Anything "Duochrome" or "Chameleon" can also be found using the tag "Color Shifting"

Updates & Notices

Warning: This blog and some info within is out of date. The date of any updates are usually noted at the top of each page/entry. As of 1/08/20, all pages have had dead links removed/repaired as well as 2010 entries and 2011 Jan-July.
Showing posts with label Frankening Supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frankening Supplies. Show all posts

Sunday, October 23, 2016

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

Sunday, June 26, 2016

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

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Glitter Swatches

Oh, I know that everything on this blog is out of date and in some cases, I have dead links as stores and their inventory have changed. To be truthful, I haven't the inclination to spend the endless hours required to fix those things (or to even write entries for my other blog). I'm so out of the loop and the hobby, I have little idea what has been going on in the polish world; I haven't even bought a bottle of nail polish in quite a bit over a year. The exception is, I still come here regularly to check the Blog List for everyone else's interesting posts.

I am here now to share with you a few links to photo albums (swatches) I have posted on Facebook, the reason being that I've been on a glitter buying spree lately and wanted to share color photos for the glitters from Glitter Unique, TKB Trading, Glitter Hippo (sister company to Solar Color Dust), and The Crafts Outlet. I bought everything for crafts but all the glitters except those from The Crafts Outlet are supposed to be solvent resistant which makes them worth perusing. Album links below.

New (to me) Glitter Unique glitters
TKB Trading: Solvent Resistant Glitters
Glitter Hippo Glitters
The Crafts Outlet Glitters (currently on sale)

-MK

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Color Shifting Pigment Stores

Please refer to All Chameleon Pigment Suppliers for the latest info, options and prices.

I'm sure the various resources for duochrome pigments are spread around my blog- as far as where to buy them- but I thought I'd compress that into one place for you. Some of this info was pulled off the following three entries: Color Shifting Pigments (Part 1)Color Shifting Pigments (Part 2)Color Shifting Pigments (Part 3)  but I also have some new stores to add which I'm happy about. -MK

Automotive Suppliers - House of Kolor brand only
One "early" example of automotive pigments used in polish are those Kitties26 of the blog More Nail Polish created with the KonFusion brand- color morphing frankens- where she also mentioned using a HoK kameleon. They are (one of) the highest in price but offer the most variety so we'll start this list with them. They have 3 different types, Kolor Shift flakes, Kameleon Opals and Kameleon Pearls.

Kolor Shift flakes are F size: 1/64th to 1/166th Hex or 396 microns to 153 microns and come in three colors: Green Purple, Blue Red and Gold GreenGenerally sold in 3 oz containers.

Best price is from Coast Airbrush who sells the Kolor Shift Flakes in 1 oz and 3 oz packages.
The one ounce is $39.95 which breaks down to $1.43/gram. The 3 ounce package sells for $171.85 which is $2.05/gram (They show prices in Canadian, Euro and Australian dollars in addition to US currency.)

Second choice based on price is from Smart Shoppers Inc, also sold in 3 ounce containers. $156.50 for 3 ounces which equals $1.86/gram.

House of Kolor's Kameleon Pearls come in 5 colors: Green to Blue, Gold to Green, Copper Red to Green, Sapphire and Aquarius. Particle size is 40 microns or 90 microns depending on what you choose, while package size is usually a 2 ounce jar. For the 2 ounce, your options are:
Smart Shoppers Inc, $258.50 = $4.61/gram.
Coast Airbrush, $304.95 = $/gram. 2 ounces not available and current inventory is only Green to Blue, Gold to Green, Aquarius.

For a smaller quantity it's Coast Airbrush again, 1/2 ounce packages, $84.95 = $6.07/gram.

Moving on, House of Kolor's Kameleon Opals are available in 8 colors: Purple Passion, Maple-Nut, Dorado Dreams, Tequila SunriseHoney BlushShady Green, Burnt Lime and Plum Blue.

