After seeing scented nail polish pop up on beauty store shelves, the ModCloth Nail Klub set to work creating a DIY version of our own. At first, mixing lemongrass essential oil (our perfume of choice) into our already strong-smelling nail polish seemed like a recipe for disaster. But, with a little trial and error and lots of ventilation, we ended up with nails that were perfectly perfumed with the subtle scent of citrus. We used lemongrass essential oil from the local natural food store in our polish, but you can use any floral, earthy, or ethereal blend you please.

Our pro-tips for first-time perfumers:

Even a wee bit of essential oil packs a punch. We only used one drop of essential oil to 10 drops of nail polish.

Use a spare brush when dealing with essential oils! If you use your polish brush and dip it back into its bottle, there’s a good chance your polish will get perfumed, too.

Don’t stop and smell your nails until they’re totally dry! Polish smell = bad. Refreshing, lemon square-sweet smell = so very awesome.

It’s not required, but we highly recommend involving limoncello gelato in your nail-painting process. You know, for “inspiration.” (Yes, we ate all of ours once the photos were done).

All set? Go ahead and give this tutorial a try!

Let us know how your nails go, and share your scented polish experiences, thoughts, and tips in the comments below!