Getting’ the blues

You may notice that my Instanotes feed shows pictures of my hand quite often, with decorated fingernails. Why is that? you ask. I’ll tell you.

I am addicted to Jamberry Nails. These awesome little things are vinyl shields with heat-activated adhesive that come in over 300 styles, take about 20 minutes to apply at home, last up to 2 weeks (I once went 18 days!), and cost about $7.50 per manicure.

How can you not love that?

Retro stripes

Even better, they don’t chip five minutes after leaving the salon. You don’t have to wait 30 minutes at least for them to dry. You don’t have to spend $35 every two weeks to have fab looking hands.

Jamberry Juniors

If your little diva princess likes to have her nails done, you can make her look like a million bucks with Jamberry Juniors, specially sized for little hands.

Happy Valentines Day

I have always been blessed with attractive hands and nails, and I like them to look good. I’ve tried acrylic nails, gel nails and regular old polish, but it always comes down to the same things. They chip, they are expensive, and they require maintenance in a salon. I don’t like being tied to anything that could potentially be a hassle. Nail salons are a dime a dozen but quality manicures aren’t. Half the time you never get the same person twice, and at some of these large nail salons you don’t even see the same people week after week.

A friend of mine introduced me to Jamberry Nails about a year & a half ago. I instantly fell for the nail art aspect of them. They have florals, solids, graphics, charitable, school pride, even sports. Everything you can imagine you can probably find.

Red swiss dots

And if you are concerned about doing them on yourself, stop worrying! These are almost fool proof. If you can put a sticker on straight, you can do these. The beauty is that they come multisized on one sheet, so skinny pinky up to wide big toe sizes. You determine which one fits your nail the best, warm it up with something like a hair dryer, place it on your nail with some pressure to seal it down, then file off the end with a regular emory board. Voila, done!

Dramatic for a party

The vinyl is also BPA free, formaldehyde free, vegan, and made in the USA. If you worry about your little diva princess biting her fingernails, worry no longer. I have even heard stories of people who chewed their nails for years, only to find Jamberry Nails and like them so much they broke their nail biting habit. Awesome.

Pretty pink plaid

There are a few tricks out there, and it can never hurt to research them. On YouTube there are great tutorials on different application techniques. It all depends on your nails. Some nails are dry, some oily. There are ways to work with them. I personally spritz my nails with hairspray before applying the shield, and then once they are all on I run my hands under the hair dryer.

Also, even though they are easy to change, you don’t want to just rip them off your nails. Just like with a gel nail, you need the adhesive to release, otherwise it can take a bit of your nail with it. The Jamberry Nails website has a gentle removal technique they prefer. I use Melaleuca’s Sol-u-Mel in a little water to release the adhesive and remove any residue. It’s up to you what method you use.

I also use Nailtiques nail moisturizer under the tips of my nails every night. It helps to keep the nails strong. A good hand lotion with vitamin D or a cuticle oil is also suggested by the website.

I don’t sell Jamberry Nails. I just really love them. Frankly, I’m certainly helping my friend Angela send her three kids to college with my addiction haha. If you are a fan of great looking nails without the inconvenience of going to a salon and waiting (and who knows if the nail polish is contaminated with someone else’s toenail fungus, ick), you might give them a try. Plus, they have a buy-three-get-one-free promotion almost all the time. So for $45 you can get a minimum of 8 manicures. Even at a cheap salon, 8 manicures could run you around $120. That’s a $75 savings, and maybe you want to spend that on shoes!

Wait, did someone say shoes??