Sunshine, fresh flowers, and the scent in the air after a summer's rain makes me a very happy girl! Have you ever wondered what causes that smell just before it rains? It is the aroma of ozone when lightening is present, and as the rain dances on the vegetation it produces a scent called petrichor and that familiar musty smell . . . after a rain . . . . is called geosmin. I'll bet you didn't know that but don't feel bad, I didn't either until I started working on this instructable. I also learned our right nostril is more sensitive than the left! So if something smells bad to you, press the right side of your nose and the scent will be less noticeable! I can just see myself now, when the flowers are blooming, walking around pressing the left side of my nose to experience all the lovely blossoms until the flowers fade away. I always imagined wearing cologne that had the natural smells that I love so much! Even snow has a certain smell, I have read many articles about what chemicals make up the smell of snow (Nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, nitric acid, dimethyl sulphide and sulphate and methanesulphonate) After reading them I wondered if it is possible for companies to create scents like rain, snow, and capture the outdoorsy smell of line dried clothes! Put that in a bottle and I'll be your first customer and friend forever!

When I was a teenager I could never understand why cosmetic companies did not make the smell of some of their products; like nail polish and nail polish remover smell good. When I started making my own soaps and lotions; I tried to improve the smell of nail polish and after many attempts . . . I gave up. Scented nail polish and scented nail polish remover are available now, although I have not tried them. Wouldn't it be great if there were a line of bath and beauty products that were scented to compliment each other and were organic? Perhaps someone is already making them,I don't know. The beauty contest has inspired me to get brave and attempt to alter that nasty smell of my nail polish AGAIN! Loving the floral and fruity scents made it easy to choose the fragrance I wanted to capture.

I searched online to try and find out what ingredients were in the new brands of scented nail polish. I did not find the answer so I did a search on how to make scented nail polish. E-how suggested painting the fingernails and before they dried, spray some cologne over the nails to achieve the scent. I tried that but all it did was make all my fingers smell like the cologne and it was not accomplishing what I wanted, so I began to experiment. In this tutorial I will show how I scented my nail polish, what I used for nail polish when I was a kid, how to make a scented body spray to compliment the nail polish and how to wrap the gift by re-using a box and a Target money card. Let's go shake some trees, Mother's Day is about two weeks from now and this will make a very nice gift set!

Step 1: What You Will Need

The kit contains scented nail polish, polish remover, moisturizing cream for the nails, and scented body spray all wrapped in a lovely package. I have included instructions to make a cosmetic bag if you want to beef up the gift.

What you will need to scent the nail polish:

4 Bottles of partially used nail polish or color your own using eye shadow by following the link at the bottom of this page.
4 bottles of concentrated food flavorings such as lemon, lime, and orange oils, essential oils, synthetic perfumes, real perfumes and colognes work with experimentation. I had the best results with the food flavorings and some essiential oils and the synethic colognes.
Eye dropper

What you will need for nail polish remover for the kit:

Isopropyl alcohol
Trial size glass bottle with a tight lid. NO plastic
Scrap cotton of flannel cloths to make nail polish wipes.
Funnel
Scissors

What you will need to make scented body spray:

1 bottle Witch Hazel
1 small glass bottle with tight lid Do not use plastic!
Funnel
Essential oils that compliments the nail polish you make.
Eye dropper

What you will need for the fingernail moisturizer:

Approximately 1 Tablespoon Aloe butter or jojoba butter.
1 Small sterilized lip balm container with lid.
Essential oil that compliments the other products optional.

For the gift-wrap:

1 Clean empty Chinese take out box
Tissue paper
Expired Target gift card
Ribbon
scissors to trim the card so it will attach to the box

Link to make the custom nail polish colors here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Mix-Your-Own-Nail-Polish-Colors-And-Save-Money/

Step 2: Scented Nail Polish

I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL! I am not a chemist! Please use caution when mixing unknown ingredients because they can be toxic! Use at your own risk. I am just sharing what worked for me at the time I made it. Mix in a well ventilated area, preferably outdoors away from flames, cigarettes, lighters, sparks, or anything flammable. Never store chemicals in plastic containers because not all plastics are suitable for certain liquids. Some will melt the plastic and cause a terrible spill and injure someone. Do not allow your children to do this unsupervised.

