Spring Renewal Nordstrom Favorites

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

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The weather warms up so I start my search for new spring clothes. My first stop: Nordstrom. I have a couple of brands I love at the store and lucky for me, they are usually on sale. I strolled the website and highlighted some of my favorites below.

I am having serious trench envy. I do not own any true trench coats so I cannot help but fall in love with the bright colors. I mean…cobalt???

Enjoy!

 

_9680484_fotor1. Until I own my own Chanel this Jessica McClintock Tweed Clutch comes as a close second!

2. What a freaking bright color. I love the double buttons and short length on this Michael Kors Double Breasted Trench Coat

3. I love the simplicity and muted color of this Via Spiga Hooded Trench which is perfect for a cloudy day!

4. This is probably my favorite of the entire bunch: short length, not a lot of buttons, a cinched waist, bright color. This Ellen Tracy Short Trench Coat is on my list!

 

_10197889_fotor5. Halogen is one of my favorite brands. The Silk & Cotton shirts are light, airy and are both casual and professional!

6. Caslon is another of my favorite brands. The material is light and durable, perfect for me! Caslon is one of the few brands whose shirts are a little shorter. My torso is super super short so I opt for baggier bright tops like this V-Back Sweater.

7. These Cotton Shirts from Caslon are comfortable and sheer; perfect for the spring! I was drawn to the subtle green squares on this one.

8. Because of that short torso of mine I usually style fitted bottoms and baggy or less fitted tops so how can I say no to this bright red Madewell Linen Tee?

 

Do you like any of my picks? What are you going to wear this Spring?

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Dotticure Nail Art

10 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Quick post today because I am all sorts of exhausted.

 

Neon Dotticure | The Rite of AgingI used KBShimmer Mixed Peelings as my base.

I dotted with Zoya Pippa and American Apparel Parakeet. I used the latter for the accent nail as well.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Watercolor Distressed Nail Art

09 Monday Mar 2015

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Have you ever had those moments when you just hate on your dominant hand nails? For the most part I love the nails on my left hand. I don’t have to do a lot to them to keep them neat and in shape…but today they just look horrid with nail polish on. I am so tempted to take EVERYTHING off because I can’t even handle it right now. This art did take me a boatload of time; specifically, the entire Bachelor finale and after the final rose episode, so maybe I’ll keep it on.

I love how the final result came out, though, but it looks hideous against gross nails. Know what I mean?

 

I wanted to try this watercolor nail art again with pinks, purples and blues. I really like messing with a look until I have it “just right” without it looking bulky or manipulated. Thinning the polish with acetone ensures neither of those happen! I think the watercolor distressed look is really RA-friendly but I would necessarily classify this look as such.

The polishes I used definitely worked differently than the ones I used in the green plaid (linked here) because I think they were a lot thicker. This didn’t make them harder to work with but definitely created a different effect.

I sealed everything with Seche Vite but everything still finished sort of matte! I hope you like it!

 

Watercolor Distressed Plaid | The Rite of Aging

 

DSCF4413_fotorFor this look I started with Formula X for Sephora Thrilling as my base.

I used acetone, a square brush and detail brush and the following polishes

  • Pahlish Le Bijou de Roi
  • Milani Vivid Violet, Fast Fuchsia
  • Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot
  • Color Club Warhol
  • Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Stamping and Glitter Nail Art for A2Z Series: Q is for Quirky

08 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Community, Nail Art

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Check the sidebar for more information.

I am on a glitter kick. When I decided to re-visit my glitters I loved them all (I guess there was a reason I bought them to begin with! – There was speculation I only purchased them because how they looked in the bottle!)

For the quirky prompt I decided to mix a textured polish with bright glitter, neon polish and stamping. Why not go whole hog? This would be the perfect time to do so!

During the “buy 3, recieve 3 mystery polishes” Zoya promotion I bought my first PixieDust! I’m not the biggest fan of these type of textured polishes but this one was so intriguing I had to have it! I heard a rumor that Zoya was discontinuing the PixieDust collection so I wanted to get hold of it before it was gone for good. I mean, to be a good nail art blogger, I had to, right? Hehehe!

I hope you like it!

 

Stamping and Glitter Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI started with American Apparel Neon Green as my base.

I applied a generous coat of Serum No. 5 Happy Special Day! One of my favorite polishes of all time, I am really sad I haven’t used it in so long!

I stamped with a Pueen Cosmetics plate from the Love Elements collection and Milani Black Swift.

I used Zoya PixieDust Imogen for the accent.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

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

February Showcase

08 Sunday Mar 2015

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The photos link to original source.

Here are my favorite nail art and things from February! Don’t forget to check out my pinterest pages, respectively, here and here.