Coast Airbrush tops the list because they sell all 8 colors. Pricing these is a bit different as 4 colors are more expensive than the other 4 and sold in different quantities. 1 oz $64.95= $2.32/gram, 6 oz $218.95= $1.30/gram, 1/2 oz $73.95= $5.28/gram, 2 oz $224.05= $4.00/gram
Purple Passion: 1 oz $64.95, 6 oz $218.95
Maple-Nut 1 oz $64.95, 6 oz $218.95
Dorado Dreams 1 oz $64.95, 6 oz $218.95
Tequila Sunrise 1 oz $64.95, 6 oz $218.95
Honey Blush 1/2 oz $73.95, 2 oz $224.05
Burnt Lime 1/2 oz $73.95, 2 oz $224.05
Plum Blue none available
Shady Green 1/2 oz $73.95, 2 oz $224.05

Smart Shoppers Inc is next but they sell only 7 colors (no Honey Blush) in 2 ounce jars.
Purple PassionMaple-NutDorado Dreams and Tequila Sunrise are $187.00, $3.33/gram.
Burnt LimePlum Blue, and Shady Green are $77.00, $1.38/gram.

Automotive Suppliers - All other brands

The Alsa Corporation
The Alsa Corporation is another manufacturer of paints, flakes and pigments and offer some products from their site that can't be found anywhere else. Although this means there is no price comparison on a few items, the prices really aren't terrible.

One of the things Alsa sells is Flop Crystals, available in 4 colors: Jupiter, Mars, Neptune and Saturn. They range in particle size from 1 micron to 300 microns. 2 oz jars are $155.00, $2.77/gram.

Another of their products, SpectraFX, is sold in 6 colors, Copper/Patina, Blue/Emerald, San Juan, Havana, Rio and Cabos, each available in small and large particle size.
16 gram jars (slightly over 1/2 ounce) are $115, $7.18/gram.       
32 grams jars (slightly over 1 ounce) are $180, $5.63/gram.

Kustom Rides
Kustom Rides sells SpectraFX as well but in varying quantities. Copper/Patina, Blue/Emerald, San Juan, Havana, Rio and Cabos. No particle size is mentioned.
16 grams, $110.00 = $6.88/gram        
32 grams, $170.00 = $5.31/gram        

TCP Global
TCP Global has their own line of color shifting powders. The set is simply called "Color Shifting Pearls" and features 5 colors: Red to GoldPurple to Green, Blue to Red, Green to Orange and Gold to Blue. They are sold in 1/2 oz., 1 oz., and 2 oz. packages and also in sets of the same sizes. No particle size listed. These have gone up about $10 or more since my last update. 
1/2 oz. is $24.95, $1.78/gram
1 oz. is $49.96, $1.78/gram
2 oz. is $79.96, $1.43/gram
5 color sets in 1 oz. is $124.75
5 color sets in 2 oz. is $199.75

The Coating Store
The Coating Store is the only store online to sell the KonFusion brand of kameleon/chameleon pigments listed below. KF-01 to KF-05 are 5-50 micron while KF-06 to KF-10 are 50-150 micron pigments. 25 gram bottles, $45.00 = $1.80/gram
KF-01 Nature’s Fury Red-Gold-Copper-Green
KF-02 Storm Surge Purple-Green-Blue-Gold
KF-03 Ocean’s Rip Gold-Green-Blue-Violet
KF-04 Tropical Storm Green-Gold-Red-Teal
KF-05 Toxic Tide Green-Purple-Silver-Gold
KF-06 Mountain Fall Blue-Green-Gold-Copper
KF-07 Hole Shot Gold-Copper-Orange-Red
KF-08 Tokyo Drift Blue-Red-Purple-Green
KF-09 Psychotic Illusions Green-Teal-Blue-Purple
KF-10 Nuclear Gold Gold-Green-Blue-Violet

Paint with Pearl 
Paint with Pearl sells Chameleon Paint in 25 gram quantities for $27.99 = $1.11/gram
Indigo Blue/Gold/Orange/Red, Bluegill match
Gold/Orange/Red, Sahara match
Orange/Violet/Purple, Sockeye match
Red/Cyan/Green
Red/Blue/Green, Neochrome match
Blue Green
Indigo Blue/Yellow/Gold
Yellow/Gold/Red/Purple
Orange/Violet/Purple
Green/Orange Copper, Reptile match
Gold/Red/Blue/Purple, Anthias match
Blue/Green/Purple, GC-27 Alien Pearl match
Gold/Orange/Green/Blue, GT-22 Alien Pearl match
Red/Blue/Purple, RL-71 Alien Pearl match
Gold/Green/Blue

Innate Technologies
Innate sells Old School Flake brand called "Magic Flakes" in 5 colors. The particle size is large, .008", twice the size of standard cosmetic glitter. They describe them as:
Autumns Rush- A Blast of Bright Fall Colors Fades Gold to Red to Green
Purple Haze- Purple That Fades To A Dazzling Transparent Sparkle!
Rio Carnival- A Rainbow Of Ever Changing Colors That Will Amaze All!
Lime Lights- Lime Green That Fades to Bright Blue
Sea Scapes- Blue Green That Fades to Deep Purple
Each is sold in a 4 ounce jar for $17.95, just $.16/gram.

