#31DC2014 – Day 5: Blue Nails

04 Thursday Sep 2014

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I can’t wait until tomorrow to post this! I was on a roll today and knocked out two manicures…Have you ever done a manicure and it came out EXACTLY the way you hoped? This manicure was exactly that.

I saw it, I did it, I loved it!

I cannot stop looking at my nails.

This is my second attempt at gradient stamping and I am so thrilled with how they mix in the middle. The blue and white look so cool together! Eep! I’m really digging today’s design! I was inspired by one of my first nail arts (Smile Like You Mean It, linked here) but if I do say so myself, I have gotten better at cleanup and sponge gradients!

 

I hope you like it as much as I do!

#31DC2014 September 5: Blue Nails | The Rite of Aging...EarlyI used 3 coats of Milani Power Periwinkle as my base. I do not know why but it did not reach full opacity until the third coat, even with thicker application.

For the gradient, I used a makeup sponge, (from cuticle to tip) Milani Power Periwinkle, Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot, and Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet.

I sealed the gradient with INM Out the Door top coat. I don’t particularly like this top coat because it smears my nail art but it is perfect for blurring gradients.

I stamped with Milani Peacock (I am running out and can’t find it anywhere…this is one of my favorite blues!!), butter London Cotton Buds and Bundle Monster plate BM-304.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other blue manicures below!

#31DC2014 – September 4 (Day 4): Green Nails

04 Thursday Sep 2014

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I decided to go simple for today’s prompt. Initially, I wanted to stamp silver flowers and freehand green leaves. Before I knew it I stamped silver branches and birds! I have not taken enough advantage of the full design plates, from MoYou London, so I am really trying to practice achieving a “panoramic” nail art.

I realized I have been using my MoYou London plates pretty regularly and my Bundle Monster ones have been totally neglected. Poor little stamping plates, they were the ones that got me into stamping to begin with! I am very excited, though, I recently bought some Mundo de Unas plates and I’m debating between Pueen or Wistonia plates. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Last week, I barely blogged because I was not feeling well. This week I cannot seem to shut up! I know I am rambling so thank you so much for bearing with me! I guess that is what blogs are for 🙂

 

I hope you like my green nails for today!

#31DC2014 September 4: Green Nails | The Rite of Aging…EarlyI used 2 coats of Revlon Gel Envy High Stakes as my base.

I stamped with MoYou London’s Mother Nature plate 02 and Essie No Place Like Chrome. I love stamping with this polish but it dries way to quickly for me to properly clean the details on the stamper! I’m getting better but it is definitely a race against the clock!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

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

#31DC2014 – September 3: Yellow Nails

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

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I was itching to use my MoYou London Scholar stamping plate but never felt inspired to do so. Many of the designs on this plate scream yellow so I knew I had to use it!

I hope you like today’s manicure, I am very pleased with my stamping, I did not smudge which is a first! Now, I have to work on making each nail look the same…eh, that is overrated, right?

 

DSCF0749_fotor-001I used 2 coats of China Glaze Sun Worshipper and 1 coat of Urban Outfitters Banana Hammock as my base.

I stamped with MoYou London Scholar collection plate 03 and Konad Special Polish in Black.

I dotted with Color Club Almost Famous and sealed everything with Seche Vite.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Don’t forget to check out everyone’s extremely lovely nail art below!

#31DC2014 – September 2 (Day 2): Orange Nails

02 Tuesday Sep 2014

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Today’s manicure is nearly identical to last year’s! I used the same base and a similar glitter topper. How funny! I guess I my nail art has not changed that much.

I tried one-stroke flowers but my nails were too short and the petals looked like blobs. I reached for my striping brush and the rest is history. The finished design was not what I planned for but I love the outcome! It kind of reminds me of tiger stripes. I hope you like it!

 

I thought the matte acrylic paint looked really cool against the shiny base so I matte the entire manicure. It did not look very good so I am glad I took pictures beforehand! I kind of wish I had taken pictures before topcoat as well!

 

DSCF0728_fotor-001I used 2 coats of Color Club Wham! Pow! and a generous coat of Formula X for Sephora Bombshell as my base. I bought this in celebration of Halloween last year and turned out it was limited edition. It is no longer available as part of the Explosives line. Great formula and I did not need to fish for the pieces. It dried a little gritty but only needed one coat of Seche Vite to even it out.

I used orange, white and black acrylic paint to detail.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other orange manicures below!

#31DC2014 – September 1, 2014 (Day 1): Red Nails

01 Monday Sep 2014

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Well, it is that time of year again: the 31-Day Challenge! I went quiet last week, partially because of the flare but also in preparation for this month. I want to complete the challenge this year! I completed it last year and want to continue the streak!

As the month progresses, I will update the 31-Day Challenge tab above. I think it’s going to be really cool to see how different my nail art looks now and from a year ago. I started nail-art blogging in August 2013 so I was still new to the community. It will be interesting to see how I’ve grown in the past year!

Anyways, I decided to start the month out nice and simple. As you all know, I love my messy water marbles so why not start with that?

 

I am exploring RA-friendly nail art. It is going to take me time to adjust to the Orencia’s absence (still haven’t gotten my money back!) so I may struggle with intricate nail arts. If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have already seen my hashtag #rafriendlynailart? While nail art by nature is not RA-friendly I want to find alternatives to established techniques that are easier on the fingers. I hope you enjoy and follow my new-ish? journey!

I think messy marbles are RA-friendly. I do not mess with the design’s perfection in the water and I dunk two or three of my fingers because the nails do not have to be the same and I marble one color at a time so the design is easier to manipulate.

I really like how this came out. I did double layers of red polish and they mostly came out in the same directions! This reminds me of the reject peppermint candies restaurants never put in the concierge bowl! Hahaha, I hope you like it!

 

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I started with 2 coats of Milani Color Statement Spotlight White as my base. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of the formula. Sure, I did not expect much to begin with but I much prefer Julie G’s white polish. I reserve this Milani polish for the base of marbles or other detailing where the base does not need to “well-done”.

I marbled with Orly Bonder and Wet n Wild I Red A Good Book.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other manicures below!

The Crumpet’s SIMPLES Challenge – Week 10: Watercolor Base

29 Friday Aug 2014

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I am so behind on all the challenges due to my unstable symptoms. I better whip myself into shape because the 31-Day Challenge starts on MONDAY! I did every single prompt on the right day last year. Let us hope I continue the streak this year!

Below is my watercolor base for the SIMPLES challenge this week. It also serves as my blue base for the MoYou London contest on Instagram. I know there are a range of opinions on the company right now but I like contests and I really like their plates. I just won’t “push the company forward” in my blog posts! Less work for me, right?

 

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I included the picture I uploaded to Instagram. I used Milani Black Swift to stamp on my left hand and Konad Special Polish Black on my right. Reasons below!

DSCF0690_fotorI used 2 coats of Sephora Formula X Thrilling as my base. I was not feeling stark white because of my swollen fingers. White makes my nails look shorter and exacerbates swelling in photographs. Maybe that is just me?

I “water-colored” with Milani Power Periwinkle, Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot, and Anise Neons Make Waves.

I stamped with MoYou London plate 09 (Suki Collection) and Milani Black Swift. I switched to my Konad polish for the left hand because there was a lot of clean up on the stamper and Milani dried too quickly. I loved stamping with my Milani polish but I was not working quickly enough to get a crisp image.

I topped everything with Seche Vite.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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