 

The Nailasaurus - Kitty DecalsSammy is one of my nail icons. She has short nails so it is easier for me to visualize inspiration from her. She focuses on sleek, simple designs that she executes flawlessly. I am not the biggest pink fan but this dotticure really suits those kitty decals!

 

Nails of Aquarius Edgy Valentine'sI already love Karolyn’s blog (photos, nail art, and writing style) but she seriously knocked a variety of Valentine’s Day manicures out of the park. I really feel Valentine’s Day, I don’t do romance or lovey-dovey (though I have to admit they provide all sorts of nail art inspiration) and I cannot usually stand the color scheme. I changed my tune when I saw Karolyn’s edgy designs. I loved all her themed manicures but I liked this one the most because she incorporated the colors but didn’t make them “squishy”. (This is my term for when I’m surrounded by the balloons and the colors and confetti and want to gag because it’s so in your face…do you know what I mean?)

 

Saw this GIF on http://www.auteurariel.com/2015/02/the-pom-of-all-poms.html?showComment=1424828051126

I felt really bad for Neil Patrick Harris at this year’s Oscars because even he couldn’t save the awful writing and poor jokes. However, NPH interviewing the “seat filler” Steve Carrell was one of my favorite moments and it was not until I saw the GIF that I had a new favorite moment: Channing Tatum giggling in the background! Too funny!

 

Wonder Wolf - Onyx NailsDebbie over at WonderfulWolf does the best pokemon nail art! When the Gameboy Color game first came out my mom let me choose which one I wanted. I happily chose the Red version because I thought the Charizard was cuter than the Blastoise (this was the first time I ever snuck awake after lights out)! Anywho, I remember how thrilled I was I caught an Onyx…and beat Brock’s. It seriously took me days to figure out how to beat him with the Charizard! This design brought me straight back to my childhood and I think it’s freaking amazing Debbie used crushed shells for the base!

 

I found my next pet! My friend and I don’t believe red pandas and slow loris exist. We are pretty sure they are completely magical. Seriously one of the cutest animals I’ve ever seen, but look at those nervous eyes…one unexpected move and it’ll probably try to gauge my eyes out!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Striping Tape and Glitter Nail Art

07 Saturday Mar 2015

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Striping tape rarely makes it on to the blog (actually, for that matter, neither does negative space); but, last night, I had a dream about a glitter gradient peeking out from underneath a black layer. I recently noticed Instagrammers sponging over striping tape and I wanted to give it a try. It took longer to build up the color but it minimized pooling under the tape.

 

Striping tape is so not good for the OCD part of my personality. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping the stripes straight per nail but I was re-applying tape pieces for over an hour! On top of that, it irked me the nails were not the same. I wouldn’t mind so much if each nail was different but they were supposed to be the same so in my mind it looked messy. I know I am being super picky and hard on myself but this was everything I was thinking during the process!

So, what was the take-away? This was so not RA-friendly nail art! — Thankfully, I took a lot of Vicodin for my back and I was on the full steam nail art train!

 

That being said, I AM PROUD OF MYSELF. Given my complete inexperience with taping this came out pretty well…I almost stopped at the glitter gradient but I decided to go whole hog. I will definitely re-visit this simple gradient when I need a more RA-friendly option.

I absolutely love love LOVE how the index finger came out. I tried to fashion the other nails after it but that did not quite happen.

What do you think of striping tape? Yay or nay? If you are a fan of the technique, does it get easier or more enjoyable?

 

Subtle Glitter Gradient | The Rite of Aging

Negative Space Striping Tape Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI started with one sheer coat of Essie Mademoiselle.

I sponged Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday on the tips. Remember that time I only made a frivolous Sephora online purchase just to get hold of this 100-point perk? Yeah…don’t judge me! I evened the surface with a generous coat of Seche Vite.

I used striping tape, a makeup sponge and Wet n Wild Black Creme for the stripes.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Watermarble and Stamping Nail Art

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

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I wanted to do a watermarble but didn’t feel like fighting the process so I used my trusty Barry Ms. Annoyingly, the first time I painted my nails the lightest color I used and the result appeared muddy and dark. I re-started by painting my base white and it definitely made a difference. I don’t know why I never remember to do this!

 

I seriously can’t get enough of the Pueen plates. They make my stamping look so much better than it actually is….which reminds me I need to re-purchase “No Place Like Chrome” since I’m running low.

 

Anyways, I hope you like it!

Pink Watermarble and Silver Stamping Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI used Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I marbled with Barry M Mustard, Rhosilli, Grapefruit and American Apparel Neon Purple.

I stamped with

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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