Innate also sells Xotic Colours brand Illusion Pearls, 12 grams each for $99.95 = $8.33/gram or a 3 gram-each-Sample set for $99.00 = $/gram
Ocean Teal- Green/Blue
Golden Jade- Gold/Green
Sunset Maple- Red/Green
Purple Sapphire- Purple/Blue...

Also from Innate, Xotic Colours Mirage Flakes. 1 ounce, $88.95 = $3.18/gram
Gold to Silver
Red to Gold
Blue to Red
Green to Purple

Pearl Magic Custom Paints
The next store I have for you is Pearl Magic Custom Paints, the only one on this list that is located in Australia. They sell 2 chameleon colors, Green-Gold and Yellow-Green, particle size unknown.
25 gram package is $16.50, $.66/gram.
100 gram package is $39.95, $.40/gram.

Solar Color Dust
Newly discovered as a source of "chameleon pigments" is Solar Color Dust. They have a range of color shifting pigments, all priced the same at 10 grams for $15.00 = $1.50/gram

6 pigments shift to 4 different colors and are listed as "The Four Color Series"
Gold/Kelly/Green/Blue
Indigo/Purple/Red/Orange
Red/Orange/Yellow/Kelly
Mauve/Red/Orange/Yellow
Cyan/Blue/Purple/Red
Blue/Purple/Red/Orange

The "Two Color Series" have 14 pigments and all of these are in stock.
Orange Yellow/Violet Blue
Blue Green/Orange Yellow
Gold/Blue Violet
Blue/Yellow
Olive/Violet
Red/Blue Green
Blue Violet/Olive
Olive/Red
Orange/Blue
Red/Blue Violet
Blue/Green
Violet/Blue Green
Red/Green
Olive/Red (Pearl)

The newest series is the "Ghost Chameleons" of which there are 4.
Blue/Green/Gold
Red/Purple/Blue
Purplish-Red/Blue/Green
Green/Gold/White/Red

You can view my swatches of the Four and Two series chameleons here and here.

Didspade Metal Flake Co
Another source is Didspade Metal Flake Co. This brand of pigments can be found on eBay in North America but none of the sellers have a lot of feedback and each has negative so their rating is low. You can buy from Didspade themselves and at the same price so those are the links I'm using here. They sell 5 gram sample sizes for $5.80.

The C series sell for $28.99 for 25g = $1.16/gram
C1 Yellow/Blue/Purp/Green
C10 Orange/Red/Gold/Green
C11 Lavender/Blue/Purple/Orange
C12 Red/Bluish-Green
C13 Yellow/Green/Purp/Blue
C14 Red/Green/Purp
C2 Greenish-Yellow/Blue/Purp
C3 Purp/Orange/Yellow/Blue
C4 Copper/Yellow/Gold/Green/Blue
C5 Red/Green/Blue/Purp
C6 Purp/Blue/Green
C7 Green/Gold/Purp/Blue
C8 Red/Orange/Green/Purp
C9 Red/Orange/Green/Pink 

The CX series sell for $28.99 for 25g = $1.16/gram
CX30 Blue/Green
CX31 Gold/Green/Blue
CX32 Purp/Violet/Reddish-Gold
CX33 Reddish-Purp/Yellow-Gold
CX34 Royal/Purp
CX35 Aqua/Green/Gold
CX36 Purp/Navy/Green
CX37 Red/Purp/Blue
CX38 Rose/Golden Orange
CX39 Orange/Gold/Rose
CX40 Gold/Green

The Epic Chameleons sell for $28.99 for 25g = $1.16/gram
Atlantis
Dynasty
Sparta
Paris

Spectraflair4u
Spectraflair4u is a store located on Store Envy that sells ChromaFlair pigments and SpectraFlair pre-dispersed and concentrated in suspension base. Price varies by quantity.

