You may have noticed that Jamberry has a lot of options for what sort of finish to get on their wraps. The current options are Glossy, Matte, Tint, Metallic, and Sparkle. Here's a graphic that does a good job showing how they all differ in appearance:
One of the most important things to know about the different finishes is how thick or thin they make the wraps, and how much heat they need. Sparkle is the thickest (but not chunky thick, just a little thicker than the rest), and matte is the thinnest and most delicate. Sparkle needs the most heat (up to 10 or 11 seconds) to warm up the wrap before putting it on, matte needs 3-4 seconds, and the others need about 7-9 seconds.
Some people find that matte is really delicate and the tips can wear faster, but matte and tint are probably the easiest to get on smoothly (and I love matte!). Metallic and sparkle can be a little bit trickier to get on smoothly, but a lot of people find them really strong and long-lasting (and the sparkles are just so gorgeous!). The main things for getting a smooth application with any finish are to use enough heat and to use a wrap that's a little narrower than your nail - that should take care of most problems. I haven't actually had any special issues with the sparkle and metallic, but I did make sure I got those sparkle wraps good and hot before I put them on! And if I get any wearing at the tips of my nails, I just file them back down. I've generally found that all of the finishes last about equally long for me (I usually keep mine on 10-14 days), and I like them all!
If you want to know a little more about what those finishes look like on hands, let me show you (my apologies for showing you mostly pictures of retired wraps...)
This is a metallic wrap. It's really shiny! This is the color of the metallic rose gold wrap.
This is a glossy wrap. You can see how it's sort of...glossy. Most of Jamberry's wraps are glossy.
This is a matte paired with a glossy. The chevron is glossy, and the reindeer are matte. I love the matte finish! It's so smooth and delicate, almost like fine china. And it's great for small, detailed patterns because you don't lose any of the detail behind the shine! You can just see it clearly all the time. And these lasted just as long as any of my other manis.
This is a sparkle wrap with a pattern printed over it. I really like the sparkles! They are sooo sparkly and pretty in person!
I haven't tried any of the tints yet, but here's one of Jamberry's pictures of them. This is an ombre tint called "It's Complicated". The tints really are just tinted with color, and they're a little translucent. They do a great job of mimicking gels!
If you have a consultant, please order from her, but if you don't (or if I'm your consultant, of course), you can order from me at www.jambunnies.jamberrynails.net/shop. Your order ships directly to you! And don't forget that there's always a Buy 3 Get 1 Free deal!