Category Archives: Nail Art

Simple Halloween Glitter Gradient | Nail Art

22 Thursday Oct 2015

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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.

Neon Sugar-Spin | Nail Art

18 Sunday Oct 2015

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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.

Bat’s Blood Sugar-Spin | Nail Art

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

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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.

Top Three Nail Polishes for Fall | Autumn 2015

11 Sunday Oct 2015

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Top Three Polishes for Fall | The Rite of AgingMost of the polishes I own are used only for nail art and when it comes to wearing plain nail polish on my fingers I am very fickle. Now that summer is long gone I decided to root around my polish cupboard and pull out my favorite autumnal colors. Below are the three I know I will wear over and over again this fall! Yes, only three!

 

SpaRitual – Howl (2 coats)

SpaRitual Swatch - Howl | The Rite of Aging

Howl is a dark brown with golden shimmer running through it. When the shimmer is prominent it elevates the color to a rich golden brown. The formula is a little thick but it is easy to work with and dries quickly.

 

OPI – Lincoln Park After Dark (2 coats)

OPI Swatch - Lincoln Park After Dark | The Rite of AgingLincoln Park After Dark is a deep almost black oxblood. The color generally looks black but every so often the light hits it and I get a glimpse of the subtle red tint. There is a reason this polish is a cult favorite. It looks great against all skin tones and I feel extremely confident wearing it. There is just something about pulling off a gorgeous dark shade like this. The formula is sheer but three coats covers any bald spots. This polish stains so I always use two bases.

 

Serum No. 5 – Sleepy Holo (2 coats)

Serum No. 5 Swatch - Sleepy Holo | The Rite of AgingSleepy Holo is a stunning deep silver holo. In normal indoor light the silver shimmers  beautifully but in the sun it explodes. The rainbow holo is out of this world (and you can probably see it from there too) and I cannot help but look at my fingers when I wear this.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Halloween 2015 | Black & Orange Dry Brush Nail Art

09 Friday Oct 2015

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RA-friendly nail art.

I am not keen on Halloween but I think I will a do a few spirited looks without going scary. The first is a simple, fast dry brush. I sometimes use a fan brush instead of the nail polish brush when I want a more precise, detailed look. I can add more colors and they look better on my shorter nails. I use polish directly from my work space without thinning it down with acetone.

This is a very simple technique that dries quickly and is easy on the wrists. I work the fan brush gently across the nail, both horizontally and vertically, until I am happy with the final look.

The bottle gets the sunlight in the photo but the nails are all color accurate! I hope you like it!

 

Halloween Dry Brush Nail Art | The Rite of AgingBase: Color Club Wham! Pow!

Details: Wet n Wild Black Creme, Urban Outfitters Westside, Banana Hammock

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Blue Rhythm de Chanel Vibrato and Fortissimo | Les Vernis Review

04 Sunday Oct 2015

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Purchased.

I first saw an advertisement for this collection in June. I couldn’t find it anywhere and thought it had already launched. I was devastated. Chanel made unique, beautiful nail polishes but there was something extraordinary about their blues. Remember Les Jeans collection from 2011? In August, I noticed a resurgence of Blue Rhythm reviews and my excitement boiled over. I hadn’t missed these two beauties after all!

I wanted to be financially conscious and only purchase Fortissimo but when I saw Vibrato in person I had to have it as well. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the swatches!

 

Chanel Les Vernis - Fortissimo and Vibrato | The Rite of Aging

(Chanel Les Vernis @ Macy’s)

 

2 coats, top coat

Chanel Les Vernis Swatch - Vibrato | The Rite of AgingVibrato is an extremely vibrant cobalt blue. I was skeptical that the photos were highly saturated but no, Vibrato is that just that intense. The formula is good. It is thin but not streaky. It applies easily without pulling and levels well. The polish dries quickly which can sometimes an issue with Chanel polishes.

 

2 coats, top coat

Chanel Les Vernis Swatch - Fortissimo | The Rite of AgingFortissimo is a bright navy with cobalt shimmer running through it. The gorgeous shimmer is prominent both in the bottle and on the nail. This dimension elevates the color from a traditional deep navy to a dynamic midnight blue.

Funny story: I wore this to class and all my students, even the little boys, complimented me on my nails because they were painted their favorite color!

On first application, Fortissimo‘s formula is sheer and streaky and quickly pools into the cuticles. The second coat evens out the color nicely making it an easy two-coater polish. It dries quickly and levels nicely.

I love both polishes and cannot recommend one over the other. They are both extremely unique and gorgeous. If you are like me and love collecting limited edition, one-of-a-kind shades I wouldn’t wait to purchase these. Nordstrom online is already sold out (a sales rep, at the counter, tried purchasing them online and the order was cancelled a couple of days later) but the Macy’s website still has them in stock.

 

Do you own one or both of these nail colors? What do you think? Love them or leave them?

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

#31DC2015 – Roundup Post

02 Friday Oct 2015

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Well, I feel like I should be really proud of myself because I got through the entire challenge but this month flew by and I never once felt rushed! For the most part I had really great looks! Of course, there were times I wanted to re-do some but I certainly didn’t have the time for that during the 31 Day Challenge! I finally embraced my autoimmune and focused on RA-friendly techniques which are pretty quick!

If you want to see all my looks click on the 31-Day Challenge tab at the top of the page but I compiled my favorites from this month below!

 

31dc2015 - faves

Yellow | Blue | Purple | Polka Dots | Glitter | Inspired by a Color | Inspired by a Song | Inspired by a Pattern | Inspired by the Supernatural

I am going to go out on a limb here and say my favorite techniques were sugar-spin and dots? Is that too much of a stretch? Heh!

I am going to spend the weekend catching up on Inlinkz and Instagram. I realized I missed a whole of posts as I looked through other roundup posts!

 

See you next week!

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