Chromaflair - 1 gram pre-dispersed $14.50, 2 grams pre-dispersed $29.00 = $14.50/gram, 10 grams pre-dispersed $135.00 = $13.50/gram.
Blue/Red
Cyan/Purple
Silver/Green

Ultra Chameleon Chromes 1 gram pre-dispersed $17.00, 2 grams pre-dispersed $34.00 = $17.00/gram, 10 grams pre-dispersed $160.00 = $16.00/gram
Green/Blue/Violet/Red
Cyan/Blue/Purple/Copper
Pink/Violet/Red/Copper
Red/Copper/Green/Cyan
Wine Red/Copper/Gold
Violet/Red/Orange/Gold

Chameleon Pigments $5.00-$14.25 for 5 grams  $1.00/gram-$2.85/gram
Blue/Violet/Red/Orange
Yellow/Yellow-Green/Green/Blue
Green/Yellow
Green/Orange
Red/Orange/Yellow/Olivine
Cyan/Blue/Purple/Red
Dk. Indigo/Purple/Red/Orange
Violet/Blue/Green
Sparkle Red/Purple/Blue
Cyan/Purple
Blue-Green-Gold
Green-Gold-Red
Orange-Lilac-Blue
Purple-Red-Gold
Lilac-Blue-Green
Violet-Yellow
Olivine-Violet
Gold-Green
Orange-Cyan
Yellow-Indigo
Green-Red
Violet-Orange

Chameleon Glitters $20.00 each  for 3 colors = $4.00/gram, $30.00 for KonFusion brand Blue/Green. 5 grams = $6.00/gram
Green/Purple
Blue/Red
Gold/Green
Konfusion Blue/Green 

DipYourCar
DipYourCar sells a variety of chameleons, divided into sections. Some of these are the pigments PaintWithPearl sells matches of.

Chameleon Pearls, 10 colors, 25 grams, $29.00 = $1.16/gram
Anthias
Bionic
Bluegill
Mako
Nautilus
Neochrome
Phoenix
Punch
Sahara
Sockeye

Color-Flip Pearls 5 colors, 25 grams, $29.00 = $1.16/gram
Aqua Violet
Iris Violet
Komodo
Olive Blueberry
Reptile

Alien Pearls 4 colors, $33.80 25 grams = $1.35/gram
GC-27 
GT-22 
GD-10
RL-71 

Midnight Flip Pearls 5 colors, 25 grams, $29.00 = $1.16/gram
Abyss
Beta
Ember
Pluto
Zombie

Color Shifting Flakes, $9.50, 25 grams, 2 colors = $0.38/gram
Caribbean Blue/Green
Gold/Green/Blue

DipOhio
DipOhio seems to sell several of the same colors as DipYourCar above. These are sold under...

Chameleon Pearls $5.80 for 5 grams = $1.16/gram, $29.00 for 25 grams = $1.16/gram
Anthias
Bionic
Bluegill
Caribbean Blue/Green
Mako
Nautilus
Neochrome
Phoenix
Punch
Sahara
Sockeye

Color Shifting Flakes $1.80 for 5 grams = $0.36/gram, $9.50 for 25 grams = $0.38/gram
Caribbean Blue/Green
Gold/Green/Blue


Custom Painting Pearls
Custom Painting Pearls has a pretty good array of chameleon/kameleon pigments.  Prices range from $9.99-$13.99  = $0.40/gram-$0.56/gram for the more simple color shifters up to $25.99-$28.99 = $1.04/gram-$1.16/gram for the more complex ones. All are sold in 25 gram bags.
Anaconda Chameleon Pearl
Blue-Purple-Red Chameleon
Carribean Blue/Green Pearl
Copperhead Fire Chameleon Pearl
Diamondback Chameleon Pearl
Green-Gold Pearl
Green-Gold-Blue Chameleon
Midnight Red-Midnight Blue Pearl
Orangeish/Bronze-Green Pearl
Pink-Gold Pearl
Purple Viper Haze Chameleon Pearl
Python Chameleon Pearl
Rattlesnake Chameleon Pearl
Red-Green Chameleon Pearl
Violet-Green Pearl
Yellow-Green Pearl

The seller (by username) on Ebay, oldsparkle55, sells a few chameleon pigments, not named anything I can match up with another company. (this is the ebay store of Custom Painting Pearls). Price and quantity varies but its worth checking out.

