Merry Christmas

Check Your Old Frankens

I end up going through my collection of frankenpolish, bottle by bottle, to make or update a list and I usually find a few that have gone bad, mostly due to the old zinc plated BBs we used before we knew better. If they corroded at the same rate, it would be an easy thing to pluck them all out but they don't and instead, you pick up a bottle, see the tell tale orange/brown discoloration and know it's probably too late to save it. Along with the nasty coloring comes rust debris and a thickening of the polish, one so strong even if you can "fix it" with thinner, it won't apply quite right- unless you catch it soon enough. Then you might be able to drain the polish into another bottle, leaving out the old BBs and replacing them with stainless steel. The key there is catching it just after the discoloration starts which is why it might be a good idea to check your old frankens from time to time, particularly your favorites. -MK

Franken #394 SF Laser

Surprised to "see me" again? I am, and I'm even back with another manicure.

I got close to a week out of the last paint job before I whacked a nail, taking a big chip off the side (but at least it didn't break) so it had to come off and another put on- after having painted nails for three weeks, the naked ones were decidedly ugly. I had trouble picking a brand or even a color because 99% of my polish collection is "untried" so in the end I settled on one of my own, an early SpectraFlair franken though not one I'd call "autumnal" since it's primarily purple.

The formula is below but it went through changes when suspension base became available and TKB Trading starting selling Cherika Moon. I've omitted the tweaking and left the basic ingredients here.
#394 SF Laser: (Full size bottle) 1/4 Sally Hansen Laser, 1/4 Sally Hansen Purple Potion, 2d SpectraFlair 35, 1/2 Glam base, 1/2 smidgen, 2d TKB Cherika Moon.

SF Laser is blue toned purple that, under the proper lighting, will shift slightly more pink, displays its holo effect in the sun and the blue sparkle from the SH Laser and Cherika Moon in all lighting. I was shooting for something that was holographic but also duo-chromatic and I achieved that but its difficult to capture both effects simultaneously in pictures. Unlike some of my frankens, I didn't have too much trouble with the thickness or application- three thin(ner) coats here for opacity.

Bottle Shot

VERY early morning sun

And a little later...

I'll end with these, the first a little blurry but super holo.

I might add a couple more pics later but I can rarely get my camera to see what my eyes see. -MK

TKB Trading now selling Mirror Chrome Pigment

Nice news- TKB Trading is now selling silver Mirror Chrome Pigment. A lot of you are into it and even more of you probably own some but I love when one of my favorite (and affordable and reliable) companies starts selling something else different.

Mirror Chrome Pigment
Sample size, 2.5 gram $3.50
1 ounce, $27.50
4 ounces, $98.50

Before anyone asks me, right now, I have no idea how their price/quantity compares to anyone else's (or even exactly who the "anyone else" might be); I don't own any, have never used it so I won't be any help if you need it. I've seen the shiny stuff all over my fav-blogs-to-read and that's the extent of my knowledge. -MK

Sinful Colors Pine Away + UCC Flakes

I mentioned I painted my nails twice and posted the first a couple days ago, here's the second. Knowing my ability to screw up a paint job within minutes, I took some pictures before bothering to (try to) clean up my mess.

This one has as a base color Sinful Colors Pine Away, part of a Mirror Metallics collection from 2013, not all that striking of a metallic in my opinion but a nice green which is why I bought it. The top coat is a couple layers of another UCC flake from Glitter Unique, the mega UCC flake Violet/Blue/Green. This flake does have other beautiful colors within its transition but the most dominant is a very sharp green and it complimented the Pine Away underneath. I didn't manage to capture it in photos but it really glows in the sunlight.

If you don't own the UCC Flakes or some polish with them it, go buy them. Lucky for me, I am easy to please, my eyesight isn't the greatest up close (and who but me is staring at my nails from 6 inches away?) so I'm satisfied with the end result. -MK

Painted Nails and UCC Flakes

I have actually painted my nails twice in about 2 weeks, probably breaking my previous record and though I don't claim to do it well, I took pictures to document it. Here and now, I present to you the first one from around the 8th, two polishes together. The base polish, if you will, is a "Duck Dynasty" brand polish called, "Color Changing Mallard", your basic red-orange-yellow color shifter. That one I snagged from Walmart on clearance. The top coat is made from a UCC flake I bought from Glitter Unique, Copper/Gold/Green.

These first three are the same day I did it, just one coat of the UCC flakes. You can see the "Color Changing Mallard" a little better.

These are day two and another coat of the UCC flakes. I love them.

Look for the color, not the quality. I certainly don't do it often enough to "practice" manicures. -MK 

Derwent Studio Colored Pencils for Sale

This item was sold, surprisingly.

This isn't polish-related but there are plenty of artists out there. 

