Manicure Monday: Chic Polka Dots

Happy Monday!

I'm feeling pretty chic over here at JessicaHeartsBeauty with these polka dot manicures that are fun, yet chic and oh so easy! I picked up a Sally Hansen I <3 Nail Art Pen in black (the fine tip one) this week and have been putting it to the test!

The first one I tested out started with a simple pale pink as the base (Essie's "Fiji") then I kept it simple by just making little dots randomly spaced apart using the nail art pen mentioned above.

The next manicure I tried was a beautiful champagne gold glitter polish (OPI My Favorite Ornament,) then painted a white accent nail (Essie Marshmallow) and added a few black polka dots using my nail art pen. 

Note: I attempted to do stripes the first time I tried this nail art pen but I could not master it. Therefore, I resorted to doing polka dots only. I would like to play with this pen more and see what else I could do besides just polka dots. 

What do you think of these nail looks?

xoxo

Current Nail Polish Favs!

 I am all about the blues right now! It started with my obsession with pale pastel blue–an understated chic–and has moved to electric denim colors–so fun for spring!

Okay this looks like a hodge podge of colors, yet I have been loving each of these colors on nails this spring (separate manicures of course.) As you can tell I'm a little all over the place with nails colors in the spring. On cloudy rainy days I still love my dark oxblood red polish, but when the sun starts shining I prefer pastel pinks and mint. China Glaze in Flip Flop Fantasy has been fun to use as an accent nail color to liven up dark manicures.

What colors are you loving as we transition into spring??

xoxo Jess

Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips Review

Recently I picked up these Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips in Pretty 'N Poppy from CVS (for a hefty $15!) they are about $5 cheaper at Target, but I was unaware at the time. Basically what it boils down to is these strips are pretty easy as far as gel goes, and have cute designs but they just don't fit exactly right and are quite expensive. If you're looking for a fun manicure for a night or two, these might be a good option but I don't think they are worth it for solid polish colors. There are so many better gel options at the drugstore like the SensatioNail brand.

Pros:

-Easiest gel manicure (the fewest steps)
-The polish comes in strips that adhere to your nail so you only have to paint on a clear top coat.
-Adorable designs you can't get from typical polish
-Lasts about a week with no chips–not as long as normal gel but better than regular polish.
-Super shiny (as with all gels)

Cons:

-Not cost effective at all, you have to buy the LED lamp (unless you already have one like I did) The top coat and nail strips for one manicure are $15, if you don't have an LED lamp you will have to buy the starter kit also which is pricey.
- My biggest issue with these strips was the fit. As you can see from the pictures below, the strips are too round at the nail bed for my nails–resulting in weird gaps by the base of my nail. Also, I found that almost all of the nail strips were too wide for my nails and I don't have particularly small nails.

The pictures below are after a week. There is a little chipping on the tips but mostly at the nail bed, I think it's because they didn't fit all that well to start with. The photo on the left is a little blurry (sorry!) but it shows how the strips really didn't fit my nails that well.

CVS Nail & Skincare Haul

Hi Lovelies!

Yesterday I had a few coupons and extra bucks to CVS and decided it was time to (finally) pick up some much needed eye cream and to try the Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips in Pretty 'N Poppy. I used the Insta Gel Strips yesterday and so far they're cute but a little frustrating to use, I will post a full review later this week. I was on the hunt for a drugstore eye cream to help with the dreaded dark circles since I had run out of my Michael Todd True Organics one and couldn't justify the $40. This Yes to Grapefruits Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream had pretty good reviews and I have loved everything I've tried from the Yes to lines. I've only used it twice so far but it's nice, smells like grapefruit and is fairly moisturizing. If you would like a full review in a couple of weeks (once I've really put it to the test) let me know in the comments below!

PS Today is going to be a double post day, so check back for tonight's post around 8 pm PST. :)