KolorEfx
The store KolorEfx on eBay has a few more selections for you. Listed as Chameleons, prices are in my opinion a little high but... 5 grams, $7.25 = $1.45/gram , 25 grams $36.00  = $1.44/gram, 75 grams $100.00 = $1.33/gram .
Lunar Storm (Blue-green/blue/violet/red)
Morpheus (blue/violet/red/orange)
Aurora (Violet-blue/violet/red/orange-yellow)
Solar Flare (mauve/red/orange/yellow)
Sunkiss (red/orange/yellow/yellow-green)
Indigo Star (Blue/Violet)
Gaia (Green/Blue)

Cosmetic & Other Duochrome Pigment Suppliers
This section includes all cosmetic pigments/shadows and where you can buy them but people's ideas of "duochrome" vary so much that unless I own them or someone else does and reviews them, I can't say for certain that they do indeed have color shifting properties. Like all shopping online, you make the decision to buy based on a picture and a description but the accuracy of these greatly varies as well. I think if a company wants to sell me on it, they better show me the color shift in transition. That being said, here's what I've gathered so far.

TKB Trading
As far as I'm concerned TKB Trading was already tops in the duochrome category because of the Travel to pigments, or the Planetary Sampler as the set is called but with the addition of the Star Bites and Moon Dusts, I don't know who else can compete with the selection.

In the Star Bite Collection are three colors, Shanika Sun, Marinda Star and Cherika Moon- larger particle size, about 100-260 microns. They can be purchased as samples and 1 oz sizes, individually or in sets. Their description reads:
Shanika Sun shifts from gold to green to blue
Marinda Star shifts from red to orange to yellow
Cherika Moon shifts blue to purple to red orange.

2.5 gram samples of all 3 are $6.00, $2.95 individually  = $1.18/gram.
1 oz bags are $15.00 each ($.54/gram) or $35.00 as a set- $.41/gram.

If you want a better idea of the duochrome, Kitties26 of More Nail Polish showed us the Star Bites fantastic color shifting with her Duochrome Top Coats #2#3 and #4.

The Moon Dust Collection has five colors: Aisha Gold, Crescent Crimson, Indu Rose, Lavender Luz, and Luna Blue. The particle size is finer and thus less sparkly than the Star Bites. They can be purchased as samples and 1 oz sizes, individually or in sets.
Their description reads:
Aisha Gold shifts from gold to green to blue
Crescent Crimson shifts from red to orange to yellow
Indu Rose shifts indigo to purple to red
Lavender Luz shifts from blue to purple to orange
Luna Blue shifts from cyan to blue to red

Samples, 2.5g, are $2.95 individually, a set of five for $12.00.
1 oz bags are $15.00 each ($.53/gram) or $59.00 as a set- $.42/gram.

Kitties26 showed us these as well in her entries Custom polishes - Moondust TKB pigments Part 1 and Custom polishes - Moondust TKB pigments Part 2. The lady always posts great swatches and as we all know, others' swatches can be the deciding factor to buy or not.

Finally and more familiar to most of us is the Planetary Sampler which contains the seven Travel to pigments Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Pluto. Like the sets above, they can be purchased as samples and 1 oz sizes, individually or in sets. Their description reads:
Travel to Mercury: Shifts from red-gold to bronze
Travel to Mars: Shifts from red to copper to gold
Travel to Earth: Shifts from light green to rose
Travel to Venus: Shifts from lilac to red to silver to green-blue
Travel to Neptune: Shifts from turquoise to blue to violet
Travel to Jupiter: Shifts from gold-green to silver-green to blue
Travel to Pluto: Shifts from silver-green to silver-red to green-gold

These pigments are less expensive than the others. Purchased in a set, 1 ounce is $12.00 versus $14.00 ($.50/gram) if purchased separately. The set is $85.00, bringing the price down to $.43 per gram. Samples are $1.50 each or $9.00 as a set.

If you haven't already seen these as swatches, you can view mine here dry and in polish here.

The Conservatorie
The Travel to(s) were a nice segue away from TKB Trading because The Conservatorie also sells these pigments (with original manufacturer names). They are not sold in sets but are priced $33.95 for 100 grams, $0.34/gram or $1.45 for a sample.
Indian Summer (Mercury)  At this time only the sample is available.
Volcanic Fire (Mars) Out of Stock
Kiwi Rose (Earth)
Magic Mauve (Venus)
Caribbean Blue (Neptune) At this time only the sample is available.
Nordic Sunset (Pluto)
Golden Sky (Jupiter)

