Tag Archives: marbling

Blue Marbling w/ Tool | Nail Art & Review

14 Saturday May 2016

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Product provided for honest review.

I have not yet mastered the needle drag marble. For the most part, I get the design I want but I always scrape through the bottom layers leaving an unsightly nick to my bare nail.

 

marbletoolfullmarblingtoolI noticed Born Pretty Store a new marbling comb. I wanted to streamline a one-needle design which can be painstakingly long! The grip of this tool is easy  and the comb glides through polish easily. However, the needles are in a straight line so the polishes mix together too easily and I quickly lose the marbleized look. If the picks are staggered I could get a smaller, more detailed design which I usually prefer.

 

marbleBase: SinfulColors Midnight Blue

Marble: SinfulColors Rise & Shine, Why Not, Hazed

Tool: Marbling Comb ($3.98 here)

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Splodge and Squish | Nail Art

25 Monday Jan 2016

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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.

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Plastic Bag Marble Nail Art for NAIL and Red Coat Tuesdays

03 Tuesday Mar 2015

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It is funny how inspiration strikes. The last February NAIL prompt was for our least favorite polish. The newest Milani white (Spotlight White) and butter London nude (Tea with the Queen) both made the short list but I could not think of a good nail art with them!…and then it hit me…my Wet n Wild red. I’ve mentioned I don’t like this polish: formula, brush and all…but, for whatever reason, it did not make my original list.

So, why use it? There is a group of bloggers who take part in Red Coat Tuesdays in honor of Pretty Little Liars. I always wanted to take part but never actually created a manicure for the linkup. I am obsessed with this show but even though I love it I have serious issues concerning it. There is too much going on: too many characters, too many plot lines. I tune in every week but this season is seriously lacking. I lean towards colder side of lukewarm because each episode feels like a filler biding its time until the finale.

As excited I am the show was green-lighted for a seventh season (even before this past season aired) I honestly don’t know what else they can do. They are just dragging out everything and it’s getting boring. They just need to tell us who A is, who is torturing the girls, and WHY? I don’t think they ever told us.

Why did they randomly stop thinking Ezra was “A”? (I still think he is just because being A is a very expensive habit and he is the only one who has access to the funds).

 

Anyways, on to the nail art! I decided to do something simple, RA-friendly and abstract. This is my first attempt at plastic bag marbling. There are a couple of ways to do it, either apply the dots directly to the nail or marble on the bag and transfer the design.

I decided to try the latter. I continued to splotch and mash until I was happy with the final design. I hope you like it!

 

Dry Marble - Red Coat Tuesday | The Rite of Aging

Plastic Bag Marble Nail Art - Red Coat Tuesday | The Rite of AgingI started with 2 coats of Wet n Wild Red a Good Book as my base.

I marbled with Wet n Wild, OPI Red Lights Ahead…Where?, Essie No Place Like Chrome, Zoya Goldie, and Barry M Gelly Chili.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Wavy, Swirly

05 Sunday Oct 2014

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Contains affliate links.

 

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.

NAIL (September 2014) – Week Two: Sapphire

27 Saturday Sep 2014

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Check the sidebar for more information on this challenge!

I am running a little behind this month because of the 31DC but I love taking part in the Link-up so I am trying to fit these manicures in here and there.

Blue is my favorite color so I was thrilled by the second week’s prompt. Sapphire is a gorgeous stone. Even uncut, it has a very majestic glow.

 

I was on a water-marbling kick but since I was not feeling too well I only did an accent. The rest was my trusty RA-friendly saran-wrap!

I hope you like it!

 

I started with Zoya Dream as my base.

I detailed with Sally Hansen Blue My Mind and  Julie G White Orchid.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

31DC2014 – September 24: Inspired by a Book

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

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Going into this month, I thought I would re-create the inscription on the Ring of Power from Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, RA got in the way so I racked my brain for another idea. I still wanted to do Lord of the Rings but I needed a RA-friendly nail art to go with it.

Distressed nails are one of the perfect RA-friendly nail art techniques! But, what part of Lord of the Rings would the distressed vibe represent? …Fangorn Forest!

The Forest of Fangorn is completely overrun by trees, moss, roots, branches and magic. The forest houses some of the oldest magic of that world. Many who venture into this forest rarely find their way out.

But, I wanted to touch on the magical element as well so I did a accent water-marble. The fireside stories of Fangorn hint at an angry, dark past but it has a whimsical side as well.

 

I kind of really love this. I have a feeling I totally over thought this manicure’s significance but I was inspired, I guess!

I hope you like it, too!

 

31DC2014 - September 24: Inspired by a Book | The Rite of Aging…EarlyI used 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Metro Chic as my base.

The other polishes I used:

  • Sephora by OPI It’s Totally Karma, 212-Sephora
  • Milani Dark Coffee
  • Revlon Gel Envy High Stakes

All these polishes marbled beautifully, including “212-” which is a glitter-y brown!

I sealed the marble with my favorite INM Northern Lights (Silver).

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other manicures below!

31DC2014 – September 21: Inspired by a Color

21 Sunday Sep 2014

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I got my new Mundo de Unas stamping polishes in the mail and wanted to try out the blue so I built the color palette around that one polish. That falls under “inspired by a color”, right?

I wanted to water-marble again and I was so happy I did! It looked like a true water marble! Now, if I could only get them in the same direction!

The type of polishes I use really make a difference. I know Sammy from the Nailasaurus typically uses Barry M polishes so I gave mine a try. Wow. They work so well! True marbling is not as RA-friendly as messy marbling since it requires more precision. I only did my middle and ring nails because my fingers and wrists are flared.

I hope you like it!

 

31DC2014 - September 21: Inspired by a Color | The Rite of Aging…EarlyI used 3 coats of American Apparel Parakeet as my base.

I marbled with Orly Bonder, Barry M GNP 14/Key Lime, MNP 10/Cancun, and Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot (unfortunately, Pacific Hoot got kind of eaten up when I made the rings). I sealed the designs with Seche Vite before applying a generous coat of INM Northern Lights (Silver).

I stamped with MoYou London plate 04 from the Princess collection and Mundo de Unas stamping polish 4/Blue.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other colorful manicures below!