I've always wanted to try nail decals but never bit the bullet on them. So when Adriane, an independent consultant from Jamberry Nails (check out her site
HERE), recently contacted me about reviewing a set of Jamberry Nail Shields, I was very excited!
Jamberry Nail Shields cost $15 per sheet and are sold through independent consultants (think like Mary Kay or Avon). There are literally
hundreds of designs to choose from, so no matter what your tastes or interests are, there's going to be a design for you. I had a hard time picking but ultimately settled on a design called Birds. One sheet is said to be enough to do 2-3 sets of nails or toes, which seems accurate to me based on the fact you get 18 nail shields with each sheet and they're pretty generously sized. The stickers arrive on a sheet, like so:
And here is what they look like on the nail right after applying:
Cute, right? There's a small learning curve involved, but application is simple once you get it down. The nail shields come with clear, detailed instructions and Adriane also included several of her own tips and tricks that were very helpful for a newbie like myself! Basically, you heat the appliques up with heat from your blowdryer. After you stick the shield to your nail and smooth everything out, cut off the excess half of the shield (You can re-heat these, so stick the unused half back on the sheet and save it for next time!) then file in a downward motion until the shape of the sticker lines up with the edge of your nail.
The shields come with a clear protective layer over the design, so you don't need to use any topcoat, although I suppose you could if you wanted to. Although I am holding my topcoat bottle in the pictures above, I didn't use any for this mani because I wanted to see how well the shields wore on their own.
I moved this past weekend, so I seriously put my poor nail shields through the ringer while wearing them and they held up very well despite the major beating I gave them. At first I kept worrying they were going to rip or fall off, but these things are tough! They lasted through packing, moving, prying open a rather stubborn storage locker, cleaning, swimming at my new place's pool (Yay!), you name it. Some of the shields dimpled around the edges over time, but overall they really stayed put and none of the shields peeled, ripped or fell off. Here is what they looked like after four really rough days of wear:
These would be perfect for a vacation when you don't want to pack polish and remover. They're surprisingly sturdy and stood up against whatever I threw at them. The shields still had a lot of life in them when I took them off and I could easily see these lasting at least a week or more. Removal is just as easy as application. Just get under the edge of the nail shield and peel the shield off. The shields didn't leave any residue or adhesive on my nails afterwards. Since I've still got a lot of shields left, I want to try these for my next pedi!
I'd say my first foray into nail shields was a success! I was very impressed with how much these shields were able to withstand and I had a great experience with my consultant Adriane. Although I didn't have any issues applying my nail shields, she assured me she would be available for any questions or troubleshooting if I did need any help. To learn more about Jamberry Nail Shields or about placing a Jamberry order with Adriane, you can access her website
HERE.
Disclosure: This product was provided for my honest review. For more details, please see my disclosure policy.
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