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Thursday, April 19, 2012

DIY Nail Polish from Pigment

   Nail art has really taken off in the past year or so. While I fully support all the cute nail art, my nails have never been a huge priority to me. Of course I love getting my nails done, but this happens probably once or twice a year. I never really buy polish and do it myself either; I always scuff them up right after I paint them and it drives me nuts.

   Lately though, I have been inspired by all the great nail ideas out there. I have even started to accumulate a little polish collection! When I saw this post by Keiko Lynn, about how to make your own nail color out of pigment and clear polish, I had to give it a try!

You need:
Makeup pigment (I  used MAC's "Melon")
Clear polish or top coat
Something to mix it in
Something to mix with (I used a bobby pin)
Nail polish remover to clean your brush


1. Pour some pigment into your mixing container, and add your clear polish. I used a bobby pin to mix the two together. There wasn't much rhyme or reason to the amounts I used. Basically enough polish to get the right consistency, and enough pigment to get a good amount of color. I tested this by smearing some on a piece of paper.


2. Paint nails! I did two coats, then cleaned off my brush. Definitely need nail polish remover for cleaning your brush! Once clean, do a top coat to seal color.


And voila! So easy. I'm sure it would be fun to mix pigments together to create a custom color, or add the pigment to a colored nail polish!