Nail Polish Suspension Agent

Links checked 12/12/13

Updated 4/26/12- Don't forget to check Suspension Base Suppliers for all possible sources.

I've talked before about the all-important suspension agent in commercial nail polish, stearalkonium hectorite and how we can't purchase it- and believe me, I've searched and tried. It's the lack of that ingredient that allows the pigment in frankens to settle quickly (and sometimes into an immobile mass), frankens that would otherwise be beautiful and used-often colors. I must admit that swatching multiple polishes becomes a daunting task when you know you will need to manually stir it up then shake the bottle until your arm aches.

I'm hardly alone here, TKB Trading's forum is full of frankeners asking many of the same questions I have so I'm sure everyone was thrilled to hear that they will soon begin selling a suspension agent but has not said what it is. In the meantime I've been looking for an alternative for months and found none, no suggestions, not even a hint that anything but stearalkonium hectorite is being used in commercial polish.

Each of the three companies, TKB Trading, Coastal Scents and The Conservatorie sell Magnesium Stearate as a cosmetic additive but only The Conservatorie includes this in the description: "It is used in cosmetics as an anti-caking agent, binding agent, dusting additive, emulsifying agent, gelling agent, thickening agent and in the suspension of pigments." I have emailed them this morning and asked if it would work for polish although I don't expect they will know the answer to that. If they do however, I'll be sure to post their response.

Related Entries:

Suspension Agent Follow Up

Swatches: Blue-Green Colors

As I said on the "reds" swatches, my pigment collection is too extensive to swatch everything at once- mostly because my opportunity is limited to the sun's willingness to hang around in the exact position long enough to take a decent photo… and photography is not one of my many hobbies.

I chose to do blue-greens today, the pictures were taken in sunlight are not edited digitally. I couldn't decide which of the pictures were more color-accurate so I posted both. The interference of the pigments was difficult to capture here.  

I labeled the picture with the pigment names but I'll list them here as well. From top to bottom, left to right…

left row	right row
TKB-Pisces Blue CS-Duocrome Sparkle TKB-Ocean Green	TKB-Coral Reef Blue CS-Gemtone Emerald TKB-True Green TKB-Capricorn Sea TKB-Indian Blue CS-Summit Turquoise CS-Sage Blue



Related Entries:

Swatches: Red Colors

Color Club & NYX Nail Polish Sales

Links checked 12/12/13

Updated 11/29/10: Nailite Inc. still has Color Club on sale but now for only 15% off or $1.91 each. The sale price for NYX from My Diva's Closet is still good.

I'm currently working on my fingernail polish pricelist and I've come across a couple nail polish sales just in time for Christmas.

Nailite Inc. has their Color Club polishes on sale for $1.46 each, that's 35% off! By comparison, the lowest price I've come across so far is $2.75 per bottle from both Eighty Eight Beauty Supply & Head2Toe Beauty – up from $2.50 which is what it was when I bought mine in July.

I've ordered from Nailite Inc. before and my purchase went fine from start to finish. They are located in California, ship via FedEx and accept PayPal payments.

My Diva's Closet has NYX polish on sale for $0.99, 75% off their regular prices (previously $2.00-$4.00 last time I checked). Having never ordered from there before, I have no opinion on the company.

I have no idea how long the sales will last so if you're interested, check them out soon. Happy Shopping!

Swatches: Red Colors

My collection of pigments is too extensive to swatch everything at once so I've decided to do it by color and today's color was red. The pictures were taken in sunlight indoors and are not edited, all reds photographed together so you may see them in relation to each other. As with all pics, click to enlarge.

I labeled the picture with the pigment names but I'll list them here as well.

left row	right row
CS-Metallic Pearl Red Raisin CS-Cerise Flambe CS-Blue Claret Pearl TKB-Deep Russet CS-Blackstar Red	TKB-Gemtone Ruby TKB-Red Basics TKB-Queen Kathryn CS-Pearlescent Fire CS-Sienna Fine CS-Paradise Rose Sky



Related Entries:

Swatches: Blue-Green Colors

TKB Trading's "Travel To..." & "Sparks!" pigments

Update 12/9/10: As part of my Christmas present from my husband (Thank you dear!) I have purchased TKB's Planetary Sampler along with the Reflecks Sampler so I'll post swatches soon!

I have no swatches to offer you of these pigments because I do not own them. This is not to say that I don't want them because I do but they are on the pricier side and I have trouble justifiying spending $14 on one pigment when I can spend the same amount and get three different ones. At any rate they are on my "wishlist" but I find both TKB Trading's decsriptions and pictures a little lacking.
TKB Trading offers both sets of pigments in a discounted collection shown here: Planetary Sampler, Sparks! Collection.

