Make Your Own Nailpolish

On a whim one night I decided to try to make my own nailpolish. I have a shimmery dark red shadow that I thought would look amazing as a nail colour and after a bit of online research, set to it.

Here's what you need to make your own nailpolish:

• Eyeshadow - loose is better, but you can also crush pressed eyeshadows into powder.
• Clear nail polish.
• An empty container. A clean, empty nail polish bottle works perfectly. 
• You will also need something like an orange stick or a stir stick to get the powder into the container and to help you mix it.

Since the eyeshadow I used was pressed (or solid), I needed to break it up into a powder before adding it to the clear nail polish. You can use a sturdy Ziploc bag for this or if you're careful, a paper towel and the back of a spoon. I used the latter method, and crushed the eyeshadow into a powder. Using the handle of the spoon I added the powder little by little to just less than half a bottle of clear polish, shaking to combine it. I swatched it and kept adding more powder until it got to the right consistency. 

It turned out that the mineralize eyeshadow wasn't as interesting (too dark and no depth) as a polish as it is as an eyeshadow so I added a little bit of silvery lavender loose shadow. This lightened it and made it more metallic. 

Swatches of the eyeshadows I used.

I kept adding more of each until it swatched the way I wanted it to look. It turned into a much more purple shade than I originally expected. 

Swatches of the nailpolish as I tried to get the shade I wanted.

And here is the finished shade on my nails...

I like the shade I created but I loved the idea that I could make my own colours more. And I love the idea of using up some products I might not finish using.

Have you ever made your own nailpolish? Have I inspired you to try it on your own?

C.