Category Archives: Nail Art

Challenge Your Nail Art/NAIL – Freestyle Snowflakes

23 Tuesday Dec 2014

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Check the sidebar for more information on both challenges. 

Snowflake manicures are by far my favorite designs yet they went neglected this winter! I think my lack of commitment is due in part to the lack of snow so far. It only snowed once and it barely stuck! What a bummer! However, I heard the following months are supposed to be very, very snowy; even worse than last year! I have not decided whether this is a good thing yet. I love snow but I hate what it does for my condition. I guess I have to decide any given day…

 

I combined two prompts because I was not feeling very well but I do like the final look. Why not make snowflakes pink?

I hope you like it!

Pink Snowflakes | The Rite of AgingI used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Petal Pusher as my base. While I am not the biggest fan of Sally Hansen products I really love this pink. The formula is good, the color compliments my skin and it dries quickly! I find myself reaching for the polish quite often!

I stamped with MoYou London’s Festive Collection plate 02, Konad Special Polish Red, OPI Red Lights Ahead…Where? (this is an awesome deep coral but photographed more much lighter) and Milani Black Swift.

I “water-marbled” without the marble with Zoya Maria Luisa.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

NAIL (December 2014) – Rudolph & Friends

21 Sunday Dec 2014

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For this prompt, I considered this freehand reindeer design I saw on the Nailsasaurus (linked here) but I cut my nails reallllly short today and there was no way I could fit the image on my nails! Anyways, what better time to try out my new MoYou London Festive collection stamping plates!

 

I used a striping tape and Sephora by OPI Go My Own Way for subtle color change but the stamping covers it up (you can kind of see it on the pinky and ring fingers)…oh well…I hope you like it!

 

Reindeer Stamping | The Rite of AgingI used 2 coats of Zoya Dream as my base.

I stamped with MoYou London plate 01 from the Festive collection and Konad Special Polish White.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Challenge Your Nail Art: Glitter

21 Sunday Dec 2014

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I am not really into glitter. This is mostly due to the clean up I never have the patience for. This is rather funny since I own quite a few glitter toppers because I just love looking at them! Regardless, I hit a creative block for this prompt.

I spent the last few days archiving and categorizing my nail polishes, tools and supplies and came across some forgotten loose glitters. It hit me. Glittering, glistening snow! Painting color wheels and cutting/applying labels resulted in a flare so I am happy this nail art was RA-friendly!

 

I love how this came out, exactly what I pictured and…clean up was really easy! I hope you like it!

Glittering Snow | The Rite of AgingI started with 2 coats of Zoya Suvi and a generous coat of Seche Vite as my base.

I painted one nail at a time with an artist’s brush and Milani Spotlight White before dumping white glitter on top.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Don’t forget to check out the other glitter manicures below!

Born Pretty Store Review: Stamping Plate

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

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Product provided for honest review.

I have a third (Born Pretty Store) product for review! As you all know, I have a certain fondness for stamping! I love the crisp images and patterns I can never freehand. Just like anyone, I order my stamping plates from my favorite companies but recently, I am trying new ones.

I hear mixed reviews about the Born Pretty Store stamping plates; everything from the good to the images are not etched properly making it nearly impossible to transfer the image to the stamper. BPS released all new stamping plates and I wanted to try one out!

 

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Ugh! I am so sorry my photo is not the best. I could not photograph the images properly! Unfortunately, this plate is no longer available on the website and I could not find another that was similar. However, if you are interested in checking out the other plates take a look (here).

I really like the abstract images on this plate. I do not have designs like these on any other. That is my biggest pet peeve about stamping plates. The images sometime become repetitive. From what I can tell of the website, the stamping plates are different. They each have a theme and the images are similar but not enough I feel like I am paying for the same image five or six times.

 

Below are a few manicures I made with the images.

