The Beauty Diaries: Mani Monday

Over the last few weeks life has been a little hectic for me, leaving me not much time to paint my nails. In the past, I've had great success with the Sally Hanson Quick Gel manicures, but I wanted to try something that didn't require using a UV light. I found two different options: Jamberry Nails and Incoco Nail Polish Appliques. Who lasted longer??? Keep reading to find out.

The Jamberry Nails
My Wear time = 1 day
Price = $15

Jamberry sent me two of their nail wraps for me to try. The directions require you to apply the wraps to clean nails. They even include an alcohol wipe in the packaging. After matching the nail wrap to the nail, you would warm it up with a mini heater or blow dryer. I used a blow dryer. This should soften up the wrap making it easy to apply. Apply pressure to adhere the wrap to the nail, sealing the edges. Last, apply more heat to the nail to bond it to the nail.

I did all of this Saturday morning. The first thing I noticed is that the nail design faced you and not the other direction which is very usual. If someone wanted to see the design on my hand, it would appear backwards. Within a few hours, I had already started to notice some lifting around the edges. By the end of the day, my nails were peeling off and catching on everything so I just decided to take them off.

Incoco Nail Polish Appliques
My Wear Time = 10 to 14 days
Price = $5.99

I purchased these nail appliques at my local beauty supply store. They come in a pack of 16 nails and are made from real nail polish. Applying them was super easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. After selecting the proper size for your nail, simply apply them to clean nails and file off the edges. No heat lamp, no blow dryer. Quick and easy. The best thing about it is they last! I wore mine for almost two weeks.

Maybe I didn't use enough heat or my dry wasn't hot enough, but my results with the Jamberry Nails weren't very great and for that reason I won't be purchasing them again. On the other hand, I'm already on my second one.