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the Rite of Aging…early

~ Navigating Rheumatoid Arthritis through Beauty and Nail Art

the Rite of Aging…early

Author Archives: MonicawithRA

Christmas Decals | Nail Art

07 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

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Items provided for review.

I really wanted to wait to use these decals until at least mid November but I just couldn’t help myself. I received this specific set for review from Born Pretty Store but I bought like six other ones as well that are waiting patiently in my water decal bag.

I can easily see myself doing holiday nail art every day in December and definitely trying really hard not to during November. As the holiday season is only four weeks or so, please excuse me as this is the only time of year I can do the fun nail art!

Born Pretty does some seriously cute holiday decals which I purchase every year. I usually have some left over but once the decals are open they only last a few months before drying out and disintegrating in water. That’s okay though, the BPS brand decals are very cheap and very worth the money. I always stock up on the cute reindeers and equally adorable snowmen!

 

Let’s just blow past my red and swollen fingers. I “accidentally” went climbing and ended up with a nasty flare this past week. ::Sigh:: I am seriously considering no longer climbing but after 12+ years of it, it’s hard to quit.

 

Christmas Water Decals Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Formula X Platinum Prime, Timeless Teal (Infinite Ombre kit)

Stamping: Pueen Cosmetics PUEEN45 (I was pleasantly surprised by how well the sheer tint stamped!)

Decals: Born Pretty Store ($0.99/sheet – BLE12)

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

10% off code

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Fall Leaves Stamping | Nail Art

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry M, Born Pretty Store, Nail Art, Pueen Cosmetics, SinfulColors, stamping, Zoya

Now that Halloween is over I can focus on fun autumn looks. And, since winter/holiday nail arts are my absolute favorite I will definitely sneak those in as well!

For today’s looks I tried triple stamping! I used a variety of different stamps and plates and am so thrilled with how this came out. I sometimes struggle with double stamping so this was a real treat for me!

I debated between a pure gold or white gold base and am glad I chose the latter. The orange wouldn’t have shown up as well and it works nicely with the other colors.

My nails remind me of looking down at the ground! Everywhere. We had a massive rainstorm and it took down all the leaves last week. Unfortunately, now they have all turned brown and dead but hopefully we have another wave of leaf fall before the winter!

I hope you like it!

 

Triple Stamping Fall Leaves Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Zoya Severine

Stamping: Barry M Chili, Zoya Louise, SinfulColors Feel the Vibe, variety of stamps from both Pueen Cosmetics plate PUEEN76, Born Pretty Store BP19

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Candy Corn Sponging with Water Decals | Nail Art

25 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

acrylic paint, Born Pretty Store, Halloween, Nail Art, sponging

Items provided for review. All opinions are my own.

These are the only Halloween decals I would do. The skeleton is so happy and the bat is smiling. How can those be scary??

Every year I try to do a candy corn gradient on my nail and this year I decided to switch to an acrylic sponging. I had to re-do the base just because I didn’t realize how over-powering the orange was. The first time I sponged the design across the nail I ended up with a purely orange nail! After that, I painted an pin-size drop and even then you can see how much it spread!

I hope you like it!

 

Candy Corn Sponging and Decals Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Sinful Colors Whiteboard, acrylic paints

Decals: Born Pretty Store ($1.99/sheet) – linked here

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

10% off code

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Simple Halloween Glitter Gradient | Nail Art

22 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Reviews

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Tags

Formula X Nails, glitter gradient, Halloween, Nail Art, rafriendlynailart, review, Urban Outfitters, Zoya

When the Formula X first landed at Sephora I scurried over to my nearest store. On first look, I was completely gutted about the price tag. It was nearly twice as much as the old Sephora by OPI line. No thanks…For a seemingly unfamiliar brand, my guess is most people would not be interested in purchasing these new polishes.

Of course, I had gone all this way just for this polish range (yeah, I kept telling myself that) so I had to purchase one! Two years later, I am glad I did. Bombshell, a black and orange hex glitter topper, was discontinued soon after it’s release. It’s still one of the most unique glitters I’ve seen to date. I only use it during October for obvious reasons and it never disappoints.

I hope you enjoy today’s simple glitter gradient!

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Halloween Glitter Gradient Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Zoya Pippa, Urban Outfitters Banana Hammock

Glitter: Formula X for Sephora Bombshell

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Bath and Body Works | Haul

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Reviews

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Tags

Bath and Body Works, candles, hand soaps, haul, homewares, review

Purchased by me. Not affiliated.

I am by no means a Bath and Body Works devotee but I regularly use their hand soaps. More often than not I think Bath and Body Works is too expensive for the products they sell. This being said, B&BW has frequent promotions and apps like RetailMeNot help me score extra coupon codes so I never purchase anything full price and the hand soaps cost less than those at the drugstore!

In my most recent haul I purchased seven hand soaps and two candles. I rarely purchase candles at B&BW as I prefer Yankee Candles for my scented wax needs but the medium sizes were 40% off so I took a look. I prefer the medium jars because the minis are too small and the 3-wicks burn too quickly. The mediums do not last particularly long but at the sale price I’m happy to try a few out.

