Franken-polish

Thank you for stopping by, it has been a while since I have posted and I am sorry. The weather is beautiful and I want to enjoy every minute I can. The post this time is about "frankening" your own nail polish colors. Ok, so "frankening" isn't actually a word- but it gets the point across quite well.  I like to make my own colors sometimes if I'm only going to use it for one manicure or design element. I start off with either an empty clean bottle or a bottle that has a little in it that I want to use for a base color usually white or clear. Then I play around to make a sample swatch. This does a few things for me,

1. I can determine the shade I'm looking for
2. I know what colors I will need to mix
3. I can add different things like glitter or eyeshadow powder to change the shade, texture or luster of the polish.   

Other than a  bottle to put the polish into, I also have a mixing bowl (usually the bottom of a paper cup or a cap), a few toothpicks and a small funnel made from scrap paper to put the glitters or powders in to the bottle and if I get lucky- the little silver balls ( ball bearings) from another polish. The bb's help with mixing the polish in the bottle so you don't shake your brains out.

*Some frankening supplies*

 I did try bb's to mix the polish with, but the wrong kind will rust and change the polish color.. One last thing I have on hand is polish thinner-- just in case the color is too thick and not the desired consistency.

Some colors I mixed up. Notice the color change in the center 2 bottles?... That was because the bb's rusted away.

The simplest way to franken is to add white or black to a color to lighten or darken it. Sometimes a few drops of red to darken orange or a bit of yellow to lighten green.

I had a color in mind, just wasn't sure of the exact shade.

So- I mixed.... and mixed...

And mixed and mixed...... I was looking for a coral almost "shrimp" color and I think I was successful  

The polish went on very smooth, and it is exactly what I'm looking for : )