap and gave it a final heating (a matter of seconds with a warm hairdryer is all it needs).  It's worth mentioning that as the wrap was cut in half, there was quite a lot of excess at the tip of my nail which I trimmed down with scissors.  The instructions then tell you to file this away using a downward motion so as not to pull the wrap away from the nail.  You can see in the two pictures below both nails with the statement wrap. The final step was to apply my nail polish.  I used my Barry M Coconut Gel Infusion Nail Paint in the shade "Surfboard".  I chose this as they last for ages, the pale pink was a perfect match for the wrap and I love the name too! The picture below shows my nails freshly done.  I did this on a Friday as I was going out for a special occasion on the Saturday and a week from this day would mark the end of my seven day challenge.
These are my nails on the Tuesday (picture below) - 4 days after applying the wrap.  The polish is still looking good and there is no lifting of the wrap at all.

The final two pictures below were taken on the Thursday so pretty much a week since I had done them.  As you can see my polish has chipped but the wrap still looks perfect. I didn't actually get round to removing my polish until the Sunday and I took the wrap off at the same time.  If I'm honest with you, I probably could have just repainted my nails and left the wraps on as they were looking really good but I wanted to see how easy they were to remove.

The instructions said to soak your hands in a bowl of warm water and add a few drops of any oil that is good for your nails (almond, coconut etc).  I filled my basin and added a few drops of my Essie Cuticle Oil and submerged my hands for about a minute or so.  I then carefully started to just lift the wrap away from my nail (under the water) and the wraps were off within seconds.  It was so easy and more importantly didn't leave any adhesive residue on my nails or leave my nails with that horrible sensitive feeling you get in your nails sometimes when you've had false nails on for a while.

Overall, I absolutely loved these nail wraps.  As a complete nail wrap novice they were so easy to use.  A sheet of 18 wraps costs £15 but as they last so long I think that's a really good price to pay.  There are hundreds of designs and finishes to choose from and I fully recommend browsing their website to get an idea of exactly how many designs they do.  I will link their website here.  They also sell nail polishes which I'm really intrigued about and would really love to try.

I would love to know if you have ever tried nail wraps and what you thought of them.
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