Design DIY: Homemade Nail Polish

How many times have you thrown away half-used eyeshadow because it was too old? Or tossed a broken eyeshadow pot cause it was too messy to use? If you’ve done either of those things before, this tutorial is for you! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sent old eyeshadow to the trash because it was too old or broken into bits. Finally I’ve found a way to re-purpose old eyeshadow by turning it into nail polish. Yes, you read that correctly. Nail polish.

Before I start, let me tell you, this DIY was SO FUN. One of my absolute favorites. It wasn’t tedious and didn’t take much time at all and my nail polish turned out so amazing!

Supplies:

• Sacrificial eyeshadow (I used E.L.F. eyeshadows, $1 for each mini palette)
• Clear nail polish (NYC, $1, worked really well)
• Scissors
• Funnel made from scrap paper
• Napkin or paper plate to work on
• Q-tips
• Optional: Glitter

How to:

1. Decide what colors you want to include in each nail polish bottle. The amounts I used for each color are as follows: Eggplant: bright blue and bright purple. Forest: Silver blue/gray and green. Creme: The three lightest colors. Shimmer: Glitter only. I did not use the bright pink color at all.

2. Once you decide what colors you want your polish to be, crush them in the palette with the scissors. Dump onto a paper towel or napkin and continue to pulverize them into dust. It’s fun! Crush, crush, crush!

3. Remove the lid/brush from a clear nail polish bottle and set that aside. Place funnel in the mouth of the bottle and pour the crushed pigment into the bottle. Watch it float down! It’s really cool.

4. Stir the pigment with a Q-tip and mix well. Place the lid back on the bottle and shake to complete the mixture process. That’s it! Your personally concocted nail polish is ready to wear. Amazing!

Step by step photos below: