Category Archives: Nail Art

SIMPLES – Week 12: “Splodged” Base under Dots

11 Saturday Oct 2014

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I always fall behind during this challenge but I wanted to catch up because I had the perfect inspiration! A friend of mine made this awesome background for one of her art pieces. It is everything I love: color, neon, “splodging”, irregular dots…this piece is just cool! You should check out Bridgette’s Instagram, she is extraordinarily talented. I am and always have been in awe (and slightly jealous, hah!) of her artistic ability. The picture below links to her Instagram!

 

bridgette - inspiration

Her Instagram handle is thechairmanzou.

Take a look at her artwork, it is beyond amazing!

I definitely did not do this piece justice, but I had so much fun doing it. I am not sure I would call it RA-friendly because working with the eyeshadow applicator is a bit tedious but the abstract result doesn’t need to pristine. You decide!

I hope you like it! (I especially like how the pinky and ring finger turned out)

SIMPLES Challenge - Splodging Under Dots | The Rite of Aging

I started with 1 coat of Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I detailed with a dotting tool, a sponge-tip eyeshadow applicator and the following polishes:

  • Color Club Pucci-licious, Wham! Pow!, Almost Famous
  • Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet
  • Milani Black Swift
  • Girly Bits Supersonic

I wanted a matte effect but not completely so I used Cult Nails Wax That! It gives a matte, wax finish that kind of glistens but is not shiny or flat.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Nail Polish Canada’s 2014 Halloween Contest!

11 Saturday Oct 2014

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I decided to participate in the NPC Halloween contest. Instead of trying to freehand some scary, detailed cool designs I focused on the techniques I am good at: splatter and sugar-spun! The color scheme says Halloween without the scary! I added some BPS spider web decals though because I was not feeling up to drawing them. I like how they peak out from the splatter. They’re kind of spooky, right?

 

Even though I waited 30 minutes to add top coat, the decals still dissolved. Very unfortunate.

Click (here) to vote for your favorite submission! I hope you like mine!

 

Nail Polish Canada Halloween Contest | The Rite of Aging

 

I started with 2 coats of Color Club Wham! Pow! and Girly Bits Supersonic as my base.

I detailed with Milani Swift Black. The decals are from a Halloween collection from the Born Pretty Store.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

52-Week Pick n Mix Challenge: Pink Color Gradient

10 Friday Oct 2014

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Debbie from the Crumpet changed the weekly prompts to combine them. This definitely makes it a lot easier to participate! We still use “oldies” but incorporate untrieds and nail art techniques. We may do both prompts or combine them. This week we can do a color gradient or a pink manicure. I decided to combine the two!

I hope you like it! I used both my favorite neon polishes and added some subtle stamping (I finally re-purchased Wham! Pow! so I am not struggling to use the polish anymore)! It was difficult to capture the stamping because the neons were so bright. It was definitely a little more prominent in person!

Pick n Mix - Pink Gradient

I started with 2 coats of Color Club Wham! Pow! as my base.

I used a make-up sponge and added Color Club Pucci-licious to create the gradient.

I stamped with Pueen 2013 Love Elements plate Pueen-35 and Mundo de Unas 28-Neon Orange.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Bundle Monster’s 30 Days of Scream Challenge – Day 8: Jack O’Lanterns

08 Wednesday Oct 2014

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Today’s prompt for the Bundle Monster Halloween challenge is Jack O’Lanterns! I loved carving pumpkins when I was little. The activity will always hold a special place in my heart because I did it with my mom. She would cut open the pumpkin and removed the innards. I was absolutely fascinated by the newspaper absorbing the moisture so I threw the guts on and watched the mess. At least I kept everything on the newspaper! We didn’t do scary so our carvings were always cute or funny. This was my first lesson in candle management. In the beginning, my mother reminded me to blow out the candle before  bed then she stopped to see if I remembered on my own. If I didn’t, she turned off the foyer lights so I saw the glow and remembered. It’s funny how certain memories just pop up randomly but I guess that’s the importance of remembrance and keeping those who are no longer here close to us.

Now that I’m done rambling and being a sap on to today’s manicure…

 

I had an idea: “nimbus” gold to mimic a glowing candle inside the Jack-O’-Lantern. I am okay with the final results but I don’t think I achieved what I wanted. I think I should have used a different base coat so that gold popped more but, at the same time, I wanted a subtle glow. I am really happy with my stamping, I am finally think I’m getting better at it.

I hope you like it!

 

Bundle Monster's 30 Days of Screams - Jack o' Lanterns | The Rite of Aging

I started with one coat of Color Club Almost Famous and two coats of Sephora by OPI Cab Fare as my base.

I “nimbus-ed” with Zoya Goldie.

I stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM-305 and Milani Black Swift.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Bundle Monster’s 30 Days of Screams – Day 7: Monsters

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

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Bundle Monster October challenge

Bundle Monster is holding another 30-day challenge this October in honor of Halloween! I saw the posts about it yesterday so I am jumping in late. I don’t think I will partake every day because I do not have enough stamps for the themes but I am going to try.

Today’s theme is monsters! I almost used my favorite demon stamps but there is a “demon” prompt later this month which I’m saving them for. When I went through the other plates I noticed this little flying creature. I am not sure if it is a monster but it has in angry looking eyes so I’m going to call it a monster!

I hope you like it!

 

BM Halloween Challenge - Monsters | The Rite of Aging

I was feeling icy, light blues but they did not scream “Halloween” so I went with red and gold.

I used 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Metro Chic as my base.

I “saran-wrapped” with Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book and Zoya Goldie before stamping with Bundle Monster plate BM-310 and Konad Special Polish Black.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Wavy, Swirly

05 Sunday Oct 2014

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I did not have any true vision for today’s nail art. I wanted to water-marble so I picked up my pink Barry Ms and went from there. My hands were so shaky today! It was hard to get a clean line but I took deep breaths, didn’t worry about the end result and found it was really relaxing and a lot of fun. I am no longer working on weekends and I feel ready to tackle the week with really pretty nails!

I opted for a couple of accent nails but felt the other nails were too bare. I wanted to stamp but the marbling was so labor-intensive I decided on decals. I wanted to use my long neglected Born Pretty Halloween decals but the color combination didn’t match so I reached for my new Pueen water decals (click here
to see the full set). Initially, I was drawn to the specific set because of the cats. ….Yeah…However, I love all the designs (even the florals!).

The quality of the stickers is really good and they are easy to use. Stick them in water for a few seconds and slide them into place. I prefer to use my fingers over tweezers since I tend to hack through the delicate plastic. Unfortunately, I had trouble lying the stickers flat on my nail. I am not sure if this was because of my shaky hands, though. The edges stuck up in a couple of places because of this but top coat evened them out without bubbles!

The decal on my right smeared and faded with top coat but it was my error. I am pressing too hard when I apply top coat. I was a little more careful with my left hand so you are going to see a rare picture of it!

 

Now that I have rambled on and on…

I hope you like today’s manicure as much as I do!

 

purple wavy, swirly

Purple Wavy, Swirly MarbleI used Milani Power Periwinkle and Barry M Grapefruit as base colors.

I marbled with the same polishes and Barry M Rhossili.

I used decals from the Pueen D124 sheet.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

SIMPLES Challenge – Week 11: Gradients

05 Sunday Oct 2014

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I am a couple weeks late on Week 11’s SIMPLES prompt because I was not feeling particularly gradient-inspired. Tonight, I was itching to paint my nails but lacked inspiration. Sitting down in front of my supplies, I wanted to sugar-spin or splatter but could not get on board with the color combinations so I flipped through my new Pueen plates.

I recently purchased the Love Elements collection from Amazon.com and I’m so excited to use them. The designs are super cute and versatile! The theme may be “love” but they are not overtly romantic or girly. I did not read the description properly so I was pleasantly surprised the collection comes with a storage binder to keep the plates all in one place. I immediately played around with them when they arrived last week (my stamping was pretty abysmal and not fit for show) and from the designs they appear really good quality and apply very crisp. They make my amateur stamping look pro!

 

When I saw the leaves, I knew I had to do a green gradient. I’ve been on a green kick lately but I have to admit these nail polishes were very difficult to sponge. Even after many layers, I still saw a very severe demarcation line between the colors. It’s a shame because these colors look really good together. From afar the leaves look really nice but when I applied top coat they smeared a little bit! Thankfully, in person, it is not that noticeable.

I hope you like it!

 

simples week 11: gradientsI started with two coats of Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I used a makeup sponge, Milani Spotlight White, Barry M Key Lime,  and Deborah Lippmann Defying Gravity.

I stamped with Pueen plate Pueen-33 and Konad Special Polish in Black.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here! There are about 5 days left 🙂