Pure Luxe Cosmetics
Pure Luxe Cosmetics also sells the Travel to pigments but under different names, in smaller quantities and under the name of the Kaleidoscope Collection (but not sold as a set). I am making the correlation here between the Travel to's and these based on Pure Luxe pictures/descriptions and the Travel to(s) I own. 1/8 teaspoon = 1 scoop. 1 scoop is $2.00, 2 scoops $3.00, 3 scoops $4.00, 5 gram volume jar $8.00, 10 gram vol. jar $14.00
Visions (Mercury)
Faceted (Mars)
Luster (Earth)
Prismatic (Venus)
Mirage (Neptune)
Illusion (Pluto)
Oasis (Jupiter)

Fyrinnae
Does Fyrinnae qualify for a indie company? At any rate, though I have never purchased anything from the company, it is my understanding that Fyrinnae has a rather expansive line of color shifting eyeshadows under the collection name of Arcane MagicThe website shows 18 colors currently, with pictures and descriptions. $6.80 each for a full size jar containing 3 grams.



Glitter Unique 
Glitter Unique also sells a selection of duochrome pigments. At the moment there are 7 colors, green to blue, violet to gold, violet to blue, red to violet to blue, purple-blue-red, red-green flip, and green to blue to purple.
green to blue, samples are $8.50, 1/2 oz- $18.00 = $1.29/gram, 1 oz- $28.00 = $1.00/gram
violet to gold, samples are $8.50, 1/2 oz- $18.00 = $1.29/gram
violet to blue, samples are $8.50, 1/2 oz- $18.00 = $1.29/gram
red to violet to blue, samples are $7.50, 1/2 oz- $17.00 = $1.21/gram, 1 oz- $27.00 = $0.96/gram.
red-green flip, 1 oz- $17.00 = $0.61/gram
green to blue to purple, samples are $7.00, 1/2 oz- $15.00 = $1.07/gram, 1 oz- $25.00 = $0.89/gram. Only samples available.
purple-blue-red, samples are $5.00, 1/2 oz- $12.00 = $0.86/gram, 1 oz- $20.00 = $0.71/gram.

Mon Ennui Cosmetics
Mon Ennui Cosmetics sells 12 different colors between $10.00 and $15.00, no package size listed.
They do accept Paypal

Misfits on 8th
Misfits on 8th sells a small selection of duochrome pigments- only one right now.
Blue/Green/Purple, 1/2 oz, $13.50 = $0.96/gram

Riley's Rods
Riley's Rods actually sells pigment for, you guessed it, fishing lures but they also happen to sell "Color Change Paints" in six colors, Green to GoldGreen to Light GreenGreen to Purple, Blue to Green, Brown to Green and Blue to Purple. Sold in 1/4 jars, 5 grams of powder for $9.00 = $1.80/gram.

Frank and Shine Designs
Frank and Shine Designs small selection of "colour change" pigments, 4 at the moment.

Vanti 805, on etsy
Vanti 805, a seller on etsy, sells a variety of franken polish products, most important to this are the multichromes. The colors are: 
Red/Orange/Yellow/Olive
Turquoise/Blue/Purple/Red
Gold/Green/Blue/Olive
Blue/Purple/Red/Orange
$4.75 for 5 grams or $13.00 for 1/2 ounce. Also available: $22.00 per ounce.

The Nail Shop
The Nail Shop is an Australian supplier of "Wholesale nail products for nail technicians, educators, salons and students.". I don't have an account, I've never ordered from here but I'm going to include it for you aussie readers. 
5 gram pots of Chameleon pigments, 5 colors, sold individually or as a set.


MandaMakes, UK seller on etsy
MandaMakes has a selection of 4 duochrome colors, sold as 1 gram, 5 gram or 20 grams.
COLOURS:
1. red-violet-blue
2. lilac-blue-green
3. green-golden-red
4. golden-bronze-purple

This entry will be updated periodically as new sources are found. -MK

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Anna's Art Asylum Now Closed

Anna's Art Asylum was one of my favorite stores on eBay to get fantastic (and different) duochrome pigments. These pigments were featured on my blog and many others as well and they were still on my wish list to acquire more but unfortunately for me and everyone else, Anna has closed her store permanently. She had sold out of many of them so this was for the best but I am sorry to see the store closed.

Best of Wishes to you, Ms. Anna.

-MK

Saturday, February 1, 2014

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

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Glitter Unique Swatches

On the 25th, I wrote my store review of Glitter Unique and showed you the pigments and glitters that were in the sampler Nikki sent me but those were photos of the bags and swatches on paper, no nail swatches. Today I do have some of those for you although in my typical fashion, it's not on my nails but my nail sticks instead. But bottles first.

