Split Personality

Sometimes I think I have a split personality. One version of me is great at painting nails, the other is not so great. Unfortunately, last night the clumsy me was doing all the work. You'll have to excuse the lumpy polish (that's my fault, because both polishes I've used have great application), my wonky clean up job, and tipwear. It just wasn't happening for me when I did this design and I kept knocking my wet nails on everything around me.

Full sunlight

Full sunlight

Coincidentally, I've used 'Split Personality' by Emily de Molly. I'm having a hard time trying to describe this polish. It's almost a duochrome? But not quite? It's a beautiful royal purple/blue (blurple?) colour that flashes gold/bronze in the light. Bronze flakies make this polish extra special. The gold I've used here is OPI's 'GoldenEye'. I've put together a quick tutorial for you on how to create this simple tape mani.

Step 1: Apply your protective base coat and then apply a gold polish.

Step 2: Once your gold has dried, take some striping tape (available from ebay or Born Pretty Store) and using tweezers place two strips on each nail. I suggest pre-cutting these to make it easier. Press them down well so that your purple polish won't leak underneath.

Step 3: Apply your purple polish. It's best if your polish is a one-coater, a two-coater at most. This is so that you don't get massive ridges once you pull the tape off.

Step 4: About 10 seconds after applying your final coat of purple polish, use tweezers to gently remove the tape.

Step 5: Apply your clear top coat and you're finished. If you've had to use a purple polish that's a two-coater you will probably have ridges where the tape was as you can see in my previous photo. Your top coat will help smooth these out a little.

So there you have it, easy! An alternative to using the striping tape as a mask is to use the striping tape as part of the actual design. Start by painting your nails purple and then place gold tape on top and cut the excess off with cuticle nippers. However, be warned that using striping tape as part of your design is not long lasting, it will start to peel after a day or two.

Emily de Molly polishes are available directly from the etsy store for those of you in Australia, and they're available internationally from Shoppe Eclecticco. Remember to use the code NO2PC at Shoppe Eclecticco checkout for a discount on every order. If ordering striping tape from Born Pretty Store use the code MLE10W21 for 10% off.