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the Rite of Aging…early

~ Navigating Rheumatoid Arthritis through Beauty and Nail Art

the Rite of Aging…early

Tag Archives: Pueen

RA-Friendly Glitter Gradient and Water Decals Nail Art

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Rheumatoid Arthritis

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Color Club, easy nail art, flare, glitter gradient, gradient, Pueen, rheumatoid arthritis, Serum No 5, water decals

Did You Know?

Rheumatoid arthritis is often diagnosed late or after joint damage begins. Symptoms are often mistaken as having a less severe cause.

When I first noticed symptoms it was six months before my diagnosis. I sustained a wrist “injury” that took six months to heal. In retrospect, this type of problem should not have eaten away at my mobility, let alone over six months. This was a huge indicator of a larger problem. As the wrist healed, I noticed issues in my other joints.

Thinking even further back, I may have experienced symptoms during college! I lived on the third floor of my dorm and I thought my knees and ankles and hips hurt because I carried my textbooks and heavy backpacks up and down the stairs all day, all over campus. I was unhappy, excessively tired and I just assumed it was stress. How wrong was I?!

I was always healthy before this. I got the occasional cold and sinus infection but there was no indication I could be seriously ill. I just chocked these symptoms as “college life”.

Here’s a tip: NEVER EVER blog before you’ve taken your medications. I woke up at 5 am this morning because I needed to pee. Prednisone is a diuretic and the higher the dose, the more urgent my bladder becomes. I forgot I cannot drink water after 11pm at night before and well, I did. After I woke up I remembered I Love Lucy was on and then I was fully awake.

I thought about using my Dragon Dictate (voice recognition) software but didn’t? I have no good reason for not using it.

As a result of this second of stupidity, I was tired, run down, listless, today,..(heh! [minus the listless]) and I had a boatload of errands to run. So, today, I present a seriously RA-friendly nail art: sponged glitter and water decals.

 

Sponge Glitter and Water Decals | The Rite of Aging Early

 

Sponge Glitter and Water Decals | The Rite of Aging EarlyI started with 2 coats of Color Club Twiggie as my base.

I used a sponge tip applicator to apply a generous helping of Serum No. 5 Happy Special Day! to the cuticles.

I applied Pueen Cosmetics water decals to random fingers.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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RA-Friendly Sponged Gradient and Flakie Nail Art

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Rheumatoid Arthritis

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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)

 

Purple-Pink Sponge Gradient | The Rite of AgingI 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.

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Dry Brush and Stamped Nail Art for First Actemra Infusion

25 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art, Rheumatoid Arthritis

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Actemra, China Glaze, Essie, infusion, Milani, MoYou London, Nail Art, nausea, Orly, Pueen, rheumatoid arthritis, Sally Hansen, side effects, stamping

During my February monthly rheumatology appointment, my doctor tried to convince me to change medications. The Orencia hit its usual plateau and the inflammation slowly crept back in. I don’t really remember that doctor’s appointment. I don’t even know if I understood a word he said. I was so exhausted, foggy and painful nothing made sense. Life didn’t make sense. Well, if my biologic medication was no longer working it was a no-brainer to switch, right? Unfortunately, Saachi was still recovering from her emergency splenectomy (spleen and tumor removal) and would start chemo in the following weeks. With the cancer running rampant within her bloodstream I could not take the chance of getting any worse and not being able to care for my dog.

As the Orencia faded and the Actemra built up in my system there would be a period where I would feel worse of; mostly because my other medications were not doing enough on their own. I had to take care of Saachi. Reluctantly, my doctor agreed it was my call and we could wait.

I had a follow-up a couple of weeks after Saachi passed away and my doctor was still not pleased. I had more inflammation in my joints than in recent months. Something had to change. I had a little more wiggle room to try out new medication as my father was back in town so he could help me. I reluctantly decided to switch to IV form of Actemra.

Actemra is like any other TNF inhibitor. It suppresses the immune system at a specific spot. I was afraid my sinus infections would return. They were so debilitating. I could not care for my pets because my allergy to their dander set off these headaches. Since each biologic medications hits different points of the immune system there was an unlikely chance my sinus infections would return.

 

I tolerated the infusion well. It took about an hour since the technician wanted to make sure I did not have a reaction.

Even though I did not have any reactions during the IV I became very nauseous afterwards. The persistent nausea lasted about 24 hours but I still it intermittently. I did not notice a difference in my RA symptoms. I still felt painful and swollen.

 

Anyways, on to the nail art. I created a dry brush manicure topped with stamping. The infusion liquid is clear which is no fun for nail art so I landed on blue! I then stamped some molecules and bubbles.

 

Dry Brush and Stamped Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI started with Essie Mademoiselle as my base.

