If this nifty manicure trick is good enough for The Duchess of Cambridge – on her wedding day with 3 billion people looking on, no less – we say it’s good enough for you and me.
The art of franken-ing involves combining two or more nail polishes – and for the adventurous, extra glitter and makeup pigment, to create your very own formula. There’s nothing like the pride of mixing up your very own color with just the right amount of tint, sparkle and shine.
Start with an idea. Do you want to get a color you don’t already have? Do you have makeup pigments lying around that would look amazing on nails? Do you want a semi opaque semi translucent jelly polish? Or do you just want to create the greatest giltterbawmb of a polish there ever was?
Next, check out a color wheel – your new-agey looking guide to nail enlightenment.
Know what colors combine to create the shade and hue you need, and keep in mind that a little white lightens up the party and black keeps it toned down. Be real careful with the black though.
Two wee ideas:
Solid colors (this is what Princess Kate did!)
Pick two or more basic formulas, it could be crème or semi translucent or metallic.
Get an empty nail polish bottle (available at beauty supply stores. Try Naga Nail at Sungei Wang). Pour both colors in the bottle individually in small increments.
Add 2 or 3 ball bearings made for nail polish bottles, or stainless steel bb pellets. Shake and add more of any color until it’s perfection. Here we poured roughly 10 drops of berry red opaque polish into a shimmery champagne.
Mix all the glitters!
This one is dead easy. Okay, ready? Gather together a bunch of loose glitter from craft, beauty supply stores, or make up glitter.
Grab that clear topcoat (about 2/3 full) and that tiny paper cone. Empty ALL the glitter (well, however much you want, without it getting too clumpy).
Shake-shake-shake it up and voila, New Year ready nails!
Anyone of these methods can be combined for more fun. Just mix small batches in a palette to experiment before committing to a whole bottle. It’s time to go mad scientist crazy with your stash now.
Disclaimer: Due to the volatile nature of nail polish ingredients we neither condone nor promote mixing formulas from different manufacturers. There is no way to know if they will safely combine. So, franken at your own risk.
- http://www.alllacqueredup.com
- http://www.makeupalley.com
- http://forums.thefashionspot.com
- http://drfrankenpolish.wordpress.com/
Text by Grace Wong
