Fun With Striping Tape - Essie, OPI, and Gold Flake Top Coat Madness!

Happy Monday! I had the good fortune to be able to visit my family this past Christmas which really means one thing: Lozlosa reunion!!!! (Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, my brother, and the cats.... but c'mon.... nail polish.) Whenever we meet up, my mom and I always shower each other with nail goodies that we hoarded during the months we go without seeing each other - this visit was no different. I am thrilled to announce that thanks to my lovely mother/co-blogger/awesome-lady-in-general Lisa I have been able to mess around with striping tape for the first time. This stuff has been bringing me so much joy. I love it! The clean lines, the ability to create gorgeous geometric shapes, the craftiness of the whole thing. It's great. (Thanks Mom!) Today's manicure is a personal favorite of my recent manicures. REAL gold flakes, TWO different shades of green polish, AND the use of striping tape? Winning!

So, this manicure was a labor of love. I used OPI's Thanks A Windmillion from the Holland collection for the base color on most of my nails. I adore this faded sage green cream - in my opinion it was the best thing about the Holland collection hands down. To add a bit of luxury and texture I decided to top it off with a healthy coat of Sephora by OPI's It's Real 18K Gold Top Coat. I picked up a bottle online for a steal and I think that it was one of the best online nail purchases I've made in awhile. Because I can't leave well enough alone, I laid out some striping tape and painted Essie's Going Incognito on top of the whole thing. This shade is to die for - a deliciously rich and saturated forest green. Once the tape was lifted and some top coat was thrown on (Sally Hansen Mega Shine is my current go-to top coat) this manicure was complete.

For my accent nail I decided to reverse the greens and then opted to cover the whole nail with the gold top coat instead of letting it peek out from the stripped areas. The contrast between Thanks a Windmillion and Going Incognito is so gorgeous that I can barely stand it. With the gold accents, it just went to a whole 'nuther level. I had initially been bummed that I didn't pick up the OPI James Bond gold top coat, but I feel like this has more than filled the void. 

I took these pictures over the weekend, and I look forward to wearing this manicure for at least a few days more. Believe me, that's saying something! I am not the kind of girl to wear one manicure for more than a day or two. Between dings and boredom, one day's polish is taken off and replaced for another's. Not this time! Tell me, have you been enjoying striping tape lately? I know that I'm late to the party, so if anyone has a tip or suggestion on how to use it, I would be thrilled to hear about it! Also, what do you think about the real gold flake nail trend? It feels like everyone is putting one out these days. I'm loving them personally, but I'm only interested in polishes that don't break the bank. How much is too much to adorn your nails with gold?