Generally, I try not to take myself (or my beauty routine) too seriously. That probably explains why I attempted to DIY my own edible chocolate nails IRL — what chocolate lover wouldn't want to have a nibble on their nails when they're feeling peckish? This kooky beauty trend takes nail biting to a whole new level.
Jessie Mills of Nailed It NZ was spotted working her manicuring magic in a video found on her YouTube channel. But this video was a little different to the average nail art tutorials found on the interweb — Mills created an edible chocolate manicure! Equal parts beautiful and slightly gross, this unusual mani was reminiscent of a trip to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
A woman after my own heart, Mills attempted the Simply Nailogical's #PolishMountain challenge, which I also had a go at myself (and failed miserably). Talking about her chocolate mani in her video, Mills says, "This isn't meant to be serious, this isn't something you're going to wear everyday — this is just a bit of fun!"
I do enjoy having fun with beauty trends, so I couldn't wait to try out this delectable nail trend IRL. Besides, what else was I going to do with all of the chocolate I had leftover from the holidays?
The Inspo
Of course, I turned to Mills' video for my inspiration for this look. However, Mills' method involves using a specific brand of chocolate-flavored "writing icing" which posed a couple of problems for me. Firstly, being based in the UK, I wasn't sure if I could pick up the exact same product that Mills uses and secondly, I'm vegan.
I thought the easiest solution to this problem was to create my own edible nail polish out of melted vegan chocolate. I couldn't wait to get started!
The Method
To begin, I grabbed a vegan chocolate Santa Claus. I felt a little mean, like I was sending him to slaughter.
I popped him in a metal bowl over a pan of boiling water and waited for him to melt.
I felt pretty bad; like I was massacring the spirit of the holidays.
I was left with liquid chocolate, but couldn't help being reminded of the scene in The Wizard of Oz when the Wicked Witch of the West melts.
I already had an old tube of red icing lying around, which I thought I could repurpose for the sake of this experiment. I snipped off the end and cleaned it out, so that it was ready to scoop my melted chocolate in.
I rested my hand on a plate as I was certain the process would be pretty messy.
However, when "painting" my left hand (I'm right-handed) I found it rather easy.
But when it came to my right hand, I had to throw in the towel at the sake of ruining my left hand's mani. I hadn't thought through the fact that my piping invention was left without an end, so when I squeezed the tube, it exploded with melted chocolate. I'd managed to keep this slightly under control when making over my left hand, but it was almost impossible to do the same for my right hand and there was no-one around to assist me.
I was quite pleased with the outcome.
Although, this 3-D manicure reminded me of my 100 coats of nail polish challenge and I wondered if it had dried.
From the looks of my ring finger and pinkie, it certainly didn't look solid.
All in all, I was quite impressed that despite all odds, it was actually staying put.
The Reality Of Edible Chocolate Nails
As I had expected, the chocolate hadn't dried properly.
After a stint in the freezer — where my impatience and cold phalanges got the better of me — it still hadn't dried. It dawned on me that it would likely never dry fully, due to my body heat. I couldn't believe I hadn't twigged on sooner.
There was only one thing left to do...
Removing my edible manicure was by far the most fun part.
My saliva proved to be the best (albeit seriously gross) nail polish remover I'd ever used.
It definitely beat the boring process of removing nail polish the conventional way! For anybody wondering, of course I washed my hands immediately after devouring my manicure.
My Thoughts On This Finger Lickin' Mani
Although fun, this edible manicure was totally pointless. I couldn't go anywhere or do anything while wearing it. However, it looked interesting and chocolate lovers might like the sensation of licking melted chocolate from their fingers. I guess you could even use this mani as a bizarre way to educate nail polish obsessed kids about body temperature and melting points.
At the end of the day, for me the most successful part of this kooky manicure, was eating all the melted chocolate afterwards and feeling like an upcycling queen with my repurposed icing tube.
Unless you relish mess — don't try this beauty trend at home!
Images: Phoebe Waller
