The Arrival of SpectraFlair

Links checked 12/12/13

Updated 10/6/11 to include both grades of SpectraFlair.

09/21/11: Just a brief post today. I finally got my hands on some SpectraFlair courtesy of Kitties26 from More Nail Polish and I wanted show you how brilliant this stuff is and also show you its particle size relative to the holographic flakes I’ve purchased recently. I haven’t made anything with it yet but already feel it was worth its premium price.

Why the premium price? is a question I believe I can answer, at least partially. The majority of glitter, specifically the cosmetic, crafting and automotive glitters I own, are PET plastic (polyester) based. They start out as a polyester film that is dyed and then cut, the smallest size I've found being .002" or 50 microns. But JDSU says this about SpectraFlair®: "SpectraFlair® pigment, introduced in 2002, is a multi-layer thin-film flake comprised of magnesium fluoride and aluminum." Metal versus plastic, of course SpectraFlair® is more expensive!

Here’s the SpectraFlair by itself, still in the container(s) she packages them in. Photographed indoors from multiple angles to show the play of color.

The SpectraFlair here is in the middle. Starting from the 12 o’clock position (and going clockwise): TKB’s sample I refer to as Silver Disc glitter, the three grades of Alsa’s hex cut flakes, TKB’s Holla Glow glitter and a holographic glitter sample from them, Bling MetalFlake’s Holographic Silver and the silver hex cut glitter from the set I purchased from Ester’s Nail Center.

10/6/11: I have purchased the fine grade of 1500-14 SpectraFlair from Tracy's (The Trace Face Philes) friend and wanted to include pictures of it compared to the coarse grade, 1500-35 SpectraFlair that I got from Kitties26.

Here are the initial pictures I took, the container being my 4 grams of coarse grade, the bag being the fine grade.

This second set was taken after transfrerring the fine grade to a matching container. Coarse grade is left, fine on the right.

Extreme close up.

For further comparison, this shows the difference in particle size between the two grades. These are clear base SpectraFlair top coats, coarse grade on top, fine on bottom in both pics.

On another holographic note, crackle polishes have become a booming trend recently so how come no one has made a holographic crackle yet? I may have to buy one just to do so.

Now maybe I’ll get motivated to make something pretty. Stay tuned. -MK

Related Entries:

SpectraFlair or Something Like It