Solar Color Dust: Store Review

Solar Color Dust is a company that came up when I was searching for duochrome/chameleon/color shifting pigments to update Color Shifting Pigments Part 2. I knew about the company previously because they sell cold and warm temperature responsive pigments (thermochromic) but their inventory had grown since my last visit. They also sell Glow Dust (Glow-in-the-Dark pigments), Diamond Dust (similar to the Sparks sold by TKB based on pic), Crystal Dust (similar to the Mermaid Collection based on pic), Magic Pearl pigments, Fluorescent pigments (black light reactive) and a good variety of metallic and holographic glitters. Then I saw the selection of Chameleon pigments.

Two Color Series                        Four Color Series

Orange Yellow/Violet Blue         Gold/Kelly/Green/Blue

Blue Green/Orange Yellow         Indigo/Purple/Red/Orange

Gold/Blue Violet                         Cyan/Blue/Purple/Red

Blue/Yellow                                Blue/Purple/Red/Orange

Olive/Violet                                 Red/Orange/Yellow/Kelly

Red/Blue Green                           Mauve/Red/Orange/Yellow

Blue Violet/Olive

Olive/Red

Orange/Blue

Red/Blue Violet

Blue/Green

Violet/Blue Green

Red/Green

Olive/Red (Pearl)

Fantasy Chameleon- (white powder, red/green)

Altogether there are 21 different color combinations, 6 "Four Color Series", and 15 "Two Color Series", all of which are priced at $15.00 for 10 grams, a good deal for the quantity compared to most other automotive chameleon pigments. That would make these $1.50 per gram, well within my price range (although it added up rather quickly when I ordered 17 of them- $260.00). I LOVE duochromes and can't get enough- the 20 I have from Anna's Art Asylum are among my most valued but since I have no more than a few grams of those, I find myself reluctant to experiment with them. 10 grams on the other hand...

Unfortunately, 4 of the 6 pigments in the "Four Color Series" were out of stock so I held off placing an order hoping they'd be restocked quickly because why pay shipping twice if you don't have to? Then my dear hubby, tired of watching me squirm I suppose, offered to buy them for me and I jumped at the chance- January 13th was the first order. As always, thanks Hubby!

I did not have to wait long for that order because Solar Color Dust shipped it USPS 2-Day Priority, very cool, especially when I didn't ask for expedited shipping or pay for it. Included were also some free gifts- pink mixing spoons (probably one per pigment) and "samples" of their Magic Pearl Purple, a fluorescent pigment (black light reactive) and .004" Emerald holographic glitter. It's worth noting that the samples are closer to 10 grams than they are the typical sample size, I was impressed by that.

I delighted in mixing up 17 new bottles of polish the very next day, testing to see how different the chameleons were from what I already own but the missing 4 colors bothered me so I emailed to find out if and when they would be restocked. I never got an answer- perhaps my email ended up unseen in their spam box- but the pigments were restocked that day so I placed the second order, January 14th, this time paying for it myself.

The second order was shipped USPS First Class Package Service, the service I did pay for, and I was still waiting on it 12 days later.  From the 15th to the 27th, I waited. Two of those days was a Sunday with a Monday being the Martin Luther King holiday and we've had some winter storms but there's no reason my package hadn't made it outside the state of Florida in 10 days. I probably don't have to tell you but I am not a patient woman (my father likes to say, "all the patience are in the hospital") and while getting a package is exciting, the waiting is excruciating.

I emailed Solar Color Dust on the 25th and asked for assistance in finding out where my package was, emailed again on the 26th because I left the subject like blank on my prior email (twice, actually) and didn't want my email escaping attention because of it (my package arrived on the 27th so it turns out assistance was not needed). Between the 13th and the 26th, I sent 4 emails and didn't get an answer to any of them- and I still haven't. Unanswered emails/phone calls are one of my pet peeves, particularly when its a business-customer correspondence and so they go on the naughty list for that. Good product, reasonable prices, prompt shipping, faulty communication.

My second order was packaged as well as the first, everything double-bagged with colorful labels, nice glossy business card, printed instructions for application... Along with the last four chameleon pigments were 5 or 6 more scoops and another fluorescent pigmnent sample. Ok, good product, reasonable prices, prompt shipping, generous samples... faulty communication.

I have photographed the nail sticks but not written the corresponding entry so I'll save polish swatches for another post. Instead I'll show you the pigments as they were packaged, in bags, 7 of which are white based like TKB's Moon Dusts & Star Bites, the rest being a mix of pink, red, orange, gold and brown-based powders. As I said, they were double-bagged and taped like the pigments and glitter shown above but they photographed better this way. The bags are actually more full than this at 10 grams but I transferred them to containers before I took photos.

I can tell you that while some are similar to colors available from Anna's Art Asylum, none are exact matches and these are a finer particle size. They aren't exact matches for any of the pigments in the Moon Dusts and Star Bites Collections or the Planetary Sampler from TKB Trading either.

Also, check out my review(s)/swatches of the chameleon pigments by hitting the "Solar Color Dust" tag to the right or go here.

Until the next post, have a great day -MK