Review: Bauble New York nail wraps (Or, Holly Jolly!)

Hello!

I have a double-feature today--a review plus nail art. :)

I have been falling in love with the convenience of nail wraps, once I realized that they don't limit nail art, but can actually be just one more awesome tool that enhances nail art.

So far I've only tried one type of wraps, so I was very excited when Bauble New York approached me about testing out a set of their new nail wraps. They have a very nice-sized collection of wraps to choose from, with a range of types, including some designs that are very hard to create on your own--take a look at Life Is But A Dream to see what I mean.

Another beauty is Emerald's Addiction To Gold, the set that they sent me. This set features a gold foil base with a tealish green accenting it. I love this look and often create nail art like it by using nail foils, which can be a pain, can be time consuming, and can be tricky to get the look that you want--so the idea of a set that could create the look with no fuss at all was very appealing:

These work just like the other nail wraps I've tried. You choose the strips that are the closest in size to your nail, then one at a time you peel the top and bottom clear layers off to reveal the nail strip. You place the strip on the nail and put it gently into place, picking it back up and adjusting as needed. Once in place, you push down on wrap firmly to make it seal to the nail. Here is what they look like on:

Bauble New York Emerald's Addiction To Gold

Bauble New York Emerald's Addiction To Gold

 You'll notice that on my ring finger I have a teeny bit of puckering. This is because I wasn't careful to check that I had it placed correctly before I pressed down to seal the wrap to the nail. You'll notice this didn't happen on my other three nails; this was user error, not an issue with the wraps, and I easily avoided it on the other fingers. Just make sure to double-check all your edges before you go press down over the nail to seal it, and you'll be fine. And notice that even in the pictures it doesn't look that bad, and in person it's actually much less noticeable.

The instructions suggest that you use a topcoat with these nails, but I'm not convinced that you need it. These pictures are without topcoat, and I thought they looked nice and shiny without it--I couldn't tell much difference after I added the topcoat (you can see the topcoated nails in the nail art shots below).

If you do use topcoat with them, the instructions warn that you may get peeling on any edges that weren't pressed down firmly, and this happened to me. They tell you that if it happens, just wait for the topcoat to dry, and then press those edges down again. I did just that, and it worked just fine.

I promised you some nail art with this, and tomorrow's theme in the 12 Days of Christmas challenge is holly--and it seemed to me that this would be a perfect base for some awesome holly. I freehanded some holly leaves on my ring finger with acrylic paints, and then added two sizes of rhinestones for my holly berries. You know I had to have rhinestones, 'cause it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling:

Have a holly jolly Christmas! 

It's the best time of the year!

Can you even see the puckering now? That's how not visible it actually is, even though the camera picked it up in the close-ups. And can you tell the difference with topcoat? If you can, you have better eyes than I do. :)

These nail wraps will go on sale starting on Dec. 27th--perfect time to stock up for the new year!

This was a wonderful manicure that was perfect for me today...after a very busy week that was complicated by a cold that sapped all of my energy, I finally felt well enough today to clean the house and decorate. These wraps made it super fast for me to have a festive, fun manicure that looked like it took me forever, and left me time to do other things. I even baked some brownies! A holly-licious manicure was the icing on the cake (or...the brownies?).

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend,
M.