Since I'm running low on mini bottles momentarily, I selected the pigments and glitters that appealed to me the most and mixed them up with Glamour base, nothing more. The amount of pigment or glitter I added depending on how sheer and thick the polish ended up being (for most I used the dash spoon from TKB Trading's set of spoons). All those recipes are in my Franken Book.

The pic, taken under the Ottlite, is a little fuzzy but I've got better ones planned for later. In the top row are the Midnight Sparkle flakes, Black Opal (a mix of iridescent glitter and black), Turquoise Holographic Shreds, Shifting Rainbow Short Slices and the Magenta-Violet Pearlescent pigment. In the bottom row are the Hot Pink flakes, Gold flakes, Tango Red Flakes, Tiny Rainbow Pearl flakes and Green-Gold flakes.

 Black Opal, Shifting Rainbow Short Slices, Turquoise Holographic Shreds.

Magenta-Violet Pearlescent, Hot Pink flakes, Tango Red flakes

Gold flakes, Tiny Rainbow Pearl flakes, Green-Gold flakes

Midnight Sparkle flakes. This one proved the hardest to photograph.

Now for some group photos of the nail sticks. 

Here we have Midnight Sparkle flakes shown over black and white, Magenta-Violet Pearlescent over black, Rainbow Shifting Short Slices over black, Black Opal over black, Green Gold Flakes over black.

Tango Red flakes over black, Gold flakes over black, Tiny Rainbow Pearl flakes over black and white, Hot Pink flakes over black (yes it does indeed look blue), Turquoise Holographic Shreds over black and white.

And some of those colors shown on a white nail. Black Opal, Shifting Rainbow Short Slices, Magenta-Violet Pearlescent, Green Gold flakes, Hot Pink flakes.

Here, a different angle, slightly different lighting.
Midnight Sparkle & Tiny Rainbow Pearl flakes at the top, Tango Red flakes & Turquoise Holo Shreds in the middle, Gold flakes and franken #614 Pumpkin Spice, not relevant to this post but happens to be in the photo, on the bottom.

A super enlarged picture of the detail in the Gold flakes. Out of the Effects flakes that I have, the Gold has the largest flakes. Under the right lighting, they really are golden- just look at the bottle.

Tango Red flakes. I did a few more coats for the Tango Red than I did the Gold purposely but you can still see that the flakes are smaller although that does not detract from their beauty.

Green-Gold flakes over white. Extremely shiny, bright golden green highlights. Similar in flake size to the Tango Red flakes.

This is the Hot Pink flakes nail. I think its the most striking over black so that's the photo I chose. Again, similar in flake size to Tango Red. This is also slightly duochrome. 

Midnight Sparkle flakes. I didn't capture the colors or the sparkle, none of the photos did but you can see the flake detail.

Tiny Rainbow Pearl flakes. I did manage to catch the colors of this one although you can see over white they are virtually invisible. I wish the flakes were a bit bigger, they are so pretty.

Magenta-Violet Pearlescent. Like the Hot Pink flakes, Magenta-Violet Pearlescent is a pink pigment with a strong, slightly duochrome blue interference. 

Rainbow Shifting Short Slices. Although this glitter shows off it's color far better over dark colors, my white-colored nail pictures turned out better and with this, you can see they are translucent and colored a lot like easter grass. What doesn't show in this picture is how shiny or vibrant they are and the fact that they do color shift.

Black Opal. Like the Rainbow Slices, this has color shifting flecks in it that show best over black (also visible in the bottle pic) but you can't see all the shapes and sizes of the black glitter.

And my final glitter, Turquoise Holo Shreds, also one of my favorites. In my opinion is looks just as good over white as it does black.

These were a welcome addition to my collection of glitters and pigments, let me tell you. I own a lot but nothing quite like these. And those flakes? I will have to go to Glitter Unique and buy the others, I am sure they will not disappoint. -MK

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Glitter Unique: Store Review

Warning: There are a lot of photos, I like to be thorough.

This is old news really but since I realized I'd never written a store review for Glitter Unique and given the woman her due, I decided to write it now- better late than never, right? By this time I am sure most frankeners know about the store Glitter Unique even if they haven't bought anything but my first dealing with the company was when the shop just opened and Nikki contacted me about trying out some of her glitters. What has made Glitter Unique, well, so unique, was that all her products were selected specifically for use in nail polish at a time when it was difficult to find solvent resistant and larger sized glitters. Since that time she has expanded her inventory greatly, adding more colors, shapes and finishes like matte as well as duochrome pigments and effect flakes, all at reasonable prices. These are not items that can be found at my favorite pigment company, TKB Trading.

