Category Archives: Just for Fun

31DC2013 Day 22: Inspired by a Song (…Or Musical)

23 Monday Sep 2013

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Oh boy. I had some really bad nausea last night so I took an anti-nausea pill. Unfortunately, I totally forgot that it makes me really drowsy, very quickly.

Halfway through the manicure, I nearly fell asleep and I barely finished; let alone posted it online.

I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!

One of my all time favorite musicals is Rent. I combed through the entire musical trying to find just one song that I could mash into a manicure but it was way too hard so I decided to go with the entire musical.

Inspired by Rent: The Musical

Bases:

Index: Zoya “Goldie”

Middle: Sephora by OPI “Metro Chic”

Ring: butter London “Knees Up”

Pinky: Sephora by OPI “Metro Chic”

Detailing

Index: butter London “Knees Up”, Milani “Foxy Lady” (hearts)

Middle: Color Club “Wham! Pow!”, “Almost Famous”, “Poptastic”; Milani “Foxy Lady”, & INM “Northern Lights” (fire); Milani “Black Swift” (cell gate)

Ring: Urban Decay Naked “Naked”, “Toasted” (logo wood boards)

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2013 Day 21: Inspired by a Color (…Coordinate?)

21 Saturday Sep 2013

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I wanted to continue with my water-marbling and I saw that I had a ton of great polishes in the pink-red category for an awesome gradient.

Apologies, I just noticed that there is a little more swelling in my fingers than usual. I had to do two manicures today because I will be out all day on Sept. 21st, giving me no time to work on the day’s prompt.

Inspired by a Color: Pinks/Reds

For this marble, I marbled each color separately and layered them. I really love how it came out!

Base:  Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear “White On”

All marbles were done with Orly “Bonder”.

Index: Zoya “Reece”, Color Club “Poptastic”

Middle: Zoya “Reece”, China Glaze “Caribbean Temptation”, Urban Outfitters “Banana Hammock” (I added the yellow because this nail looked a little bald).

Ring: China Glaze “Caribbean Temptation”, Sephora by OPI “Mr. Right Now”

Pinky: Sephora by OPI “Mr. Right Now”, “Caffeine Fix”

I think it is great how each marble goes in different directions and how each color pops!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2013 Day 20: Water Marble

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Just for Fun, Nail Art, Reviews

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Now that my water-marbling is coming out the way I like it. I love working on them. They keep me and my mind busy from wandering.

Water Marble

For this manicure I started with two coats of Cult Nails “Feel Me Up”.

I then marbled Milani “Dark Coffee” and “Key West”, Cult Nails “Deal with It” and Orly “No Chip” top coat. 

I topped off with one coat of INM “Northern Lights”.

So far I love how Milani polishes marble. The rings remain thick and pigmented in the water. They do not mix when I am swirling the colors.

My only gripe is that “Key West” (turquoise) stains my skin like crazy.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2013 Day 19: Galaxies

19 Thursday Sep 2013

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Galaxies is the prompt I am most excited for! I love working on galaxy nails. They are time-consuming but so much fun!

No matter what I do, it will still look like a galaxy. It is my nail-art dream!

Galaxies

Polishes Used

  • Zoya “Goldie”
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear “White On”
  • Milani High Speed Fast Dry “Black Swift”
  • Urban Decay Naked “Hustle”
  • Urban Outfitters “Mystic”
  • Cult Nails “Feel Me Up”
  • Color Club “Wham! Pow!” (orange), “Poptastic” (pink), “Pucci-licious” (light purple)
  • Nfu Oh “Opal Nfu 51”
  • butter London “Knackered”
  • INM “Northern Lights Hologram Top Coat – Gold”
  • Seche Vite “Dry Fast Top Coat”

Techniques Used

  • Small sponge pieces held with tweezers
  • Regular sponging (wedge foundation sponges)
  • Multiple artists brushes

Notes

I started with one coat of Milani “Black Swift”. I love this black creme. It applies wonderfully in one coat. It does not dry as quickly as some of the other high speed Milani polishes so it has time to set evenly.

On my pinky, ring, and middle finger I added one coat of Urban Outfitters “Mystic”.

On my index and thumb I applied one coat of Nfu Oh “Opal Nfu 51”.

I alternated colors and top coat (Seche Vite) to give the manicure a 3D effect.

I applied Seche Vite before the polishes dried completely so that they blended together.

I used Bundle Monster plate “BM-311” to stamp some stars in Zoya “Goldie” to add dimension. 

I sponged Nfu Oh on every nail to bring out the base color.

Finally, I applied two generous coats of INM top coat.

This is the first time I used colors in my galaxy. Most of my galaxy nails are a variation of this.

 

I am really proud of this manicure because I can see specific components, but it is also hazy like the night sky!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2013 Day 18: Half-Moons

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

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I have never done a half-moon manicure before and honestly, I am not a fan of the trend.

When something does not end up cleanly…add glitter!

Half Moons

I started with two coats of Cult Nails “Feel Me Up”.

I used a brush to ballpark the half moon and then filled in the rest with Milani “Dark Coffee”.

I then swiped two diagonals of Urban Outfitters “Westside”.

I then used a good old glitter pen in orange to cover the half-moon lines, which were not totally even. 😛

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

NAIL September Theme 3: Games

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

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I used my cat Sunsilk as the model for my game theme: Cat and Mouse!

When I was little the game “Cat and Mouse” referred to the game where somebody puts their hands underneath another person’s and they had to turn over and slap their hands before they moved them away. I know there are multiple names for that game but that is what it was for me.

Cat and Mouse can be used to describe any chase…game or otherwise!

NAIL September Week Three: Game

I am going to just list the polishes I used for this post because there was a lot of mixing. If you would like more information please comment:

  • Milani “Black Swift”, “Dark Coffee”
  • SpaRitual “Howl”, “Running with Wolves”
  • Urban Outfitters “Westside”
  • Color Club “Poptastic”, “Warhol”, “Twiggie”
  • Cult Nails “Deal with It”
  • butter London “Scuppered”
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear “White On”
  • Zoya “Gwin”

Sunsilk!

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2013 Day 17: Glitter

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

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I rarely wear glitter but somehow I have at least ten glitter polishes in my collection. I think I just like the idea of glitter…

I am a huge fan of green and pink even though they clash like mad.

Apologies for the chipping. I actually did this manicure over a day to make sure everything dried properly.

Glitter

I started with two coats of Cult Nails “Deal with It”. I love the color but not the formula. Was I wrong! The formula applies streaky and sheer but dries evenly. It reaches full opacity with two coats, but for a richer color I suggest three.

I used a sponge-tip applicator to add a gradient of Milani “Key West” to the tips.

I applied one generous coat of Zoya “Kissy”.

Using masking tape, I taped off a line on each nail.

I used butter London “The Black Knight” on the parts not covered by tape. 

I pulled the tape off gently before the polish dried.

 

I chose to wait a day to do the taping to ensure that the base dried and set.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.