If anyone would be interested in purchasing a barely used wood-boxed set of Derwent Studio pencils, 72 count, shoot me a message on Facebook or send me an email at sj.1996@yahoo.com 
At this point I really have too many sets to store them all and its time to purge a little.

The set retails for $250.00-$150.00 (USD) but I'm thinking more like $60-$70. Mine are similar to the ones sold today (see the link from DickBlick) but mine are in a black wood case with the 2nd half of the pencils in a wood tray rather than stored in the top. I purchased these used off eBay years ago and used them myself to make a few color charts only. See photos below. 

Replacement pencils can be purchased individually as open stock for $1.60 each at DickBlick.com. This is what I did when I first bought the set since two colors were missing. 

Derwent Studio Colored Pencils in Wood Box


Feel free to share, please.

-MK

Michael's Craft Store Coupon 55% off

Check fine print for exclusions- items to which the coupon will not apply. 

Notice: 4th of July Sales

If and when more come to my attention, I'll share them with you.

Glitter Unique is having a sale:
10% on our ProColors, suspension bases, bottles, and supplies now through Monday :) No code needed, discount applied at check out. Obviously, the sale ends 7/4.

Saving $0.10 on the dollar adds up. This is an excellent time to stock up on frankening supplies including the very necessary suspension base.

 ***********************************

Didspade is also having a sale for the 4th:
20% off all weekend sitewide! www.didspade.com. Enter coupon code: JULY4TH. International customers please use www.didspadeworld.com. Sale ends midnight 7/4 (M.S.T.)

Let me do a little math for you here- $68.85 before shipping becomes $54.40 before shipping with 20% off.

-MK

Blog Updates 6/26-7/1/16

This was actually created on June 26, 2016 but since this stands as my most recent post, I'll amend it to include updates through today, July 1, 2016

I've tried to be a busy gal around here and get some things done. The following pages have been updated with current inventory, prices and categories, dead links removed and in some cases, new stores added.
Pigment Suppliers
Glitter Suppliers
Franken Polish Supply Stores
Matte Glitter Suppliers -Updated as of 6/27/16
SpectraFlair or Something Like It - Updated as of 6/29/16

Suspension Base Suppliers has been updated- prices and selections current, new sources for international customers and dead links removed.

Automotive Suppliers has also been updated somewhat. The stores are left as well as what type of item they sell but the prices have been removed since there are usually better, lower priced products from the cosmetic suppliers.

The entry, Chameleon Pigment Suppliers, has been reformatted, put in a table for neatness and a few new pigments added to the stores that have them, then turned into a page and had some more new inventory added from SpectraFlair4u and ColorCraze2000 as of 7/1/16

For those of you that access them, I hope they are helpful and lead you to something new and inspiring. Thanks for taking the time to visit and stay tuned for further updates. -MK

Didspade SuperShift Pearls & Store Review

Didspade [Custom Paint Additives] sells all the things you’d expect from a company geared towards the automotive industry- metal flakes, pearl pigments, candy concentrates and of course color shifting pigments which is what earned them a spot on my resource list(s) but as with a lot of the companies I add, I’d never purchased anything so I had no personal experiences or products to share with you before now. While I’ll be showing you some of the Super Shift pearls specifically, below is a general review of the available products:

·        Metal Flake -ranging in size from .004” up to .025”

·        SuperShift™ Pearls

·        ColorShift Pearls particle sizes from 10-60um up to 100-250um

o   All ColorShifts

o   Shop by Series

o   White Particle ColorShift Pearls

·        Pearls

·        Candy Concentrate

·        Halo EFX Gallons

·        Sprayers

·        Sample Packs

·        Liquid Wrap Products

·        Gear and Stickers

I’m stubborn so I try to avoid buying pigments that are so expensive, you buy them by the gram rather than by the ounce or half ounce- but I can only resist so long; most of the good ones are sold per gram so if you want to expand your collection of color shifting pretties, you’re just going to pay more (but just because you have to pay a little more doesn't mean you can't still pay the least possible). Providing I counted right, Didspade sells a whopping 38 different color shifting pigments, from the fine particle size C Series to the more sparkly, larger sized Epic Series, there’s bound to be something to suit just about every preference. Reasonably priced, you can get 5 grams (or more if you so choose) which is plenty, enough to make a simple pigment+base bottle of nail polish, or two, and still have some left to experiment with. I only own a single one of these, C4, so I can’t say how they’d compare to colors from other stores.

All the ColorShift Pearls are priced the same, 25 grams for $28.99 or "5 gram samples" for $5.80- only $1.16 per gram.