I dry brushed with a mix of Orly Sec n Dry, China Glaze UV Meant to Be, Milani Power Periwinkle and Sally Hansen Blue My Mind.

I stamped with Milani Black Swift, MoYou London plate 3 from the Scholar Collection, Essie No Place Like Chrome and Pueen Cosmetics plate PUEEN36.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Neon Watercolor Dotticure and Stamping Nail Art

29 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

American Apparel, China Glaze, Color Club, dotticure, Konad, Milani, Nail Art, neon, Pueen, recreation, stamping nail art, Wet n Wild

I’ve been dying to try out this technique after I saw this recent video on Tartofraises Nail Art’s Youtube Channel! I not only love the look because it is neon but also because it is neon over black! In the past it took me forever and multiple layers for neons to show up over black. This is a great alternative for those bright colors to really pop!

 

I loved how the final look came out. It was super fun and easy and I will definitely try it again with a different design!

Neon Sheer Watercoloring | The Rite of AgingI started with 2 coats of Wet n Wild Black Creme as my base.

I stamped with Konad Special Polish White and Pueen Cosmetics plate PUEEN44.

I used a toothpick and Milani Spotlight White.

I used polish thinner, a fluffy artist’s brush, American Apparel Neon Red, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Warhol and China Glaze Sun Worshiper to color in the white design.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Stamping and Glitter Nail Art for A2Z Series: Q is for Quirky

08 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Community, Nail Art

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

A to Z series, American Apparel, Milani, Nail Art, PixieDust, Pueen, Serum No 5, stamping nail art, Zoya

Check the sidebar for more information.

I am on a glitter kick. When I decided to re-visit my glitters I loved them all (I guess there was a reason I bought them to begin with! – There was speculation I only purchased them because how they looked in the bottle!)

For the quirky prompt I decided to mix a textured polish with bright glitter, neon polish and stamping. Why not go whole hog? This would be the perfect time to do so!

During the “buy 3, recieve 3 mystery polishes” Zoya promotion I bought my first PixieDust! I’m not the biggest fan of these type of textured polishes but this one was so intriguing I had to have it! I heard a rumor that Zoya was discontinuing the PixieDust collection so I wanted to get hold of it before it was gone for good. I mean, to be a good nail art blogger, I had to, right? Hehehe!

I hope you like it!

 

Stamping and Glitter Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI started with American Apparel Neon Green as my base.

I applied a generous coat of Serum No. 5 Happy Special Day! One of my favorite polishes of all time, I am really sad I haven’t used it in so long!

I stamped with a Pueen Cosmetics plate from the Love Elements collection and Milani Black Swift.

I used Zoya PixieDust Imogen for the accent.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

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

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Watermarble and Stamping Nail Art

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Nail Art

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Tags

Barry M, Essie, Nail Art, Pueen, stamping, watermarble nail art

I wanted to do a watermarble but didn’t feel like fighting the process so I used my trusty Barry Ms. Annoyingly, the first time I painted my nails the lightest color I used and the result appeared muddy and dark. I re-started by painting my base white and it definitely made a difference. I don’t know why I never remember to do this!

 

I seriously can’t get enough of the Pueen plates. They make my stamping look so much better than it actually is….which reminds me I need to re-purchase “No Place Like Chrome” since I’m running low.

 

Anyways, I hope you like it!

Pink Watermarble and Silver Stamping Nail Art | The Rite of AgingI used Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I marbled with Barry M Mustard, Rhosilli, Grapefruit and American Apparel Neon Purple.

I stamped with

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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Watermarble and Stamping for Challenge Your Nail Art

14 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by MonicawithRA in Community, Nail Art

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Tags

Barry M, Challenge Your Nail Art, Nail Art, Pueen, Sinful Colors, stamping nail art, valentine's day, valentine's day manicure, watermarble nail art

I wanted to come back to the love letters prompt for this month’s Challenge Your Nail Art. While I do not do the gushy, romantic stuff of film and book I wanted to use the Pueen stamping plates I would not generally use at any other time of year!

I have to be honest, though, I do not like white nail polish. Not because of the consistency (which, okay, I have a problem with) but the color is so stark my camera does not photograph my skin tone well and the polish always muddies the others in the marble. It is a very annoying color.

 

Anyways, I hope you like my Love Letters nail art!

Watermarble and Stamping Valentine's Day Nail Art | The Rite of Aging

I started with Sinful Colors Snow Me White as my base.

I marbled with Barry M Grapefruit, Rhossili and Sinful Colors Snow Me White.

I stamped with Barry M Matte Rhossili and Pueen Cosmetics plate PUEEN 43 from the Love Elements collection.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other love letters below!

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