Nikki has told me that since then, most of the inventory has changed and she's switched suppliers so I can't show you what I bought then but she has generously sent me another sampler so that I may show you some of current products Glitter Unique has in stock. I also have my most recent order to show you. But first, let me tell you about my original order.
The New Sampler

For my orders in April 2012, I bought the glitters that had been sent to me as samples because I liked them so much I had to have the 1/2 oz. The only glitter I used that was a bleeder was the Lemon Holo and, once Nikki was notified that it was, it was pulled from the inventory. Not only that, she was very apologetic and refunded me for that particular glitter, something she didn't have to do. Outstanding customer service.

My most recent purchase, ordered last week, was an ounce of the Green-Gold Effect Flakes which are absolutely beautiful. I would compare these to TKB Trading's Reflecks pigments in terms of size and sparkle and since there is no green in the Reflecks Collection, the Green Gold flakes compliment them nicely.

Shipping was very reasonable, $2.32 and was done quickly. I placed my order on the 13th around 4p and it was here by the morning of the 16th., sooner than I expected. My flakes were double bagged and neatly labelled.

These are beyond sparkly, almost lime green in color with gold sparkles, best captured in the slightly blurry photo below.

Shown here, on the left, is of the Green Gold flakes swatched on paper, to the right the small bottle of polish I made with them, a simple mixture of Glamour Base and flakes.

Here they are shown on the nail sticks I made, over a black nail on the left and a "natural" color nail on the right.

Included in the sampler Nikki sent me were some more of her Effect Flakes and one color shifting pigment. Rainbow Pearl, Gold and Indigo Flakes are in the top row, Midnight Sparkle, Tango Red Flakes and the Magenta-Violet Pearlescent color shifter in the bottom and the Hot Pink Flakes off to the right.

Below are more bag shots, in pairs. These, as well as those above, were photographed under my Ottlite.
These Hot Pink flakes are a vibrant, bright pink with a purplish-blue interference although its not visible in this picture. The Magenta-Violet Pearlescent pigment has the same coloring and interference but with a much finer particle size.

The Gold flakes are every bit as metallic and golden as you could imagine and I look forward to creating a polish with it. What's not visible from the photo are the colorful sparkles in the Rainbow Pearl, a lot like a Disco glitter mix would have, they are not solid white. 

The Indigo are a nice medium blue color with moderate sparkle. Midnight Sparkle is more complex than the pic reveals- there are what looks like orange, pink and purple highlights in this.

Tango Red flakes are somewhere between red and orange in color and as metallic in appearance as the Gold, another I can't wait to use. 

Swatched on paper...

And Hot Pink flakes next to Magenta-Violet Pearlescent, both of which have some color shifting ability.

And so you can better see Magenta-Violet Pearlescent's color shift, the finger tip swatch.

In my sampler were also a selection of holographic glitters and two matte glitters although I would say they are more pearly than matte- matte to me implies no shine.


Sky Blue Holo Hex .025", Violet Holo Square .035", Pink Holo Hex .040" and Bright Pink Holo Hex .025". Like all holographics glitters, these are very bright in color with rainbows showing from certain angles.

The Turquoise Holo Shreds are very cool and one of the more unusual glitters I own, the perfect shade between blue and green. The Black Opal mix is what you would expect from a glitter with such a name- black with flashes of green, orange, and purple coming from the different sizes of glitter.

Shifting Rainbow Short Slices. Maybe not obvious are the orange, green, yellow, purple and blue colors that show up, reminiscent of Christmas decorations or Easter (to me).

And my personal favorite, Holo Rainbow, a mix of different colors and sizes holo glitters. Every color of glitter you could want, all holographic. Be still my little heart.

Swatched on paper to show more detail

All of the items I've shown you are available from Glitter Unique right now in package sizes ranging from the 1/2 ounce all the way up to 4 ounces and you can buy them all in a sample size if you want to try them out first. Buy with complete confidence knowing Nikki has tested her glitters to make sure they stand up well in suspension base although some bases may have a slightly different effect. Glitter Unique also offers a rewards program with your registration that makes every purchase worth a little more. 

I've been busy taking photographs and writing the review that I haven't had the time to make many polishes from the other flakes and glitters but that just gives me a reason to write another entry later. -MK