PIC HEAVY TUTORIAL :)
What do you think of nail wraps? You may remember recently I was very curious about them and got some Jamberry Nail Shields mailed to me to sample. (You can check that review out here, by the way: http://atpeacewithpolish.blogspot.com/2013/07/jamberry-nail-strips.html?m=1)
Well around that time I also donated $9 to a neat little Kickstarter project founded by Chelsea Kent and called Scratch! These uniquely adorned wraps vary in availability from month to month. The Scratch site states, "Our goal with Scratch is to create amazing art for our nails, together. Teaming up with incredible nail artists, designers, bloggers and illustrators from around the world, we will bring a new collection of well designed nail wraps every month. Each month will be focused on the current Featured Artist. You'll be able to purchase their collection which will directly support the artist with a % of every sale."
Obviously I thought this sounded very cool! The project had already met its projected goal before it was suggested to me, but I felt that it was a good investment and I had no idea which wrap I would be getting - and who doesn't love surprises?
When my package from Scratch arrived it contained a cute green chevron set of wraps in several sizes, directions to locate their easy to follow instructions, and a cute mini file. I thought it was a good opportunity to do a basic tutorial for you all!
First you should make sure your nails are clean and dry. No base coat needed (and they didn't leave any damage!)
The next thing I had to do was pick the right size, of course. Next ya tear your strip off and start peeling! It's pretty cool, actually, the way it's made. The strip essentially comes apart in three pieces: the top plastic cover, the strip itself, and the thicker plastic cover over the adhesive. I found that it didn't really matter which I removed first.
Next you apply the strip against your cuticle. The adhesive is wonderful - sticky, yet forgiving if you have to move it to line up your wrap. The plastic is also nice and stretchy and shiny! The instuctions say to add a top coat but I wonder if it's really necessary....?
Press the wrap down over your nail to all the edges and make it stick. Here's where the file comes in handy! The instuctions say to file the extra length off in a downward motion - I had to file the bottom and sides on most of my tiny nails. I actually pressed the wrap down against my nail edge to begin sort of a tear, but DON'T just pinch it off! It will yank a little piece of the wrap off your nail that you don't want to lose. Trust me, I learned that the hard way!!!
Here is where I got frustrated. My nails are very tiny. For this reason I will not be using wraps anymore. The wraps are pretty uniform in their designs but in a way that the precut is designed for the strip size, not the nail size. Does that make sense? If you look at my pic of the finished mani you will see what I mean. It seemed to me that once done I had a sloppy mess of green. Some nails looked like I had applied them crooked or didn't use all the green colors, etc. Top it with your favorite top coat polish and you're all done.
Overall I thought this product was fantastic! They lasted until I took them off without any issues - much better wear time than Jamberry. Scratch even has a monthly subscriber box now. I adore this idea, but like I said, I think the art doesn't get portrayed well on my tiny nails. I would probably buy them as a gift though!!
You can't get these particular wraps anymore, but every month is something new! Go see what's up for October at www.goscratchit.com!
