For the last two years I have been haunted by countless invites to online Jamberry parties. I always resisted because I enjoyed doing my own nail art. When I started my own nail art blog, Wicked Splatters, I was especially hesitant to use any printed nail art because I felt like a fraud. Recently I signed up to beta test the new subscription box for Espionage Cosmetic’s nerd make-up line. When I got my first box guess what I got…. Four of their signature Nailed It Nail Wraps, their Humidor storage pouch and a nail file. Upon opening the package I fell in love with the wraps. The wraps in my box were Metal Man, For Science, Batty and Pirates, Ahoy!
Between my commitments to the soccer community, teaching summer school and constant traveling through California, I haven’t had much time to create awesome nail art lately. The exception being my awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle nails in the picture with the box. I decided to give the wraps a try. I started with the Metal Man wraps since I was planning on going to a Sacramento Republic game and their team colors are essentially red and gold. I pretty much got everything I needed to do my manicure in my beta box with the exception of the optional top coat. They also give you the easy to follow instructions about 3-4 times over along with tutorials on the Espionage Cosmetic’s website so it’s pretty much fool proof. (Thank the Maker!)
The wraps were really easy to apply. You match the wrap with your nails. There are seven sizes and I ended up using the middle five for my manicure. I was careful when I was filing the excess off and was able to save the extra wrap to use on a pedicure later. The file that they provided was perfect for getting the excess off with out damaging the rest of it. If I was paying attention to the way the gradient ran on the wraps I would have been a little more creative with the the actual design between the nails but it was my first time so it wasn’t perfect. The nice thing is that it is easy to pick the wrap back up if you lay it on crookedly the first time as long as you don’t pat it all the way down. Once my wraps were applied and filed I used OPI’s From Start to Finish, a combined base and top coat, to set the wraps. (Note: I did not apply a base coat before applying my wraps.) I loved the finished product and how fast and easy it is to apply, that I used the left overs to do a pedicure. This was a little bit more tricky since I had to cut them down to size to fit on my toe nails but they looked great.
I am pretty brutal on my nails, which is part of the reason that I paint them so often. I was curious to see how well these would hold up with my crazy life. I applied them on Wednesday night. They held up pretty well the first three days. I started noticing some wear on them after attending the first soccer game on Saturday. The next day I attended another soccer game and this time I was setting up a tailgate, 
and our supporters section along with lots of bouncing around and variety of other things. When I got home the wraps were pretty trashed. Once I took off my shoes the wraps were completely gone off a couple of my toes. I decided to take the rest of the wraps off and try another set. If you’re a person who loves to pick at your nails, you will love picking these off. I wasn’t able to find a suggested way to remove the wraps so I just peeled them of and used some acetone polish remover to take off the residue glue. After that I was able to apply a new set. There’s no soccer games for a couple weeks so we’ll see if these last longer.
Over all these were pretty awesome. They look great on your nails and Espionage has a variety of fun nerd themed prints to choose from. They were very quick and easy to apply, plus there are easy to follow instructions plus the video tutorial linked above. While my first attempted didn’t last very long for me, I have heard from other friends who have used these that they can last up to two weeks. I have already ordered more wraps and can’t wait to try them out.
You can get your own nerd manicure nail wraps at EspionageCosmetics.com and you can find links to what I have featured, on all of the product names listed above.
