Nailed It! Nail Wraps Review and Giveaway

As the title of this post so slyly hints, I have a couple of exciting things to share today: a product review and a giveaway! (You're shocked and amazed, I know.)

Like a lot of geeky nail art lovers, I was super extremely excited last summer when Espionage Cosmetics launched their "NAILED IT!" Kickstarter for geek-themed nail wraps. I mean, geek-themed nail wraps! That basically has my name written all over it! I supported the project within the first few days, and then gradually kept increasing my pledge as they released more designs and I got more and more excited... and then suddenly, when the funding period ended and all the stretch rewards were tallied, I had a lot of nail wraps coming my way. Like, a lot a lot. Like, way more nail wraps than one human could ever hope to use. I gifted some to friends and family who were interested in sporting geeky nails, but I still had so many left that now I'm sharing some with you, my lovely readers, too.

First, however: my review!

I've used a handful of all the different nail wraps on the market, and overall, I think these stack up really well in comparison. They're essentially an extremely thin sticker (not the "real nail polish" style wraps), but I've found that they behave a lot like the "real polish" wraps when it comes to application, wear, etc. And as you can see, they look stunning! This set is called Burtonesque and does a really amazing job of evoking that whimsically creepy Tim Burton vibe.

The Espionage Cosmetics team wrote up some really great instructions that are included with each set of wraps (you can check out the full line of them here, by the way), so I won't rehash those, but I do want to go over some additional observations/tips from my experiences with these wraps. (And, this is going to be one of my long-winded numbered lists, so apologies in advance! Keep scrolling if you just want more pics and/or giveaway details.)

1. Unless you're a pro at using nail wraps, expect application to take a bit longer than the advertised 10 minutes. It could be that my perfectionist streak was just really working against me, but it took more like 30 minutes for me to get all my nails wrapped and looking just how I wanted. That's still a totally doable time investment for impressive nails, in my opinion.
2. These puppies are thin. That's great news overall, because that means they look better on your nails, but it also means you need to slow down and be patient when applying them or you can end up with crooked wraps, wrinkles, or wraps that curl over on themselves in mid-air when the wind gusts through your window (ahem).
3. You can use a small brush and acetone for cleanup, just like with nail polish. I filed off the excess wrap on my free edges, but rather than trimming or using another nail to pull off any excess around my cuticles, I just grabbed my normal cleanup brush and some acetone and it worked great! Takes a few more passes than when you're just cleaning up polish, but I got nice clean edges and the acetone even helped melt the wraps down onto my nails so that I didn't get any lifting at all when I applied top coat.
4. These wraps just peel right off when you're ready to remove them. Really! Even after more than a week of wearing them! Even when they're shellacked with top coat! Don't be like me and try to remove them with polish remover, because it will go very poorly and you will curse and be frustrated and then feel like a dummy when you finally try to peel them off with tweezers and they just pop right off.

I think that covers everything! Seriously though, minor quibbles aside, I really love these wraps and I couldn't stop staring at them the entire time I wore them. (Which was a long time: as I mentioned before, they still looked perfect after more than a week.) I'm planning on hoarding the rest of my stash for when I go on vacations or to conventions and I want a long-lasting, unique manicure.

And now for the giveaway!

As a thank-you to all my readers for making my first full year of blogging so much fun, and to help spread the word about these great wraps, I'm giving away four sets of Espionage Cosmetics's Nailed It! wraps from my collection. (Don't worry, these are all new and unopened.) I picked out what I think are four of the most universally awesome and wearable designs for this giveaway, since I know not everyone is as geeky as I am and may not be into circuit board or Ninja Turtle nails. The wraps included, from left to right, are Burtonesque, Smashing, Clinically Insane, and Chainmail.

Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. You must be a follower of Amateur Manicure to win. This giveaway is open internationally, yay! The giveaway closes at 9 am PDT on June 20, 2014, and once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. More detailed terms and conditions are listed in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway