Trinket Box

Wednesday 26 September 2012

DIY gold leaf nail polish

This gold leaf lacquer looks amazing - but £35? Now I love nail polish but I'm not prepared to spend that much on one! It is so very pretty, but such a ridiculous price - especially when I figured you can easily make your own for less than a third of the price.

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I already had the gold leaf, having previously used it in some of my silver jewellery designs - you can get it very cheap on ebay. I also went on ebay and got a nail top coat for cheap too. You will also need a sheet of paper, a funnel [or a make-shift one out of paper, like I used!] and some scissors.

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Here's what you do:

Cut up the gold leaf into little pieces, onto the sheet of paper - it's very delicate and tends to stick to your fingers so it might be best to use some tweezers to hold the gold leaf whilst you cut.

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Next, gently fold the sheet of paper, being careful not to lose any of the gold leaf. Take your top coat and put your funnel [or make-shift funnel] at the top of the bottle. Gently shake the sheet of paper to funnel the gold into the bottle. You may need to use a cocktail stick to 'tease' the pieces through.

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Once it's all in, give the bottle a good shake to evenly distrubute the gold leaf. Then apply straight onto your nails, or over a base coat of your choice!

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These photos show it applied over Essie Absolutely Shore - such a lovely, soft minty colour - but I think it would also look amazing over a burgandy colour for Autumn.

12 comments:

  1. What a great idea, your nails look fab!

    xx

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  2. That looks fiddly but it's a really good idea! Thanks or the tip : )

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  3. This is such a good idea! & it looks like the real thing too :)
    Think I'm going to have to give it a go!

    http://www.danielleyc.com/ xx

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  4. This is such a good idea! Definitely a better option to spending loads on the real deal!
    Kaz x

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  5. What a wicked idea!

    Holli x
    Dragonmommy123.blogspot.com

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  6. This is a brilliant idea! I'll be giving this a go! :) x x

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  7. What an amazing idea! I would love to try this. I love how it came out.

    <3 Melissa
    wildflwrchild.blogspot.com

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  8. This is by far the best DIY idea I have ever seen :O Love this xx


    www.satinandsouffles.com
    www.satinandsouffles.com

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  9. This is ingenious! I couldn't believe the original was £35 but this is a great alternative <3

    Ellen xx

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  10. Such a good idea! It looks so pretty <3 xo

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  11. This is such a good idea and it looks just as good as one you would pay so much more for! xx

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