I don’t bother getting manicures anymore. With two kids, housework, and dishes, my nails start to chip after only a few days, and who has the kind of money to blow on that? Then I heard about Jamberry Nails. These vinyl nail wraps have been all the rage in the US, and they finally arrived in Canada last fall. I was approached by Karen at Nurse Jams Jamberry Nails to try out some nail wraps and let you all know how they work. She promised me they’d last at least two weeks on my nails. I was pretty skeptical, but I was game to test them out.
First of all, Jamberry Nails has more than 350 designs available, and they’re releasing new ones all the time. The problem isn’t finding a design you like, it’s choosing only one (or two!). After much deliberation and thought, I finally settled on Turple Ombre and Black Lace. Karen also sent me some Zebra and Scribble Hearts Junior Jams for Tee to try. I thought these would be fun to put on for her birthday party.
Applying Jamberry Nails
I gently pushed my cuticles back and cleaned my nails with rubbing alcohol. The clear backing made it easy to compare the nail wraps with my own nails to find the best fit. I cut each wrap in half (you get two uses from each wrap), peeled it off the backing, and and used my hair dryer to heat it for 3-5 seconds. I pressed the wrap on, focusing on getting the edges stuck down well. There’s a little bit of a learning curve and I did have to start over on a couple of nails, but it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.
If you’re more of a visual learner, here’s a video tutorial.
Right off the bat, compare about 15 minutes total application time with how long it usually takes you to do your nail polish. To give the nail polish the best shot possible, I did a base coat, two coats of colour, and a top coat. That’s 4 layers, plus drying time in between. It took me basically the whole day and I had to be hyper alert about not touching, smudging, or denting my polish while it was still wet. So I’ll tell you right now that even if they only lasted a week, I’d pick the Jamberry Nails simply for the time savings. Once the Jamberry Nails are on, go ahead and put on your socks, type an email, or pick up your baby. No worries about ruining wet nails!
Here’s a visual record of how the Jamberry Nails and my nail polish held up. Jamberry on the left, nail polish on the right.
The nail polish was noticeably chipped by day 5, and by day 10 it really looked awful. I let it go to day 18 before I couldn’t wait any longer to clean it off. The chipped and flaked polish looked so tacky! My nails had grown out a bit, and the wrap on the very ends of my nails had worn away from use, but the Jamberry Nails still looked surprisingly good. Hands down, Jamberry Nails win for durability and time savings. Two thumbs up!
Jamberry Juniors
Jamberry Nails also makes Jamberry Juniors, nail wraps in a smaller size suitable for kids. My 4 year old had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, and as a treat we had a girls’ night and did our nails the evening before her party. At her age I would never put regular nail polish on her. But these are non-toxic, latex-free, and gluten-free (if your little one puts her fingers in her mouth). These were a little more challenging to apply because her nails are so small, but I think I did an okay job.
They looked really cute the next day at her party! Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how long they lasted because she started chewing on them and peeled them all off within a couple of days. So I’m awfully glad they’re non-toxic, but I don’t think we’ll be putting these on her again for a while. I think she’s just a little young still.
Connect
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Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ.
Feminine Flair is one of my favourites..so many wonderful designs,I like that there are child sized ones also!
I like the Zebra and Scribble hearts!
I love the RASPBERRY SPARKLE!
too many cute designs to choose from! but I pick “Lotus”
I love the SILVER FLORAL ON MAGENTA and the Vintage Chic! They look so classy!
“To dye for” are so pretty, love pastel colors!
I love the Robin’s Egg
I like the White Tip Short as they are great for everyday wear. The Silver Floral on Magenta are perfect for days when I want my nails to be noticed.
I like the MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION.
I’m liking the Midnight Celebration and Heartstrings
i love Silver Floral on Magenta!
Turple Ombre and Cheetah Remix
I like the Peek-A-Boo Bunny.
I love the KISS ME OMBRE
I like the Candy Chevron
I think the first design I’d like to try is Kiss Me Ombre.
I really like the TEAL SPARKLE nails.
I like SILVER FLORAL ON MAGENTA and turple hombre
I rather like the design Fashion Delivers
I love the Scribble Hearts design! So pretty!
I like ‘Birds of a Feather’ and “Mo Mo’
I like the Turple Ombre and Kiss Me Ombre!
i love the black lace design
I love the Turple Ombre colour!
I like silver floral on magenta and teal sparkle- but it is a hard decision 🙂 They are a neat idea.
I love these Jamberry Nails and we like the Candy Chevron and the Teal Sparkle ones at this time, but we found plenty other that we liked also. Thank you for sharing this review, it is neat that these only take about 15 minutes to apply and they last longer then nail polish.
I like ‘Oh Canada’ – what a great design for July 1!
I really like the broadway design.
i love the raspberry sparkle
I love Hearstrings so much! These are all so awesome I think I need to look into becoming a rep. we don’t have one near by!
Hi Miriam! Jamberry Nails is less than 1 year in Canada, in fact they’re just opening the final providences April 1st! I’d love to send you more information about this ground floor opportunity. Sample requests were all mailed yesterday, so if you asked for one, keep an eye on your mail box. If not, send me an email!
Love the candy chevron! So many great patterns and styles to choose from. A nail junkie’s haven 🙂
Thank you!
– Dawn
The Scribble Hearts are really pretty!
I like the vintage chic.
Turple Ombre
I like the Zebra and Scribble hearts!
I love the zebra ones
I like the zebra and the heart ones
I really like the Kiss Me Ombre
I love the floral designs but especially the Vintage Chic!
Though I do love basic colour and the designs my most fave is the White Tip L. Actually, I am quite impressed that French tip is available.
I like the Raspberry sparkle and the icey rose or icey pink polka. ☺☻
my favourite are the mirror metallic gold and vintage chic!
Love the blue and purple ombre look. Great review, and these look like so much fun
I like the lotus design
I like the teal sparkle nails. Great review! One question: Do you use your right or left more for day to day tasks? I always find my right hand chips first 😛
Great question! I’m right handed, so I suppose my right hand probably chips first too. It was easier to apply the Jamberry Nails with my right hand, so I defaulted to putting them on my left. Regardless, the wraps lasted way longer.
My fave design is midnight celebration.
My favorite design is the Robins egg. Thank you♡
I like them all
Don’t forget to answer the question to get the entries. Good luck!
I love the SILVER FLORAL ON MAGENTA,i had always wondered if they stayed on well
I like the turple ombre myself. The black lace is nice too.