Jeanie Daniels said the attendant ordered her to stop painting her fingernails in her seat because of the smell.
Daniels decided to finish the job in the bathroom on the February 26 flight from Texas to California, but the attendant caught her.
Two police officers were waiting for her once the plane landed at Hobby Airport, Texas, and took her to jail.
A charge of using “abusive profane language” was thrown out of court by a judge.
Southwest Airlines has refused to comment.