Because different nail polish contain different chemicals there is no way to give you an exact recipe. With that said, it is a matter of experimenting. When I made mine I noticed that synthetic perfumes and food grade flavoring oils worked the best however, synthetic perfumes contain a lot of chemicals so does nail polish! Essential oils and perfumes worked also but some better than others.

You just add about 10 drops of the oil to the used nail polish ( you need some extra room to add the oil ) and close the lid and shake and shake and shake and shake. I wanted to create a raspberry chocolate scent but could not get the chocolate scent to come through. I tried cocoa powder and imitation cocoa flavoring and neither came through.I also tried infusing lime peels into the polish and it did not work either. The raspberry, orange, and fig worked beautifully! I am going to try the real cocoa oil if I can ever find it here.

You will not be able to notice any scent from the mixture until after you apply the nail polish to your fingernails and it dries. Then you will be able to smell a light pleasant scent.If the mixture is not quite strong enough you can add a few more drops of the oil to the nail polish mixture and shake well.If you add too much oil to the nail polish it could dilute the mixture and the polish not work properly.So add sparingly.

I have used mine for two days and I can still smell it.It A lot more pleasant than the chemical smell of regular dried nail polish.
We only have two stores here and neither of them have a very large cosmetic section.

Step 3: Nail Polish Remover

I have never liked the smell of nail polish remover so I have always used alcohol instead. It took longer to remove and I had to rub my nails harder but it sure smelled a lot better! I thought adding rubbing alcohol to a trial size glass bottle with a lid and a drop of food coloring if desired would be a fun idea to include in a nail kit. Add some jojoba or aloe butter and complimenting oils to a small lip balm container for a fingernail moisturizer.

I also cut out a few small cotton squares instead of using store bought cotton pads.

For those readers who quit wearing nail polish this might interest you. I tried dipping a Q-tip into vinegar and painted my fingernails. While it was still damp; I applied eye shadow using the other end of the Q-tip to my fingernails and after it dried I applied a another light coat of vinegar. Be sure to let the dye soak in (between coats). I would not wear this with clothing that you would not wish to stain because I could not guarantee it would not stain. It is well worth experimenting with in my opinion. After it dried I very lightly wiped the excess color off with a clean Q-tip. It worked nicely to give the fingernail a slight tint darker than sheer. It did not seem to rub off easily after it was on a while, but after 2-3 hand washing's it did fade giving the nails a colored sheer appearance. For what that is worth! I used soap and water when I washed my hands and was not using herbal. I discovered this quite by accident but did not play around with it for a long time. Maybe someone has a suggestion how to set the dye for better results.

Step 4: Scented Body Spray

A scented body spray to match the nail polish scent is a great addition to the gift set. I just add about 1/4 cup of Witch Hazel to a small glass container with a spray nozzle and add about 5 drops of essential oil and shake it well when I use it. Add more drops of the oil if a stronger scent is desired.

Step 5: Gift Wrap or Cosmetic Bag

I save all of my Chinese take out containers, ribbons,tissue paper, and Target expired gift cards for my wrapping supplies.The box will hold 4 nail polishes and a couple of small spray bottles depending on the size. Add a ribbon and it is ready for the receiver to enjoy!

I made a cosmetic bag from some bubble wrap for my new daughter-in-law but I liked it so much that I have decided to make her a different one. It is holding up very well and I just love the thing! I will be making more versions soon I hope! Here is the link if you want to make a quick and easy cosmetic bag! As long as someone does not deliberately pop the bubbles or someone sits on it, it should last a long time :https://www.instructables.com/id/Bubble-Wrap-Cosmetic-Bag-or-Clutch/

Step 6: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this instructable and will give it a try! I had so much fun; I always do! Please remember the special women in your life for " Mother's Day because I am sure many work very hard to make her house a safe and happy home! Mom's love their families and are devoted in expressing their unconditional love! My son tells me I am the glue that holds our family together. Now ain't that sweet?

I wish to thank instructables, our sponsors, authors, and loyal readers for being the glue that holds this community together! Have a Happy Mother's Day and please visit again soon!
sunshiine