Tag Archives: SIMPLES

SIMPLES – Week 12: “Splodged” Base under Dots

11 Saturday Oct 2014

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I always fall behind during this challenge but I wanted to catch up because I had the perfect inspiration! A friend of mine made this awesome background for one of her art pieces. It is everything I love: color, neon, “splodging”, irregular dots…this piece is just cool! You should check out Bridgette’s Instagram, she is extraordinarily talented. I am and always have been in awe (and slightly jealous, hah!) of her artistic ability. The picture below links to her Instagram!

 

bridgette - inspiration

Her Instagram handle is thechairmanzou.

Take a look at her artwork, it is beyond amazing!

I definitely did not do this piece justice, but I had so much fun doing it. I am not sure I would call it RA-friendly because working with the eyeshadow applicator is a bit tedious but the abstract result doesn’t need to pristine. You decide!

I hope you like it! (I especially like how the pinky and ring finger turned out)

SIMPLES Challenge - Splodging Under Dots | The Rite of Aging

I started with 1 coat of Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I detailed with a dotting tool, a sponge-tip eyeshadow applicator and the following polishes:

  • Color Club Pucci-licious, Wham! Pow!, Almost Famous
  • Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet
  • Milani Black Swift
  • Girly Bits Supersonic

I wanted a matte effect but not completely so I used Cult Nails Wax That! It gives a matte, wax finish that kind of glistens but is not shiny or flat.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

SIMPLES Challenge – Week 11: Gradients

05 Sunday Oct 2014

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Contains affliate links.

I am a couple weeks late on Week 11’s SIMPLES prompt because I was not feeling particularly gradient-inspired. Tonight, I was itching to paint my nails but lacked inspiration. Sitting down in front of my supplies, I wanted to sugar-spin or splatter but could not get on board with the color combinations so I flipped through my new Pueen plates.

I recently purchased the Love Elements collection from Amazon.com and I’m so excited to use them. The designs are super cute and versatile! The theme may be “love” but they are not overtly romantic or girly. I did not read the description properly so I was pleasantly surprised the collection comes with a storage binder to keep the plates all in one place. I immediately played around with them when they arrived last week (my stamping was pretty abysmal and not fit for show) and from the designs they appear really good quality and apply very crisp. They make my amateur stamping look pro!

 

When I saw the leaves, I knew I had to do a green gradient. I’ve been on a green kick lately but I have to admit these nail polishes were very difficult to sponge. Even after many layers, I still saw a very severe demarcation line between the colors. It’s a shame because these colors look really good together. From afar the leaves look really nice but when I applied top coat they smeared a little bit! Thankfully, in person, it is not that noticeable.

I hope you like it!

 

simples week 11: gradientsI started with two coats of Milani Spotlight White as my base.

I used a makeup sponge, Milani Spotlight White, Barry M Key Lime,  and Deborah Lippmann Defying Gravity.

I stamped with Pueen plate Pueen-33 and Konad Special Polish in Black.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here! There are about 5 days left 🙂

The Crumpet’s SIMPLES Challenge – Week 10: Watercolor Base

29 Friday Aug 2014

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I am so behind on all the challenges due to my unstable symptoms. I better whip myself into shape because the 31-Day Challenge starts on MONDAY! I did every single prompt on the right day last year. Let us hope I continue the streak this year!

Below is my watercolor base for the SIMPLES challenge this week. It also serves as my blue base for the MoYou London contest on Instagram. I know there are a range of opinions on the company right now but I like contests and I really like their plates. I just won’t “push the company forward” in my blog posts! Less work for me, right?

 

DSCF0673_fotor

 

I included the picture I uploaded to Instagram. I used Milani Black Swift to stamp on my left hand and Konad Special Polish Black on my right. Reasons below!

DSCF0690_fotorI used 2 coats of Sephora Formula X Thrilling as my base. I was not feeling stark white because of my swollen fingers. White makes my nails look shorter and exacerbates swelling in photographs. Maybe that is just me?

I “water-colored” with Milani Power Periwinkle, Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot, and Anise Neons Make Waves.

I stamped with MoYou London plate 09 (Suki Collection) and Milani Black Swift. I switched to my Konad polish for the left hand because there was a lot of clean up on the stamper and Milani dried too quickly. I loved stamping with my Milani polish but I was not working quickly enough to get a crisp image.

I topped everything with Seche Vite.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

FingerFood Themes Buffet: Inspired by Holidays

10 Sunday Aug 2014

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I wanted to try my first sunset gradient/palm trees on the horizon manicure for the Theme Buffet but the SIMPLES challenge this week is “splodging” so I decided to incorporate both.

Check out the sidebar for information on both challenges.

Summer is fading faster than I anticipated so I am trying to fit in as many neon manicures as possible…not that the absence of summer stops me from wearing neons, of course, but I am itching to start my winter manicure circuit again!

I used similar colors to Debbie’s (The Crumpet) example manicure so I tried to go heavy on the purples. Regardless, I really love this manicure and it reminds me of sunsets which is part of the goal!

I used bigger chunks of sponge for this because my hands were super shaky, I could not pinch properly or manipulate the tweezers. In and of itself, sponging was not the most RA-friendly but eliminating the tweezers and using bigger pieces made this way easier!

I hope you like the final result!

 DSCF0517_fotorI used 2 coats of Julie G White Orchid as my base.

I detailed with small tweezers, bits of makeup sponge, China Glaze Sun Worshipper, Color Club Mrs. Robinson, Poptastic, Almost Famous and Wham! Pow!

I finished with a generous topping of Seche Vite.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other manicures below!

FingerFood Themes Buffet: Rainbow

31 Thursday Jul 2014

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I really tried to use the whole rainbow for this week’s FingerFood’s Theme Buffet but then I couldn’t fit it on my nails…Okay, I did not really try that hard. As you know, I am not the biggest fan of the traditional rainbow spectrum.

I hope you like how I incorporated the dots within dots theme for SIMPLES as well.

DSCF0394_fotorI used 2 coats of Julie G White Orchid as my base.

I dotted with Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Urban Outfitters Westside, and Color Club Almost Famous.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

Check out the other rainbow-rrific manicures below!

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

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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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.

SIMPLES Week 6: Different Size Dots

SIMPLES challenge

 

OMD2 Challenge - Day 5: Dark

OMD2 challenge

I used 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess and 2 coats of Nfu-Oh Nfu 51 as my base.

I stamped and detailed with butter London Cotton Buds and Mo You London plate 04 (Princess collection).

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

 

The Crumpet’s SIMPLES Challenge – Week Five: The Basic Dotticure

29 Sunday Jun 2014

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This is my first real dotticure! I guess what I mean is my first real attempt at evenly-spaced equally-sized dots. You know what? I do not like it. Truth be told, I am not a polka-dot kind of girl.

In the spirit of the SIMPLES challenge, a learning adventure on different nail art techniques, I decided not to re-do this for perfection. I wanted to! I really had to force myself to turn the other cheek.

I guess I just do not like the look of “true” dotticures. If you follow my blog you know I much prefer the abstract random dots to evenly-spaced order.

I hope you like it, though. I used colors inspired by my only polka-dot sweater which is a teal-green with navy spots.

Since I still do not have the energy to do more than one manicure (barely!) this also serves as the base for the Bundle Monster challenge.

 

The Crumpet's SIMPLES - Week Five: Basic Dotticure

SIMPLES

 

Bundle Monster Turns 5! Challenge - Green/Blue

Bundle Monster challenge

I used 3 coats of Milani Key West as my base.

I detailed with Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet.

I stamped with Essie No Place Like Chrome and Bundle Monster plate BM 322.

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.