I did my homework and found the manufacturer of both sets of pigments, EMD Chemicals. This is ordinarily unimportant but on their website they have a more in-depth description of each pigment and shows them used in what appears to be clear polish or other clear medium- which gave me a better idea what they'd be like in polish, my intended use. It makes for interesting reading.

Xirona- Travel throug the World...
Ronastar- Interference Sparks

If you're curious, other pigment manufacturers can be found below.
BASF- Effects Pigments
Geotech- Geoshine Can view color cards of their glitter.
Eckart Effects Pigments- Brochures
Kobo Products Inc.
Sun Chemical- Pigments
EMD Chemiicals- Color Cosmetics

Related Entries:

Franken: (Travel to) Jupiter

Swatches: TKB's Travel to…Pigments

Duochrome: what does it really mean?

The Lust for Duochromes

Swatches: Updated Travel tos & Mixes
TKB Moon Dusts, Star Bites & Sparks!

Best Buy Supplies

I decided to dedicate this entry to the supplies needed or wanted for polish making, specifically where you can buy these supplies for the best price. Pigments I’ve covered/will be covering in other entries so we’ll move on to 4 ounce and 30 gram containers, empty bottles and nail displays. Suspension base is covered here. Most pictures of the items listed came from the respective stores, links provided. Prices and options updated 4/22/16... -MK

4 oz. containers

Who doesn’t like the 4oz containers that Coastal Scents sells their pigments in? The size is perfect for 1 ounce pigments (and sometimes more), it makes them relatively tip-proof and the lids keep the pigment inside the containers and not outside the threads. You could buy these 4 oz jars at $0.95 each which really isn’t terrible but if you need 57 like I did, that adds up fast. This forced me to search for an equal but cheaper alternative. The company I purchased from was SKS-Bottle, the ones shown below, used for all my TKB Trading pigments.

Clear PET plastic jars w/white plastic unlined lids, sold per package of 24 for $11.38 which breaks down to $0.47 each. 0604-04

30 gram containers

On to 30 gram containers. Now for the record a 30 gram container is NOT large enough to hold 1 ounce of pigment (I made that mistake) but it is the perfect size for storing color recipes (or, I suppose, a finished loose product) which is what I use mine for.

If you want a 30 gram container that looks like TKB Trading’s 30 gram container, buy their containers, I did. The prices aren't bad 20 for $15.00 ($0.75 each), 40 for $25.00 which breaks down to $0.62 each. Or if you need a lot, 80 for $48.00, $0.60 each. But I’m a bargain hunter so next time I’ll be shopping elsewhere because I don’t care what they look like so long as I can see through them. In this case, probably SKS-Bottle because they have a few cheaper options. See below.

#2 Clear PET Jars w/ White Ribbed Lined, Caps, 1 oz, 48 for $21.60 ($0.45 each) 0605-32

#3 1 oz. plastic jars, Clear Styrene Jars w/ Dome Caps, 48 for $29.66 ($0.62) 0624-14

#1 Clear 1 oz. PET Straight Sided Jars w/ Black Smooth Plastic Lined Caps, 48 for $19.78 ($0.41) 0605-47

Same as style shown here

 Empty Polish Bottles

Empty bottles are an essential supply for frankening but all bottles are not created equal. As much as you must think about price, you must also consider size. The average full size bottle is ½ fl.oz. or 15 ml but bottles also come in miniature. The average size of a mini like Bon Bons is 1/8 fl.oz. or 3.6 ml.

Miniature size bottles

TKB Trading sells 3 types of mini bottles, the Elizabeth, shown below, Caroline and Justine- but I've always favored the Elizabeth because it holds slightly more than the standard mini. Remember that the average mini bottle holds 3.6 ml but the Elizabeth holds 6 ml. By comparison, the Justine (the fanciest design) holds approximately 4 ml.  



The Elizabeth 

TKB Trading For quantities of 40 or 80 bottles, the caps/brushes are sold separately.

40 (slightly tall) Elizabeth (NO caps or brushes)  $5.50 + 6.00 = .28 each
80 (slightly tall) Elizabeth (NO caps or brushes)  $11.00 + 11.00 = .28 each
40 Basic Black Caps with Brushes  $6.00
80 Basic Black Caps with Brushes  $11.00

Glitter Unique is #2, selling a mini bottle that looks identical to the Elizabeth but unlike TKB, the caps and brushes come with the bottle.
12 - $5.00
48 - $15.00 = $0.31 each
162 - $50.00
486 - $145.00

Full size bottles

As of 4/22/16, your #1 best option for empty full size polish bottles is Glitter Unique. The bottles are 15ml, round clear glass with round black caps. For this, I used the 48 bottle price of $20.00 which breaks down to- $0.41 each.
12 - $6.00
48 - $20.00
135 - $52.00
540 - $199.00

#2 is TKB Trading sells two different styles of full size bottle, in this case we're using the 15ml "Le Barrel" bottles. These can be purchased with white or black caps, singly or in quantities of 30 or 108 (caps and brushes bought separately with the 108 option). The 30 bottle option is $14.00 which is $0.47 each

Nail Displays

Nail wheels or display wheels aren’t exactly a required supply but they are nice to have for a visual just the same. If you’re looking to purchase some, you can find the best deal is at Trans Design. The link is to their main page, just look under the Nail Art Displays category- and they have more than nail wheels.

