Tag Archives: Nail Art

Nail Art: Sprinkles

20 Tuesday Aug 2013

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There is this great independent ice cream parlor near my house called “Sprinkles”. They make the most amazing black and white milkshakes. If you are unfamiliar, the black and white milkshake is vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup mixed in. Of course, you can substitute the vanilla for any flavor.

My first Etsy purchase was from SerumNo5: Happy Special Day! I love this sprinkle nail polish. It is a multi-colored shimmer top coat primarily comprised of white hexagons of multiple sizes. There is also an assortment of thin rectangular, hexagonal, and square pieces in different colors and sizes. This nail polish has a great formula and it is not hard to get a lot of product on the brush. This polish is so much fun! Each nail looks different and I never stop looking at my fingertips when I am wearing it. Recently I noticed that the pieces even vary in opacity!

Every time I wear this polish I constantly think of the ice cream parlor and crave a milkshake. In honor of this craving…nail art!

Nfu Oh 51 over Zoya “Gwin”, SerumNo5 “Happy Special Day”, Accented Ring – Milani “Hot Pink”

Base and top coat are a must. I started with two coats of Zoya “Gwin” which is a bright coral orange. It has a dense gold shimmer in the bottle that does not translate completely to the nail. The formula is sheer, not runny and totally covers the nail in two coats.

I added one thin layer of flakies amazing-ness Nfu Oh 51. This is the ultimate flakies polish. No matter what color the base coat is, it darkens it without changing the color and the flakes and shimmer pick up the original. I have seen that the base of some flakies lean towards warmer colors or cooler colors but rarely both. Nfu Oh has a variety of flakies polish available but 51 is the most universal.

Next up: Happy Special Day. I did not apply this polish in the regular way. I applied one thin layer with very little product (this way, I minimized the amount of white pieces). I went back and tapped extra pieces onto the bald areas.

On the ring finger I applied one coat of Milani’s “Hot Pink”. For a glitter polish this has a wonderful formula. It does not clump and applies evenly. Also, it does not dry so quickly that I can not move glitter pieces after application.

Can you tell I love sprinkles on my ice cream?

Just a note about Nfu Oh: the company recently discontinued their Nfu Oh Opal Glitter series. The polishes in the collection are on sale from the usual $12.50 to $11.25. If you are interested, take a look at the website here.

And one on SerumNo5: I purchased from the shop on Etsy but there is also a website. When I run out I am definitely going to repurchase and try a couple of other enamels I have my eye on. On my list: Happy Place, Starry Nights and May Flowers.

Hi, I’m Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Smile Like you Mean It

19 Monday Aug 2013

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Just a quick post today because I am feeling really unwell.

For this nail art, I started with base coat (CND Stickey). I used a sponge gradient method to apply Milani’s “Mint Chip” and Milani High Speed Fast Dry’s “Quick Teal”. For the stamping I used Bundle Monsters’ plate “BM 304”. EDIT: Racking my brains I realized that I had used “Mint Chip” which is a light green creme instead of “Peacock”. I should probably start writing these things down so I don’t forget!

Milani “Peacock” and “Quick Teal” Gradient with Smiley Accent

I love how the colors worked together. The Milani “Quick Teal” really stained my cuticles and no amount of nail polish remover would take it off. I had to resort to washing my hands frequently after the polish dried.

See below for the sponging method I used. I really like using this for two colors. When I tried three, the colors got very muddy in the center. Hopefully I get better with practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXq2e-ULLDw#at=183

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Struck by Gold

17 Saturday Aug 2013

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Recently, I took advantage of Sephora’s polish sale (more information here) and the rewards that came with it. One of the nail polishes I bought was Sephora by OPI’s “212 – Sephora”.

It has a great formula that I applied with two coats. The polish goes on very sheer with one coat but intensifies after that. It is an awesome color! It is a dark brown with orange flakies and multi-colored shimmer mixed in. I am on the fence about the brush. It is a lot bigger than most nail polish brushes so  I have to use a very steady hand to apply, but the formula does not streak on the nail.

I am very happy with my purchases, which also include my favorite grey “Metro Chic” and a Jewelry Top Coat “Be-Claus I Said So”, so I used a lightening bolt stamp that mirrors my “struck by good fortune” happiness.

For the stamping I used Bundle Monsters plate “BM 305”.

"Struck by Gold" Nail Art: Zoya - Goldie, Sephora by OPI - 212 Sephora

Zoya “Goldie” over Sephora by OPI “212-Sephora”

Hi, I am Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Galaxy Accent

11 Sunday Aug 2013

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I’m going to try and climb tomorrow so I decided not to go hog-wild with my nail art today. Also, I went for a hike with my dog and I was exhausted by the time I got home.

I tried the galaxy nail art a few weeks ago and I really liked how it came out, so I decided to try it again to see if I could get the same results.

The polishes I used: CND – Stickey base coat, two coats of Essie – Power Clutch, SpaRitual – Running with Wolves, Zoya – Goldie, butter London – Knackered, Wet n Wild – Blue Moon, Revlon – 902 Celestial FX, and Seche Vite top coat.

Straight On

Once the base coat and base color dried I tore three small pieces from a foundation sponge and, with a pair of tweezers, sponged the SpaRitual, Zoya, and butter London polishes in diagonals across the nail.

I used a toothpick to splotch-dot Wet n Wild.

I used an eyeshadow sponge-tipped applicator to apply one star from the Revlon polish.

Topped all nails with Seche Vite which has a great shine!

Galaxy Accent

Unfortunately, today was one of those days when my fingers “stuck” in certain positions when I was removing the old enamel, and using the brushes to paint the polish. I am currently at 10mg of prednisone and while I feel like I am just getting by and I could feel a little better, I’d rather not increase the dosage.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Nail Art: Rocky Horror Picture Show Theme

09 Friday Aug 2013

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Over the last two weeks I increased my prednisone dose from 8mg to 12mg because of a bad flare. The pain and fatigue just came on…no warning. I stopped climbing, I even found it difficult to brush my teeth, get out of bed and feed the dogs.

All the side-effects of the steroid came back like clockwork. I got insomnia and some anxiety. The sharp increase also came with the feeling of inflammation around my lungs and heart. So, after five days on 12mg I tapered back the dosage as much as I could.

I’m still not feeling great on that lower dose so I decided to have a relaxing Friday night stay-cation.

So, what does a 23-year-old with a RA flare do to keep herself busy on a Friday night? In preparation for my first live performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” I decided to design a nail art for the occasion.

I water-marbled most of my nails and left one accent with a red-lip stamp. I also did a red-drip on the tips.

The nail polishes I used: Essie’s “Blanc”, Butter London’s “Knees Up”, Wet n Wild’s “Black Crème”, and Zoya’s “Goldie”.

I apologize for the messy clean-up. I am still getting used to lighting and good angles but the colors are pretty accurate.

Left Thumb

Left Hand

Right Hand

Base: Essie Blanc (white “undies”), Wet n Wild Black Creme

Water-Marble: butter London “Knees Up” (red), Zoya Goldie (gold), Black Creme

Stamping: Knees Up, Bundle Monster plate BM 303

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.