RA-Friendly Sponged Gradient and Flakie Nail Art

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Tags

Barry M, China Glaze, easy nail art, gradient nail art, Mundo de Unas, Nail Art, Nfu Oh, Pueen, rafriendlynailart, rheumatoid arthritis, sponged gradient, stamping

Did You Know?

It was first believed exercise would exacerbate and quicken the progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Now, it is proven light exercise helps protects the joints and keeps the muscles from atrophying.

I am not going to lie. The most annoying comment I hear, from doctors to friends, is “exercise!”. It really is not as simple as that. I know exercise lessens my symptoms (I feel more limber and alert), however, sometimes activity worsens them. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you may remember blog posts here and there about my grievances about climbing and RA. It is such a fine line for me. I have to be very careful. I rarely climb for more than a couple of hours, I do not push myself and the minute I feel a “twinge” I stop. If I’ve done grocery shopping or done any housework I do not climb; even with a lengthy nap in between activities, it is way too much for me to handle.

But…now onto the nail art! I like using an eyeshadow sponge tip applicator with similar colors. It is more RA-friendly than using a makeup sponge and the uneven lines are masked better.

Why, oh why do I not use this flakie more??? This gorgeous topper was actually at the back of my cabinet! I managed o get my hands on it before the shade was discontinued. (Hah, maybe that’s why! Do you ever feel guilty using polishes you know you can no longer get? I especially feel that way about the old Milani polishes!) However, I do really like how this look came out. It reminds me of those fun thermal bath toys that would change from pink to purple when placed in warm water!

I hope you like it! (I completely forgot to take a sunlight picture so I had to settle for my usual indoor lighting)

I started with China Glaze Violet Vibes and Barry M Plum as my base.

I used generous coats of Nfu Oh Nfu 51 on the accent nails and sponged it on the tips of my index and pinky nails.

I stamped with Mundo de Unas Neon Pink and Pueen Cosmetics plate PUEEN 85. I usually stamp my right hand first then move to my dominant left. As I worked with MdU formula more it became more opaque. I am still learning this specialty polish but I like the gradient effect!

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Green Water-Marble Nail Art

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

American Apparel, Barry M, Nail Art, Nfu Oh, Revlon, watermarble, watermarble nail art

After seeing Colette from My Simple Little Pleasure’s latest watermarble YT video (channel linked here) I was inspired to marble myself! And I am so happy I did!

Everything went right with this manicure even the picture!…I wanted to add something extra but was terrified I was going to just butcher it…and then even the dots looked exactly as I pictured them! I kind of wish I had placed the dots on the next curve down, on my index finger, but that is just me getting nit-picky…heh!

I hope you like it!

I started with 1 coat of Sephora by OPI It’s Totally Karma. Funnily enough, I did not use this polish in the marble.

I marbled with Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy High Stakes, American Apparel Neon Green and Barry M Gelly Key Lime.

I used a small dotting tool and Nfu Oh Nfu 51.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Saran-Wrap Manicure for A2Z Nails: K is for Kitchen Sink

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Community, Nail Art

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

A to Z series, American Apparel, Born Pretty Store, China Glaze, Color Club, Girly Bits, metallic nail foils, Nail Art, Nfu Oh, Pahlish, saran wrap manicure

Check the sidebar for more information.

I am all about chaos on my nails. How many times have you seen one of my manicures and thought…Monica definitely didn’t need to add that or this would look better with out this…Well, I certainly have. However, the kitchen sink idea just made me nervous! There is a method to my madness, whether I am using the same color scheme or technique.

Kitchen Sink prompts as many colors, techniques, embellishments, and designs as I can possibly fit on my little nails. CONFUSION!!!

Unfortunately, my wrists decided to leave me hanging again so I opted for some fun, simple RA-friendly ~~saran-wrapped~~ (read: bubble-wrap) and color foiled nails.

At first, I did not really like my final result but it grew on me. It is definitely not soemthing I would normally choose but it kind of sort of works, right? Maybe if I got rid of my pinky?

What do you think? Is this a miss?

I used (from index to pinky) China Glaze In the Limelight, American Apparel Parakeet, Girly Bits Supersonic, and American Apparel Neon Yellow as my bases.

I sponged Nfu-Oh Opals Nfu-51 on my index and pinky finger before applying color foils (from Born Pretty Store).

For the middle finger, I bubble-wrapped with Pahlish La Royale and American Apparel Neon Violet.

On the ring fingre, I bubbled wrapped with Color Club Warhol and applied a sheer coat of Zoya Maria Luisa.

When the index and pinky nails dried I sponged a little Neon Yellow to blend out the colors.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Don’t forget to check out the other kitchen sink nails below!

31DC2014 – September 13: Animal Print

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#31DC2014, butter London, freehand, Milani, Nail Art, Nfu Oh

I updated the 31-Day Challenge tab on my blog and realized I never posted this year’s animal print manicure! How did I completely miss this when I posted it to my other social media? …Well, I am posting it now!

I hope you like it!

I used 1 coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Petal Pusher and 1 coat of butter London Knackered as my base.

I detailed with dotting tools, artist’s brushes, Milani Peacock and Nfu-Oh Nfu 51.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Check out the other animal print manicures below!

#31DC2014 – Day 6: Violet Nails/FingerFood Theme Buffet: Marbling

05 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#31DC2014, Essie, FingerFood theme, freehand, marbling, Milani, Nail Art, Nfu Oh, Sephora by OPI, Zoya

See sidebar for more information.

I am kind of super excited I am a day ahead in the 31 Day Challenge. It gives me a little wiggle room in case I lose steam during the month. I decided to kill two birds with one stone because I was itching to use some of my neglected purple polishes.

I avoided water marbling. I tried a couple of times but they were fails and I felt discouraged. I attempted ziploc marbles but I was too impatient for them to dry so I tried a toothpick marble. It is hard! I kept scraping my base and I could not really “marble” but I liked the end result. Without top coat, the design resembled the Picasso Swirl technique; with top coat, it looked a lot more like what I was after.

I hope you like my manicure today! I like the cloudy, floaty feel (if that makes sense) of the creams on top of the flaky base.

I started with 2 coats of Zoya Payton and 1 generous coat of Nfu Oh Opals Nfu 51 (one of my severely neglected polishes…sometimes I wish I used it more, sometimes I want to save it because it was discontinued!) as my base.

I marbled with a toothpick, Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess, Essie Smokin’ Hot and Milani Vivid Violet.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Check out the other violet nails for the 31-Day Challenge!

…and the marble manicures for the Theme Buffet!

Oh Mon Dieu 2 Challenge – Day 5: Dark/SIMPLES Challenge – Week 6: Different Sized Dots

06 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

butter London, dotticure, freehand, MoYou London, Nail Art, Nfu Oh, Oh Mon Dieu challenge, Sephora by OPI, SIMPLES, stamping

When I think “dark” polish, I think “vampy” and go straight to my highly-treasured Nfu-Oh Nfu 51 flakies polish. I do not use this polish nearly enough but maybe that is a good thing since it was discontinued from the Nfu Oh website. I snagged a bottle and still consider it one of my best nail polish purchases ever.

Ever.

The colors can look completely different based on lighting. I posted two pictures from today’s manicure, on Instagram, and they both look totally different. You have to love flakies!

I hope you like my creation today…The first picture is for the SIMPLEs challenge (different size dots) and the second is for the OMD2 challenge. When I think of flakies polishes I also think fairy tales and fantasy so I was thrilled to see a unicorn stamp in my collection.