Didspade - ColorShift Pearls
C Series       

C1                Yellow/Blue/Purple/Green

C2                Greenish-Yellow/Blue/Purple

C3                Purple/Orange/Yellow/Blue

C4 *             Copper/Yellow/Gold/Green/Blue

C5                Red/Green/Blue/Purple

C6                Purple/Blue/Green

C7                Green/Gold/Purple/Blue

C8                Red/Orange/Green/Purple

C9                Red/Orange/Green/Pink

C10              Orange/Red/Gold/Green

C11              Lavender/Blue/Purple/Orange

C12              Red/Bluish-Green

C13              Yellow/Green/Purple/Blue

C14              Red/Green/Purple

                   

CX Series     30-120um      

CX 30                    Blue-Green

CX 31                    Gold-Green-Blue

CX 32                    Purple-Violet-Reddish Gold

CX 33                    Reddish Purple-Yellow Gold

CX 34                    Royal Blue-Purple

CX 35                    Aqua-Green-Gold

CX 36                    Purple-Navy Blue-Green

CX 37                    Red-Purple-Blue

CX 38                    Rose-Golden Orange

CX 39                    Orange-Gold-Rose

CX 40                    Gold-Green

CX Kingpin           Gold-Orange-Red

CX Superstition     Maroon-Plum-Blue-Orange-Gold

                   

Epic Series 100-250um  

Paris            Blues-Purples-Reds

Dynasty       Blues-Purples-Greens

Atlantis        Aquas-Greens-Golds

Sparta          Golds-Reds

                   

Twisted Series 15-45um  

Delta            Purple-Blue-Red

Immortal      Maroon-Plum-Blue-Orange-Gold

Riddler         Green-Purple-Blue         

                   

Space Series 10-60um     

Ecliptic                  Green-Blue-Gold-Purple

Flare                      Red-Pink-Purple-Orange-Gold

Gravity                  Burgundy-Teal-Purple-Blue

Ion                         Red Purple-Violet-Blue-Orange

                   

This brings us to the real purpose of the review, Didspade’s line of SuperShift Pearls. These are pricier than the other color shifters that Didspade offers, 5 gram sample for $34.75 ($6.95/g) versus $1.16 per gram for the above, but I believe they are worth the price. The description reads: "Ultra high grade, intensely vivid color-shifting pearls- Top-of-the-line most dynamic shifts & richest colors available." and that has proven to be true for me.

Didspade didn’t release these all at one time so I acquired Nitron, Elixir, Invictus, Solis and Zionic at the beginning of April and the last 4- Dorado, Wildfire, Vibe and Lithium- about a week ago so some photos are in two sets and under different lighting. I did find these to be impressive regardless of whether they were layered over black, might even prefer them not layered, because it doesn’t take an extreme change in angle or lighting to display the color shift (and a few even remind me of the old Sally Hansen Nail Prisms). I'm sorry, no manicured nail pics here, anyone that knows me knows I rarely paint my nails but I will get nail stick photos posted soon. Didspade themselves provided plenty of better photographs on their website for individual colors so please consider mine secondary, added input. No trick photography here, just them doing the wonderful thing they do.

 “SuperShift” Pearls 

Nitron          

Elixer               

Invictus            

Solis                 

Zionic 

Dorado

Wildfire

Vibe

Lithium

As soon as you open the package, still in their little bags, you can tell these are not your standard color shifters because not a single one is a white, orange or pink colored powder. I was perfectly content to stare at them in my hand and watch the color change initially.

In pairs:

Side bottle shots

Front view:

And individual bottle shots side by side with their bags.

Dorado

Elixir

Invictus

Lithium

Nitron

Solis

Vibe

Wildfire

Zionic

After letting my pictures speak for themselves, here's my conclusion:

It was a pleasant shopping experience and I had no reservations placing a second and third order- each one was nicely packed in a bubble mailer and shipped in a reasonable time frame from Arizona to Kentucky and I’ve been happy with what I’ve received. The shipping price however is worth noting- on my 1^st order of 5 grams total, I paid $8.99 for shipping whereas on my 2^nd and 3^rd orders, both of which were 4 grams total, I was charged $3.49 to ship each. I don’t know what the reasoning for the price difference is and I haven’t asked but that means you can order 4 grams twice and still pay less in shipping than for one 5 gram shipment. Also, if you do order 5 grams or more, you may have to sign for your package when it arrives, not an issue as long as someone is at home.

Didspade gets a A for customer service as well as their products. I've only contacted them once on an unrelated matter but they responded pretty quick, quick enough to satisfy me and I have relatively little patience sometimes. Ok, most the time.

Based on the color intensity,  I might compare the SuperShift Pearls to the better known Ultra Chrome Chameleon (or Ultra Chameleon Chrome or UCCs), also highly concentrated color shifting pigment(s) that is sold by Glitter Unique and SpectraFlair4u- or the “Super Chameleon” pigments sold by Solar Color Dust. I don't own any of those either, for the record. 

Price per gram, Didspade's SuperShift Pearls are a slightly more affordable and satisfying alternative and you really should give them a chance. -MK