Things to do with old nail polish bottles

 As those who read my blog will know, I hate finishing beauty products, so rarely do I have an empty container. It was only recently when I received a nail polish that was off (or so I believe) that I ended up with an empty bottle after getting rid of the reeking polish.

For some reason, instead of simply throwing the bottle out, I felt the need to keep it. "But why?" one part of me said. "Because...because..." I had no idea, but I decided to find out some things to do with empty nail polish bottles.

Here are some things old nail polish bottles can be used for:

1. Holding more nail polish
Incredible, right?! No really, as I recently discovered, it is possible to customise your clear nail polishes by adding an unloved eyeshadow and shaking. A spare nail polish bottle means that you don't have to contaminate a whole clear nail polish, and you can keep your new custom colour! Cool!

2. Storing loose eyeshadow
I find that loose shadows always seem to make their way all over my face, but I still seem to love them so much. I found that the best was of applying them was to put some on the back of my hand, dip the brush in and then apply (like you would liquid foundation) because it meant that I was able to control the shadow a lot better. By storing loose eyeshadows in empty nail polish bottles, it's convenient to travel with, able to be applied to the back of the hand using the brush or by tipping it out, and it's very pretty.

3. Crafty materials
If you are into crafty things, sometimes you need to store something but it only needs the smallest of containers. Glitter, for example, is perfect when held in an empty nail polish bottle because it only needs a small container and can be utilised using the nail polish brush. Putting PVA glue into the bottle would also be very useful, with the brush too.

My custom made polish - oh so pretty!

4. Flowers
Obviously you won't be able to fit a rose or anything in a tiny nail polish bottle, but you know those tiny little flowers that are so adorable you end up picking, then throwing away because they wont go in a vase? Well, now they can be put on display! I would only recommend using really pretty nail polish bottles that are in nice shapes and don't have writing on them.

5. Candle holder
Depending on the size of the bottle and its opening, this might be ridiculous, but some polishes have reasonable sized openings, perfect for small candles or incense sticks. You can be guaranteed they won't topple over.

6. Paint storage
I know quite a few people who are really into painting and other craft like that. Apparently empty nail polish bottles are brilliant for when you've mixed paint colours together for a particular art piece and you only need a tiny container to hold it. Who would have thought?!

7. Get arty!
I didn't come up with this one myself, but filling the old bottle with coloured water (water and dye) and then hanging them from strings by a window. All the pretty colours would make patterns as the sun shone through them. I can imagine children liking this one!

8. Nail Polish Remover
How convenient, especially if the brush is nice and strong. Empty nail polish bottles can be filled with nail polish remover for quick touch ups or instant polish removal.

9. Fancy sign holders
You know how at fancy parties or dinners there are those card holders...empty nail polish bottles would be such good bases!

10. Furniture touch ups
Some furniture has lacquer on it and by keeping some of that in an empty nail polish bottle, as soon as there is a little chip, scratch or ding on the furniture it can be attended to immediately.

Make sure you clean old nail polish bottles prior to using them - some chemicals are best left in the polish, not on your eyes.

Obviously some of these ideas will not work for particular bottles. Some of these ideas would only be effective if the bottle is particularly nice, with no stickers or writing on it and a good shape (like the one I have).

I would love to know any ideas you have for reusing old nail polish bottles!