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:
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.
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.
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: "
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.
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.
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.
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 1st order of 5 grams total, I paid $8.99 for
shipping whereas on my 2nd and 3rd 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
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
Great review, thank you! How much of the SuperShift Pearls did you use per bottle? The entire gram? Was it enough to give good coverage? Thanks!
ReplyDelete1 gram of these doesn't seem like much in the bag but there's enough there for, estimating, 3 full size bottles- though 3 might be pushing it. For each bottle I made, I used 5 level drops of pigment using the Drop spoon, (set available from TKB Trading or Glitter Unique, the smallest spoon of the set. With it being the Drop spoon and level, 5 really isn't that much. For that ratio and over black or dark polish, 2 coats of the Pearl-mixed polish would be enough. Over bare nails/clear coat, 3 coats would probably look better to achieve opacity but not required to see the color shift well. For all but Invictus, I've made one bottle each and have some left. From Invictus, I added a single drop to a different polish and yes, there is still some left of the original gram. I hope that helps! Thanks for visiting and reading.
DeleteGreat review. Thanks for all the pics!
ReplyDeleteDo you think these would make good stamping polishes (over anything other than black)?
No, I don't think they'd do much as a stamping polish though I have no experience with these things. A stamping polish has to be pigmented enough to do it's job in one coat and one coat of these would be too transparent still... unless you're going for a sheer effect.
Deletedoes anyone wanna sell me 1 gr of Wildfire and Invictus and ship to Poland? like in a letter?... I`d pay 10$ for each gram . ughhhh why they stopped selling 1 gr samples.. mommyo@op.pl Monika
ReplyDeleteI don't know why Didspade stopped selling the 1 gram samples because per gram, they were actually making more than on the 5g sample. I asked actually, before July 4th, but haven't received an answer on that, or on the possibility of selling sample packs. Maybe it was just too much work to weigh out and package individual grams. I don't know of any store other than Didspade that sold them as 1 gram samples, I'm sorry. I too wished to buy more.
DeleteI emailed them - I was so distraught too - they told me it was a promotion & that it had ended.
DeleteI did mention how silly it was for them to stop selling 1gm bags, when they had just gotten popular with nail techs around the world! :/
I keep checking back with their site, in hope that they'll bring back the 1gm promo bags, but they haven't :( so sad!
I'm in Australia & US$35 (before postage) is just way too much to spend on 5gm of a color I may not even like :(
I do have my heart set on "Solis" though & may lash out, one day!
They've just released their version of the quite popular "Holo" pigment, too & a 5gm sampler of it, is US$40!!
Probably worth it, as I paid a ridiculous €20 (AUD$35) for mine & I only got 1gm :(
That was before it became too popular though & dupes were created. :(
Sometimes it pays to wait!
Not with DidSpade though!!
That promotion stopped midway through my adding to my cart & all my 1gm colors were removed before checkout :'( I cried.
You are very lucky you got so many colors!!! DON'T EVER SELL THEM - if you do, charge a bundle for them!!! lol
AndriART- I ended up with 2 grams each of all available colors before their "promo" ended and no one will be getting them- unless I end up with granddaughters and maybe I'll be nice. I hadn't anticipated that Didspade would stop selling them but I moved as fast as my budget allowed because I wanted enough to work with. There are still 2 US suppliers for the equivalent Ultra Chameleon Chrome pigments but the price is higher, $11.50 per gram whereas Didspade's 5 gram sample works out to be $5.95 per gram. I still have my original SpectraFlair so I've not tried any company's alternative but please, let us know if you do.
DeleteHave you tried to use the super shift pigments over a black nail with non tacky gel top coat? More specifically have you tried the color shift powder in this way from didspade? I bought 4 color shift powders because they were cheaper for a 5g but can't get the effect I need!
ReplyDeleteYou're talking about "scrubbing" it in on top like they've been doing with the chrome pigments, right? I've never used a gel polish/coat or used the scrubbing technique but I believe Cathy over at the blog More Nail Polish has done something with the Chromes that might help you. There is a distinctive difference between the Supershifts and regular colorshifts too because the color intensity. I think I only own one regular color shifter from Didspade and it was basically the same as every other companies. Only the Ultra Chameleon Chrome pigments and the Supershifts pack that extra color "punch" and unfortunately they come with a bigger pricetag.
DeleteDepending on what you've tried... Polish Luxe on YouTube uses isopropyl over the no-tack to assist with attraction of some pigment.
DeleteI found my pigments to repell after isopropyl.
Keep in mind DidSpade pigments are specifically designed for automotive painting & to mix with 2pac & applied with a spray gun.
I have known a nail tech to use a latex-head eyeshadow applicator, to apply DidSpade pigment.
Not to use your finger, because it will fuse to the texture of your fingerprint, more than the cured gel.
Also, speed rather than pressure is recommended for the friction to leave the pigment on the gel.
It's difficult.
Different brands of pigment have better ways of application - most are tricky.
I have chrome, holo & a set of 11 chameleon pigments all from the same brand & the chrome & only 6/11 chameleon pigments will work with my finger over no-tack. The holo works best with an inhibition layer. The other chameleon pigments are temperamental AF! Sometimes I can get them to stick with just my finger, other times I need a silicone tool & other times, it won't stick to the first layer of no-tack gel, but it will stick after 2 coats o_O
I hope all this info is helpful & I'm not just rambling!! haha