Hello! My name is Jenn, and welcome to I Heart Nail Polish, a blog devoted exclusively to my love of nail polish and ever-growing collection of nail polishes. You may know me (and if not, you should!) from my personal blog, 
Nail stickers aka nail are is nothing more than nail polish that is fashioned into nail-shaped strips, and left adhesive on the bottom. Most of the brands (Sally Hansen, Kiss Nail Dress, Sephora, etc.) will instruct you to apply the strips to bare nails, press down, file off the edges, then be happy with 1-3 days worth of wear. To that I say PFFT. Here’s how I put on nail stickers and make them last for a week or more with minimal edge wear:
- Remove any existing nail polish
- Swipe nails with rubbing alcohol, then let dry
- Apply one coat of a clear base coat
- While the base coat is still wet, apply nail sticker
- Press firmly to adhere nail sticker, push down along sides with the broad side of a cuticle stick to ensure that the sticker fits snugly against your nail
- Give nail sticker a few minutes to bond to base coat, then apply 2-3 clear top coats, giving each coat 10-15 minutes of drying time before adding another
By following this routine I have had excellent results with any nail art I’ve tried! Hopefully you will too. 
I rarely choose nail polish with a specific outfit or piece of jewelry in mind, but since I wear mostly sterling silver or stainless steel jewelry, and I don’t own any gold or cream or tan shades of nail polish, stuff always goes together. Sometimes things don’t go together as well as they do other times, but for the most part, my love of bright colors, glitters, neons, and the like, all go with my choice of jewelry. It’s a good thing that fancy jewelry like ornate engagement rings and strands of pearls aren’t to my taste, because if they were, well, I’d have some horrible clashing going on!
In other news, I haven’t yet had the chance to try China Glaze’s Matte Magic. This recent bout of warm weather has me pulling out bright colors and glitters – sorry matte, there’s no room for you right now!
A year and a half ago I tried and fell in love with matte polish, and then promptly fell into loathe with it. I couldn’t believe how fast it chipped! I spent a weekend away in Pittsburgh touching up my polish left and right. Ugh. After that debacle, I shunned matte nail polishes. They’re pretty, but they’re just not practical. I need a polish that’ll stay put for at least 48-72 hours before it starts to wear at the edges or flake a bit (I generally apply 1-2 top coats that I make sure to get along the edge of and underneath my nails, so as to prolong things). Recently I found out about the existence of Matte Magic from China Glaze, so I ordered a bottle. It arrived yesterday, and I plan on trying it next week. I have high hopes!
I love makeup as much as I love nail polish. It’s very rare that I leave the house without wearing at least a quick application of mascara and lip balm (isn’t it weird that I love bright colors and glitter when it comes to eye shadow and nail polish, but when it comes to my lips I’m fine with a clear or lightly-tinted balm?). So when I found out that EdenFantasys started carrying makeup, you better believe that I made a few purchases!
You’re looking at Bella In Bloom Eye Shadow Palettes in Lola and Peony; the Bella In Bloom Face Palette in Papillion; and two different lip glosses. EdenFantasys has more than just these, though. And if bath & body products are your thing, you’ll be happy to know that EdenFantasys carries products for bath & shower (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face and body scrubs), as well as body (scrubs, lotions, moisturizers, and balms). So if pampering and prettying yourself up sound great, then head on over to EdenFantasys!
Many thanks to EdenFantasys, an online sex toys retailer, for the opportunity to blog about them in exchange for gift cards. If this is something that would be of interest to you, send your name, email address, blog URL, and blog title to ambassador@edenfantasys.
Winter is notoriously harsh on nails, hands, and your skin in general. Cold, blustery air outside + warm, dry/forced air inside can quickly dry out your skin and cause sensitivity. Nails can become weak and brittle, and may chip, flake, or peel easily. I strongly recommend using decent moisturizers and even everyday lotions to help protect your hands. Keep nail polish on your nails at all times, even if you just use a basecoat. Of course, something thicker and a little more durable, such as a polish that contains glitter, will provide even more protection for your nails. And if you’re planning a wedding for this time of year, keep in mind that during the winter your fingers may shrink, and in the summer they’ll thicken a bit due to heat-induced water retention. This means that you’ll need to choose your custom wedding rings with care, and make sure that you get sized routinely, so that you order a ring in the appropriate size.
One basecoat, two coats, two topcoats. Tell me this nail polish doesn’t make you think of cupcakes and sprinkles! No wonder it’s named “Candy Shop”. I love it – the creamy pink really makes the confetti glitter pop!
OPI, from left to right:
Road House Blues
Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous
Mad as a Hatter
Wet ‘n Wild FastDry nail polish collection, from left to right:
Teal of Fortune
Hannah Pinktana
Party of Five Glitters
Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat, from left to right:
Fuchsia Shock
Vintage Violet
Ink Splatter
Fractured Foil
Snow Blast
Sally Hansen HD, from left to right:
Byte
DVD