What do you think of Bath and Body Works? Are you a mega-fan or not?

Ebates | RetailMeNot App

 

Bath and Body Works Candles - Fall 2015 | The Rite of Aging

(White Barn – Vanilla Bean Medium Scented Candle)

(B&BW Home Pumpkin Pie Medium Scented Candle)

I love vanilla and all the scent variations it comes in. This candle smells exactly like the spicy vanilla bean which is my favorite form. Unfortunately, while the unlit wax has some scent once lit it barely has any. It has a very heavy, stagnant quality that does not transfer to the whole room. This was not entirely unexpected as the holder does not come with a cover and scented wax loses it’s potency when exposed to air. I may have purchased this for the cute frosted jar and will repurpose it.

I took a chance with Pumpkin Pie hoping it would not be too sweet. I was happily surprised. It is sweet but smells exactly like pumpkin pie spice. Unlike the Vanilla candle, this candle’s scent is light and drifts easily through the house. Within the hour my entire basement smells strongly and starts to creep up on to the main floor. A definite re-purchase for next year.

 

Fall 2015 - Bath and Body Works Hand Soaps | The Rite of Aging

Cozy Vanilla Cream | White Peach Chardonnay | Fall Lakeside Breeze | Sunlight & Apple Trees | Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte | Warm Vanilla Sugar | Japanese Cherry Blossom

I opt for the Gentle Foaming soaps during the colder months because they do not dry out my hands like the Deep Cleansing ones do. Unfortunately, the pump is difficult to control and I waste the soap because I only need a half-pump of product!

I never hesitate to buy the nature-inspired scents because they always smell fresh and B&BW does fruit well. White Peach is the sweetest and smells exactly like peach juice. Sunlight is my favorite with a crisp scent. Fall Lakeside smells like warm, wet autumn woods.

I always purchase a few classics like Japanese Cherry Blossom and Warm Vanilla Sugar for the spring months when I lose interest in seasonal collections. Bath and Body Works classic scents are always the most understated and non-offensive to me.

I was bitten by the Fall bug so I couldn’t help but try a couple of their limited edition scents. I am not too impressed with either of them. They smell remarkably similar. Cozy Vanilla Cream and Marshmallow Pumpkin both smell like nondescript dessert  cocktails but Marshmallow Pumpkin is a little sweeter and more marshmallow-y.

 

I would highly recommend the Pumpkin Pie Scented Candle and Sunlight & Apple Trees, Fall Lakesides hand soaps.

I hope this post was helpful for you. I love haul posts and I think they’re helpful with stores like Bath and Body Works where if you place an order nose-blind it really can be hit or miss!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Neon Sugar-Spin | Nail Art

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

American Apparel, Color Club, Essie, Halloween, matte, Nail Art, neon, sugar-spun, Wet n Wild

Neons in October strongly remind me of Halloween. There is something costume-y about day-glo colors! Admittedly, since my freshman year in college I have gone to every Halloween party as a neon something or other. My absolute favorite thing to do is pull out my neon makeup and clothes and go wild.

Am I the only one who thinks this? Doesn’t neon have that Halloween vibe?

 

I tried something new. I matte-fied the base and attempted to matte the sugar spin as well by mixing the neon polish with a matte top coat. It didn’t work out exactly as planned and the matte top coat changed the consistency of the polish. It took down some of the shine but not enough to make a real difference. The polish became too thick and not in a yummy drizzle sort of way but in a globs to the toothpick and doesn’t pull across the nail way.

Not sure how I feel about this. Definitely not one of my favorites but as you can probably guess with this technique there is not enough time in the day to do a sugar-spin again! I definitely want to try this again without dulling the neons!

 

Neon Sugar-Spin Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Wet n Wild Black Creme, Essie Matte About You

Sugar-Spins: American Apparel Neon Yellow, Neon Green, Neon Purple, Color Club Wham! Pow!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Bat’s Blood Sugar-Spin | Nail Art

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Barry M, Bundle Monster, hall, Halloween, Nail Art, splatter, stamping, sugar-spun, Wet n Wild

I posted this look to Instagram earlier this week but didn’t get the chance to post it to the blog at the same time.

Aside from cute-sy water decals, this is the closest I get to Halloween nail art. I just don’t like Halloween! When I was younger I dressed up and went trick-or-treating but I honestly thought it was kind of creepy going up to strangers’ houses and asking for candy. I only ever went with my best friend’s family and every year it gave me the heebie-jeebies.

I am kind of annoyed about the sugar-spin. It came out nicely but I waited too long for the polish to dry and it became too stringy for my tastes. It was the right thickness but  a little difficult to control.

I hope you like it!

 

Bat's Blood Sugar-Spin Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Barry M Gelly Lychee

Splatter & Sugar-Spin: Barry M Gelly Chilli

Stamping: Bundle Monster plate 314, Wet n Wild Black Creme

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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