Black and White Classic Marble | Nail Art

24 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Reviews

Tags

Formula X Nails, Nail Art, Pipe Dream Polish, watermarble

I’ve been dying to do a classic black and white marble ever since I purchased Pipe Dream Polish’s “Clearwater”! Every time I attempted one in the past the white and black polishes blended together. The final result lent a cool effect but it was never the look I had in mind.

I have to say, this came out exactly the way I wanted and I have an all new zest for water marbling!!!

I was going to reach for my usual white base polish SinfulColors “Whiteboard” when I came across my long forgotten “White Matter” by Formula X Nails. I have to say, this white is almost perfect! I get an even opaque application after two coats. I received this sample with a Sephora purchase almost five or six months ago and the formula is still relatively thin and in good condition…it does pool into the cuticles but honestly that doesn’t bother me too much!

I hope you like this look!

bwmarble Base: Formula X Nails White Matter

Marble: Wet n Wild Black Creme

Dots: China Glaze Pop the Trunk

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Splodge and Squish | Nail Art

25 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Video

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Tags

Born Pretty Store, China Glaze, Formula X Nails, marbling, metallic nail foils, Milani, Nail Art, Picture Polish, SinfulColors, video tutorial, Wet n Wild

Some items provided for review.

Oh Winter Storm Jonas, how you have flared my rheumatoid arthritis. I am going to be all over the RA-friendly nail art techniques because of the aftermath (read: shoveling ourselves out of our houses) of the freak blizzard we had on the East Coast. As of now, we are still stranded on our street and just finished shoveling our driveways. Tomorrow we tackle the walkway to the mailbox!

One of the most RA-friendly nail art techniques is plastic bag marbling in which I place dots of polish on my nail then squish it around with a plastic baggie. I saw stamper-made marbling all over Instagram recently and gave it a go. It was interesting and fun but I liked the former technique better. When I used the stamper, the polish applied sheer and it took three “attempts” to build up the opacity; once it dried on the stamper I had to start the process all over again. Placing the polish directly to the nail was quicker, easier and just way more convenient.

Regardless, I will continue to play around with the stamper and see if I can come to enjoy it more!

Please check out my video tutorial for this look! I also demonstrate how to use the new design foils from the Born Pretty Store.

Bases: SinfulColors Whiteboard, Wet n Wild Black Creme

Details: Milani Vivid Violet, China Glaze UV Meant to Be, Picture Polish Serenity, Formula X Nails Platinum Prime

Foils: Born Pretty Store ($1.42/roll here)

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

All Natural Marble | Nail Art

15 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

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Tags

Barry M, Formula X Nails, Nail Art, Pahlish, saran wrap, SinfulColors, waterspotting, Zoya

I have not done any true marbling recently and dread hitting the water again. After countless hours of practice I am at a point in water-marbling where I am consistently happy with the outcome. But, unfortunately, if I don’t use it, I lose it and I feel like I am starting from scratch!!

I eased myself back into the water nail art sports with the much simpler water-spotting technique and tried something I had wanted to for a long time: natural marble! I saran-ed the base then water-spotted the brown for a more natural look.

I hope you like it!

Natural Marble Water-Spotting Nail Art | The Rite of Aging Base: Barry M Chai

Saran-Wrap: Zoya Goldie, Severine, Formula X Nails Platinum Prime

Water-Spotting: Pahlish Reinette, SinfulColors All About You

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Metallic Gradient with Triangle Vinyls | Nail Art + Review

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Reviews

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Born Pretty Store, Formula X Nails, gradient, Nail Art, review, stencils, Wet n Wild, Zoya

Vinyls provided for honest review.

I never tried vinyl stencils, even at the height of their popularity. I thought I would be all over them because they had ‘RA-friendly’ written all over them but I always skimmed over the items when I purchased other nail art-related items! I figured at some point I would try them and I finally got my chance to review them for the Born Pretty Store.

This specific set comes with 15 stickers which only comes out to one and a half manicures. Of course, you can make them last by using them as accents; and even longer if you have small nails, like me, and cut them in half.

Unfortunately, I ruined two and a half vinyls while removing them from the plastic backing. They are pretty fragile and when I tried to tear them apart I ripped and twisted them beyond repair. Keep them safe by cutting them apart then removing them from the backing.

I love how these worked. They applied nicely and stuck well but were still removable if I wanted to change their position. I did not experience too much bleeding underneath the stencil and what I did notice was more because of my own inexperience with vinyls.

Metallic Stencil Gradients Nail Art | The Rite of Aging Base: Wet n Wild Black Creme

Gradient: Formula X Nails Platinum Prime, Zoya Severine, Goldie

Stencils: Born Pretty Store Irregular Triangle Pattern Vinyl Stencils ($2.00/15 stencils here)

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Christmas is Coming Red and Green Dotticure | Nail Art

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Community, Nail Art

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Tags

Christmas, dotticure, Formula X, Formula X Nails, glitter, glitter gradient, holiday, SinfulColors

Check the sidebar for more information.

I am TOTALLY off my nail art game which makes me really upset because I love Christmas and holiday nail art more than anything! I finally got some of my mojo back for the “Christmas is Coming” prompt but I am still not up to my usual standards.

I confused my nail art challenges and “Christmas is Coming” is part of the Clairestelle8challenge on IG!

I won the Formula X Nails Infinite Ombre kit from an Instagram giveaway and I honestly never thought I would use it nearly as much as I do. I thought the sheer polish trend was cool but was never interested enough in it to pursue it further. I like the colors in the kit and I like how well they blend together. However, they are a bit thicker than typical sheer polish which for me, is neither here nor there.

Can you believe I forgot I own “Holiday Rebel” by SinfulColors?? It is the perfect holiday glitter and I pushed it back into the cabinet over the year. I finally dusted him off, apologized profusely for neglecting him and eagerly dabbed him on my nails. I need to find a use for this very awesomely secular polish. Otherwise, I’ll use once, twice maybe thrice tops, which is far less than he deserves.

Anyways,

I hope you like this look!

Red & Green Dotticure Nail Art | The Rite of Aging Base: Formula X Nails Platinum Prime

Dots: Formula X Nails Timeless Teal, Boundless Berry (Infinite Ombre kit)

Glitter: SinfulColors Holiday Rebel

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

CYNA – 12 Days of Christmas: Silver & Gold Glitter Sugar-Spin | Nail Art & Talk Through Video Tutorial

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Community, Nail Art, Video

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, Challenge Your Nail Art, Formula X Nails, holiday, Nail Art, Sephora by OPI, SinfulColors, sugar-spun, Wet n Wild, Zoya

The long anticipated day has arrived!! I finally made a video tutorial for my sugar-spin look! Rather, I finally made a video I liked enough to post! Honestly, it took a while to get the hang of using this technique at the angle I filmed at. It was nearly a complete 90 degrees different so it took some getting used to.

I talked through the tutorial and gave my best tips and tricks for creating a crisp, clean sugar-spin. I talked about everything from prep to the actual technique and clean-up (which is the most important part as it is very easy to mess up all the hard work!). One thing I did forget to mention in the video is I prefer Pond’s towelettes because they re-introduce some moisture back into my skin after using acetone!

If you have any other questions please ask them and I’ll try to answer them!