How to Mix Nail Polish

Co-authored by Lindsay Yoshitomi

Last Updated: June 24, 2024

In terms of color, mixing nail polish follows the same principles as mixing paint. With a variety of polish color and a little practice, there's no reason you can't make any color you like. You can also combine colors side-by-side on your nails with a variety of techniques.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Mixing Nail Polish

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1
Select your mixing polishes. Choose the two shades of nail polish you wish to mix. Mixing only two polish colors is recommended, because mixing more than two colors can make the mixture appear muddy. Normally, using nail polishes with the same base type (glitter, sheer, opaque, matte, etc.) makes for an overall better polish mixture.
- Mixing primary colors is a good rule of thumb to follow when mixing colors. For example, to make a purple polish, mix together a red and blue polish. To make a green polish, mix together a yellow and blue polish.
- Like colors tend to mix well too. For example, to make a hot orange, mix together a darker orange with a yellow. To make a lighter shade of pink, mix together a deeper pink with white polish.
- Nail polishes of the same brand tend to blend together the best. That’s because every brand uses their own polish formula, and polishes of the same brand will most likely accept each other and combine well.
2
Choose your mixing surface. A plastic paint palette is one of the easiest surfaces to use and clean, but you can use any surface that is clean, flat, and you don't mind staining. Paper plates, wax paper sheets, and tin foil are all common surfaces used for mixing nail polish.
- Do not use a styrofoam surface for mixing. The nail polish will destroy the styrofoam and produce holes in the material.
- You may want to put down a layer of newspaper underneath your workspace, in case of nail polish spills.
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3
Apply the polishes to the mixing surface. Open one of the nail polishes you plan to mix, and without wiping the sides of the brush on the inside of the bottle, dab a drop of paint on your mixing surface. Repeat this until you have about five to 10 drops on the mixing surface. Then, open up the other bottle of nail polish, and again, without wiping the sides of the brush on the inside of the nail polish bottle, dab about five to 10 drops near the first pool of the nail polish.
- Start out with only a few drops of each nail polish color so you don't waste polish if you don’t like the mixture.
4
Mix the polishes together. Use a toothpick to drag a little bit of both colors into the middle area between them, and gradually mix the two colors together. Mix in a little bit at a time until you get the color you want.
- If you want a swirl of color, stop mixing before they're completely combined.
- Once you’re satisfied with the mixture, consider writing down how much of each color you used so you can make it again later.
5
Adjust the shade. This step is optional, but you can make your nail polish lighter or darker by adding a drop at a time of either the lighter color used to make the mixture, or the darker color.
- Consider adding a drop of white nail polish to make the mixture even lighter. However, avoid adding a drop of black nail polish to make the mixture darker, since the black will make the entire mixture have a black shading once it’s mixed in.
- For a more sheer appearance, mix in a drop or two of clear nail polish.
6
Clean off a polish brush. Remove the nail polish brush from the darker polish used to make the mixture. Wipe the sides of the brush on the inside of the nail polish bottom to remove any excess nail polish from the brush. Soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover. Fold the cotton ball over the brush and rub the cotton ball to remove the nail polish from the brush.
- Once most of the nail polish is removed from the brush, inspect the bristles of the brush and pull off any cotton fibers. You don’t want stringy fibers getting stuck on your nails as you paint them.
- Use the darker color’s nail polish brush to apply the mixed nail polish onto your nails. When you put the brush back into the bottle the mixed polish is less likely to contaminate the color of the darker polish than the lighter polish.
7
Paint your nails. Once you've achieved the color you want, paint your nails as usual with polish mixture. Once the polish is dried on your nails, apply a top coat of clear nail polish to protect your nails and make the polish last longer.^{[1]
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- If your mixing surface was disposable like a paper plate or a sheet of wax paper, throw it out in the garbage can.
- If you used something like a plastic palette, use nail polish remover and a cotton ball to take off the nail polish, and wash the palette with soap and water.
Becky K.

Nov 21, 2019

"Wish I could have saved the rest I made, it was great. I'll put it in a bottle next time." more comments

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Painting Nails with Multiple Colors

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1
Sponge paint your nails. Instead of mixing a new color of polish, you can paint the polish colors (or multiple colors) on a small makeup sponge, then place the sponge onto your nails and roll it to the sides of your nail, transferring the polish pattern.^{[2]
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- Use a Q-Tip dipped in nail polish remover to clean up the sides and edges of your nails.
2
Tape and paint your nails. Paint a base coat of one color of nail polish, and let it dry completely. Then apply thin strips of tape onto your nails, and create a design with the tape (nail striping tape works best).^{[3]
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Research source} Paint the space between each tape strip, using one color, or alternating between two or three.
- While the nail polish is still relatively wet, remove the tape. Apply a base coat to protect your nails and help the design last longer.^{[4]
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3
Draw patterns on your nails. Paint your nails a solid color and let them dry. Use a second color of nail polish to dab on as a dot, or draw a thin line. Quickly take a toothpick and drag it through the wet polish, creating the design you want.^{[5]
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- This technique can use many different colors of polish depending on the design you are trying to make.
4
Marble your nails. Layer nail polish in a bottle. Take an empty bottle of nail polish and pour in several colors, one after the other. Do not shake the bottle. Dip the brush in, apply as usual, and you'll get a marbled effect.
- The colors tend to be mix together fairly well with this method. If you want a more distinct marbling effect, try this technique using water.

Comments

Anonymous

May 3, 2018

"It really helped. I mixed pink and purple and got lightish purple."
Anonymous

Oct 27, 2016

"Colors to mix. eg red+yellow=orange, and so on. Thank you!"

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Question

How do I make a galaxy nail polish color?

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Use dark blue, light blue, and purple as well as any glitter polish.

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What do you think will happen if I mix black and silver?

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Depends how much of each color you use, but it could make a metallic black or dark gray.

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How can I make hot pink using nail polish?

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Light pink and a bit of red - worked really well for me!

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Tips

If you are using old nail polish that has gotten thicker, use a soaked cotton ball to drip drops (three to five) of nail polish thinner in the nail polish bottle it to loosen it up.

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"If you have an empty nail polish bottle, you could take the 2 colors and pour them into the bottle. " - Mireille K.

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Warnings

It's best not to mix with the brush from the lighter colored nail polish bottle. Lighter colors are more easily contaminated by darker colors than darker colors are contaminated by lighter colors.

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Do not take too long to apply the nail polish once mixed, or the nail polish will dry on the mixing surface.

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