Nail Art: 4th of July with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

Ever since my obsession with Chartreuse Chase, I vowed to give a little more attention to the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line, so I was thrilled to receive these three polishes to review.

In July, Sally Hansen will be adding 6 street inspired Insta-Dri polishes. From the press release: Borrowing from the city-cool of graffiti tags and street art, these six new shades are tailored for women with an independent spirit and a unique style all their own. Right on!

I got to play around with three: Vandal Eyes (Carolina blue), Tag, Ur It! (white creme), and Quick Brick (bright cherry red). I really had fun playing with these polishes. They were all opaque in two or three coats and I really like the wider brush.

I am forever making nail polish goals. That sounds weird, I’ll give you an example. One of my biggest polish goals is to attempt more nail art – and to share my successes & failures with you guys. It’s the failures part that’s terrifying to me. I’m a super perfectionist, so it’s a bit challenging. My “nail art” to date has been VERY basic: polka dots (election day, Dana Volmer), alternating colors: Britney Spears, Neon Skittles, and a my favorite: Blackfish. So, I thought it’d be fun to try and branch out of my comfort zone just a little for the 4th of July.

The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes retail for 4.99 for .31 oz. These particular polishes will be available beginning in July at drugstores and mass retailers (think: CVS, Walgreens, & Ulta). I haven’t seen these pretties anywhere yet, but if you have I’d love to know where you spotted them!

Take a peek below for swatches reviews of all three polishes and some attempts at nail art. Let me know your favorite, I still haven’t decided which I’ll choose for the 4th! For more ideas, check out the related posts – I’ve included links to a few of Alli’s mega-patriotic posts.

The product(s) used in this post were provided to TDV for review. For more information check out our disclosure policy.

Quick Brick. Take your nails from naked to a true cherry red in as little as 60 seconds. I used two coats for an opaque finish. The name fits the overall collection theme better than it does the polish, but since that’s my only complaint, I think we’re in good shape.

Vandal Eyes. Think the color of the sky on a sunny, cloudless day. Now you know this cheery, bright blue. This is my favorite of the three polishes. I love the name, it’s clever without trying too hard (see: Quick Brick, Tag, Ur

It!). I used three coats to build to an opaque look. It has just the slightest touch of shimmer, but it’s barely noticeable – even in direct sun.

Tag, Ur it! This boldly opaque white is crisp, clean, and totally cool. I’m SO picky about white polish – to the point where I’ve given all of mine away except for OPI’s Alpine Snow. I’m excited to say that Tag, Ur It! is a keeper. It’s a bit thicker than I typically prefer but I think it’ll be a great base

for nail art and neons – and though I’m not a stamper, it could work well in that arena too. Two coats. The name though… worse than Quick Brick.

The other 3 new polishes to the Insta-Dri line are Color Me Good (Sea Foam Green), City Slicker (Amethyst), and Street Cred (cool toned electric pink). I may “need” to pick up Street Cred just for the name.

Alright, time for adventures in nail art with Katie! Eeek. Let’s throw in a bottle shot for a buffer, eh?

Chanel Polka Dots. First I decided to try out a Chanel inspired mani, using Quick Brick & Tag, Ur It! I really love the simplicity of this look, but it wasn’t very festive – not for the 4th of July anyway, so I added a simple line of polka dots using Vandal Eyes.

Waterfall. Alli has done a few of these and I particularly love this one.

I started off with Vandal Eyes as my base. In retrospect, I wish I’d started with a white base because.. well, it kinda looks like a pinterest baking fail.

I decided to try and save it with a touch of silver courtesy of OPI My Signature is “DC”. I like this look a bit better – a little sparkle makes everything better, right?

Dry Brush Nails. Next! This look was actually the first I tried early last week. This is my first attempt at a dry brush mani. I’ve admired this look for ages. I started off with Tag, Ur It! as my base and wiped all but the very tiniest bit of polish from the brush (hence the name “dry” brush”) to add swipes of Quick Brick and Vandal Eyes. I didn’t like it at first, but this really grew on me. Something about it reminds me of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album cover. Only me?