Shortcuts aren’t generally my style, but when it comes to nail polish I will try anything. It appears to be my weakness. I love the look of freshly polished nails, but I rarely go to the salon. The results of painting my own nails don’t seem to justify the work that goes into it: it is time consuming and doesn’t last. Which is what led me to try an at-home gel polish kit. I loved this kit; painting my nails was speedy, the finished product was beautiful, and the results lasted for over a week. It was perfect…until it was time to take the polish off. I followed every set of directions I could find for removing gel polish and I was repeatedly unsuccessful. The process usually took a good 30 minutes and left my nails destroyed. I would literally cringe while removing the polish. I gave up.
A few months ago, one of my Facebook friends invited me to join a super special group. She had just become a Jamberry consultant and wanted me to participate in an online party. Not knowing what Jamberry was, I quickly researched the company on Google (as any responsible adult would) and discovered that Jamberry sells “nails wraps.” I’m not usually one to jump on direct-selling bandwagons, but boy was I ready to leap.
The concept behind Jamberry nail wraps is pretty cool. The wraps are heat activated. You’re supposed to heat the wrap for 5 seconds, then tightly press it onto your nail bed, file off the excess wrap, then heat it for another 5 seconds. They have hundreds of designs, it’s quick, it’s easy, it lasts for “up to 2 weeks”, and it’s cheaper than a manicure. Obviously, I wanted these things to work.
I’ve had hit-or-miss results with Jamberry. Sometimes I’m very satisfied with my wraps and sometimes I’m frustrated. Although the application process is simple in theory, it can be tedious and therefore time-consuming. I have found that the wraps peel off the nail bed fairly easily. I think this is because the wraps are thicker than traditional polish and they are not perfectly shaped to your nail; the edges are more vulnerable to catching and picking. I don’t hate the Jamberry nail wraps, but I’m not head-over-heels in love with them either. I’m a bit ambivalent about them at the moment.
So by now you’re probably thinking that I’m going to ask for your personal opinion and/or experience with Jamberry. Surprise! That’s not what I’m going to ask (although I’d love to hear what you have to say). What I really want to know is:
- Have you heard of Jamberry (I mean, before this post)?
- Have you ever used a Jamberry product?
- How many of your friends are Jamberry consultants?
Number 3 is obviously the one I’m most interested in (hence the bold). Sure, the product is cool, but I personally have at least 3 friends who are Jamberry consultants and they each want all of their friends to have parties. Which is great, I get it. But a fair amount of my non-consultant friends have hosted parties and I’m the kind of person who tends to think, “Well, I need to buy from so-and-so’s party if I want so-and-so to buy from my party.” So if I don’t buy, I feel like I can’t invite them to my party and if I do buy, I really have no need to host my own party. Do you see the rock and the hard place?
Jamberry claims that each sheet of their wraps is good for at least 2 manicures and that each manicure is good for 2 weeks, which means that each sheet should last you about a month. They have an ongoing “Buy 3 Sheets, Get the 4th Free” promotion, which means that it’s a good idea just to get 4 sheets at a time. Which means I really only need to order 3 times a year. By the time I’m ready to host a party, I don’t really need any wraps and most of my friends are good to go as well.
I like the product and I like the direct-selling concept, but I’m not convinced that the combination is a good one. In the end, it just leaves me feeling frustrated and guilty for not hosting a party. But I realize that I’m a number cruncher and I have a tendency to self-impose a guilt-trip. I also realize that I may be an oddity (go figure); most people might only have 1 friend who is a Jamberry consultant.
So I’m curious: How many of your friends are Jamberry consultants?
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