DIY: Glitter Nail Polish

I recently realized that I haven’t owned any glitter nail polish in waaaaaay too long, which is basically an outright betrayal to my eighth grade self. I think the last one I had was made by Revlon Street Wear (does anyone else remember this late 90s relic?!), if that gives you any idea of how long its been. Determined not to leave sparkly digits to just the junior high set, I scoured stores for the best, densest, almost blinding glitter polish I could lay my hands on. I settled with Sally Hansen’s Pink-y Ring. This sparkly shade of pink packed a powerful punch, but ended up chipping  off almost immediately because I had to layer it on super thick to achieve a full coverage sparkle. Since I haven’t been able to find a polish that's packed densely enough, and because I NEED this level of sparkle in my life, I decided to try my hand at DIY glitter nail polish. It was easier and more successful than I’d anticipated, and I created an easy-to-follow tutorial (if you can even call it that - we’re talking 3 steps here!) for you to try for yourself:

Supplies:

+ Glitter (I used fine glitter, but it depends on how chunky you want the look)

+ Clear nail polish (I used Wet n’ Wild FastDry top coat)

+ Small funnel or piece of small paper fashioned into a cone shape

DIY: Glitter Nail Polish Tutorial

Step One: Using a very small funnel or paper cone (Post-Its are a good size), pour about one teaspoon of glitter into the clear polish bottle.

Step Two: Place the polish cap back on and gently shake the bottle to distribute glitter. You can also roll the bottle between your hands (like you would to make a clay snake) to work it through. Add more glitter about one teaspoon at a time until you’ve reached the desired level of sparkle.

Step Three: Apply 1-2 coats to nails, letting polish dry thoroughly between coats, and seal with a top coat. [Note: you can also put a layer of regular polish in a shade that matches your glitter underneath first for a fuller look]

Step Four: Blind others with your outrageous level of sparkle (optional).

Alternative method: For the purple nails I wanted to try something a little different to see which tactic I liked better. First, I put down a coat of purple polish. Next I added a clear top coat and slowly poured purple glitter on top. After shaking off the excess onto a piece of paper (you can easily add it back to your tube that way) I added another layer of clear top coat to seal in the glitter. 

For all nails you'll need to clean up the excess glitter on your fingers (and probably everywhere else in your workspace!). Both methods created a great end result, but I'd say the second method was a little easier but also much messier. Close up of glitter:

I got a six pack of fine glitter from JoAnn Fabrics for about $4.00 and clear polish for $1.00 each so this is totally affordable and totally addicting. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!

Who else is bringing back glitter nails?