Why I'm Not Impressed with Jamberry

A few months ago, a friend of mine hosted a Jamberry nail wraps party, and even though I couldn't attend the party, I still ordered a $15 set of nail wraps from my friend online. These nail wraps are supposed to be a more cost-effective way to give yourself a manicure (as opposed to going to an expensive salon) and the manicure is supposed to last longer with no chipping or flaking.

Unfortunately, the two times I tried my nail wraps did not give me a satisfying experience. Here's why.

terrible instructions

If you've never seen someone apply the nail wraps in person, don't try to do it yourself using only the instructions on the package. You HAVE to watch the official how-to video, otherwise, you're not going to know some very important, and possibly helpful, information.

Did you know you're not supposed to touch the nail wraps with your fingers? And that you're supposed to cut the nail wraps in half? And that "filing in a downward motion" probably doesn't mean what you think it does?

Not knowing any of that on my first application attempt made the application process really difficult and frustrating. After getting a nail wrap on only one thumb, it looked so bad that I removed the nail wrap and just painted my nails with polish.

I did decide to give the nail wraps a second try after watching the how-to video. I was more optimistic, but I still ended up removing the wraps after only one day of wear. Here's why:

1. It was more difficult applying the nail wraps with my non-dominant hand than using nail polish. This seems like it should be a two-person job if you're not ambidextrous.

2. I don't think my nails are abnormally sized, but the majority of the nail wraps on the sheet were too big for my nails. That meant they didn't stick right on my nails despite my attempts to smooth them out and get the sides to adhere.

You can see the improper fit of the wraps on my
ring, middle, and pointer fingers.

3. Filing off the excess only makes the tips of the nail wraps look ratty and unkempt. I also had a hard time getting the tips of my nail wraps to stay stuck to the tips of my nails.

improper fit, ugly tips

4. The company says you can use a blow dryer as your heat source, but they really want you to shell out more money for the official Jamberry heater. You can't hold a blow dryer and apply pressure to the wraps with one hand. (Again, two-person job.)

When I was finished, the Jamberry manicure looked okay, but after wearing them all day at work, I realized I had been fooling myself. My nails are on camera quite a bit for work, and while filming, I saw just how sloppy some of the nail wraps looked.

I can't give Jamberry a third try because even though there are nail wraps left on my sheet, none of them are the right size for my nails, and I'd rather not spend another $15 plus shipping for another sheet.

What am I supposed to do with those giant wraps?

For $15, I could buy two colors of nail polish. (I could also get a professional manicure in NYC.) Even though it probably took me half the time to apply the nail wraps as it does to paint my nails, I'd still rather spend my Sunday night sitting in front of my TV with my polishes watching trash TV instead of standing in my bathroom by myself with my blow dryer.