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Thoughts:

I think this stamping plate is great. I had little to no trouble applying and scraping polish. The image transferred nicely to the stamper. Occasionally, when the images are not etched properly I experience smearing while transferring the images. Not with this plate! I used different polishes to stamp: Konad Specials, old Milani lacquers and Mundo de Unas stamping polishes. I had the same good experiences with each.

 

I recommend this product. I hear better things about the newly released plates so hopefully the quality stretches across the board and at $2.99 with free worldwide shipping it certainly does not hurt to try one out, right?

 

If stamping does not interest you BPS has a great selection of other (nail art) supplies so there is bound to be something for everyone. I also have reviews for the foils (linked here) and of the tiger water decals which includes my thoughts on shipping (linked here).

If you place an order feel free to apply my 10% discount at checkout!

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Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Challenge Your Nail Art: Decorations

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

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I had a couple of ideas for this prompt but none of them panned out properly. I am not too incredibly pleased with this manicure just because it was not my first choice. That being said, I really like the base!

I hope you like it, too!

 

Challenge Your Nail Art - Christmas Ornaments | The Rite of AgingI started with 3 coats of Zoya Suvi for good measure. I probably could have gotten away with 2 coats!

I achieved the base color by water-marbling without the marble Essie No Place like Chrome and layering Serum No. 5 Happy Special Day! on top. I saw this technique done on a very pretty manicure on Instagram but now I cannot remember  whose it was!! (EDIT: Thank you, PINTEREST! I pinned the exact manicure onto one of my boards. Check out this gorgeous snow forest manicure at @nailsbyjema’s Instagram)

I used Born Pretty Store Christmas decals on my index and ring fingers.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Don’t forget to check out the other Christmas decoration manicures below!

Challenge Your Nail Art: Red and Green

14 Sunday Dec 2014

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I had these done on time but I forgot to post the pictures yesterday. What better way to do red and green than with a water marble? Unfortunately, the green and red did not want to marble together so I just did the one color and dotted the second.

 

I hope you like it!

Challenge Your Nail Art - Red & Green | The Rite of AgingI started with 2 coats of Essie No Place Like Chrome as my base.

I marbled with Sephora by OPI Mr. Right Now and dotted with Zoya Giovanna.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other red & green manicures below!

November Showcase

12 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Nail Art, Reviews

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Photos link to original source.

Yikes! It is already mid-December and I have not posted my favorite nail arts from November? This month is flying by. Can you imagine? We are just over 10 days away from Christmas…then we will be in 2015. What is going on??

Anyways, here are my top 5 picks from this past month, in no particular order. Check out the rest at my Pinterest page linked (here). By the way, I am so happy I finally figured out how to pin images from Instagram!!

 

November Favorites from Will Paint for FoodI gush over Meghan’s nail art. Her freehand is gorgeous and I especially love her art-inspired styles. Each component of this artist’s palette is well-defined while still incorporating the water-color washout style.

 

November Favorites from CraftynailJacqui does the cutest freehand designs. Her animals are super adorable and always make me smile. I love the on-edge ears of these pandas. They instantly reminded me of that episode of FRIENDS where Joey competes on the game show and guesses “A GHOST?” You know what expression I’m talking about 😉

 

November Favorites from @stefka62_sevlievoI love Stefmal’s nail art. Each of her designs have a sweet but sassy quality. These stuffed toys are the cutest. The bears are so snuggly and I think the small transparent glitter discs are the cherries on top. They add to the whimsical feel of this manicure.

 

November Favorites from K's Nail ArtAll of Kairi’s manicures are superb! She has a eye for geometric shapes and gorgeous color combinations. Her plaid designs are always on my list of favorites. I mean. Purple. Plaid. Beautiful.

 

November Favorites from Topshop

These super comfortable socks from Topshop are warm, easy to scrunch down around the ankle, and they do not skew the look of my feet. Check out Topshop’s “3 for $15” website promo if you’re interested. There are so many holiday-themed styles to choose from.

 

I hope you like my selection of favorites this month!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.