TKB Trading has recently added a 60 Color Sample Chart to their line of frankening supplies, a tray with 60 shallow wells or 60 nail tips (depending on what side you choose to paint) for $4.50 which works out better than the above price-wise but since it is different in design, I have included both.

TKB sells another style too, check the Tools page. This is listed as a Nail Display on a chain. and comes as two nail displays on a single 24" metal chain, each display having 12 nails for $1.95.

Related Entries:

Best Buy Supplies 2

Best Buy Supplies 3: Vials and a Silicone Sheet

Supplies: Other Good Ideas...

Polish Brands & Bottle Sizes

The List Maker is back! Among many of the things I wanted to know when I started gathering supplies was, “Which brand of nail polish offers the largest size?” Some brands/lines probably aren’t listed so if there’s one I missed that you want to know, feel free to ask.

Some brands list as fluid ounces and others use milliliters so I’ve converted everything. Brands are listed below in alphabetical order rather than from greatest to least.

Name & Line (store listed amount)	Bottle size (from bottle pic)
Art Club	0.25 oz / 7.4ml
Avon -Mirror Shine	0.5 fl.oz / 14.7ml
Black Radiance	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Borghese (0.4oz.)	0.4 fl.oz / 11.8ml
China Glaze	0.5 fl.oz / 14ml
Color Club	0.6 fl oz. / 17ml
CoverGirl -Boundless Color (0.37oz.)	0.37 fl.oz /11ml
Creative Nail Design	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Dashing Diva	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Deborah Lippmann	0.50 fl.oz  / 15ml
Essie	0.5 fl.oz  / 15ml
Fingerpaints	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Hard Candy	0.35 fl.oz / 10.3ml
Kleancolor -Nail Art -Nail Lacquer	0.5 fl.oz./ (14.7)15ml
L.A. Colors -Art Deco -Nail Lacquer -Color Craze	0.25 fl.oz  / 7.5ml 0.44 fl.oz  / 13ml 0.44 fl.oz  / 13ml
L.A. Girls -Nail Lacquer -Essentials	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml 0.47 fl.oz / 14ml
MAC	0.34 fl.oz / 10ml
Maybelline -Wet Shine -Express Finish (0.5oz.)	0.5 fl.oz / 14.7ml
Milani (0.45oz.)	0.45 fl.oz / 13.2ml
Misa	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Nabi	0.6 fl.oz / 18ml
Ncole by OPI	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Nfu	0.6 fl oz. / 17ml
Nubar	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
NYC (New York Color) -Nail Glossies -newer bottles	0.45 fl.oz / 13.3ml 0.33 fl.oz / 9.9ml
NYX -Ink	0.5 fl.oz / 14ml
Obsessive Compulsive	0.5 fl.oz / 14.7ml
OPI	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Orly	0.8 fl.oz  / 16 ml
Piggy Polish	13.2ml /.45 fl.oz.
Pure Ice (0.5fl.oz.)	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Rimmel	0.41 fl.oz. / 12ml
Sally Hansen -Nail Prisms -Chrome -Xtreme Wear (0.4fl.oz) -Magical Nail -Lacquer Shine (0.3oz.) -Hi-Definition (0.3oz.) -New Lengths -InstaDri (0.45oz) -Salon (0.45oz.)	0.3 fl.oz / 8.8ml 0.45 fl.oz / 13.3ml 0.4 fl.oz / 11.8ml 0.3 oz. / 8.8ml 0.44 fl.oz / 3.3ml 0.45 fl.oz / 13.3ml 0.31 fl.oz. / 9.17ml 0.45 fl.oz / 13.3ml 0.45 fl.oz / 13.3ml
Seche Vite	0.5 fl.oz / 14ml
Sephora	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Sinful Colors (0.5oz.)	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml
Urban Decay	0.33 fl.oz / 10ml
Wet ‘n’ Wild -Color Craze -Precious Metals -Rock Solid (0.33fl.oz) -Wild Shine (0.43oz) -MegaLast -Crystallic	0.34 fl.oz / 10ml 0.47 fl.oz /14ml 0.33 fl.oz / 10ml 0.43 fl.oz / 12.7ml 0.47 fl.oz / 14ml 0.49 fl.oz / 14.5ml
Zoya	0.5 fl.oz / 15ml