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Warning: This blog and some info within is out of date.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.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Anna’s Art Asylum Part 2

Links checked 12/12/13

This is part 2 to a 3 part posting of some fantastic pigments I purchased from Anna’s Art Asylum- click here to see Part 1. This will cover #412604, #412605, #35202 & #821502 with pictures of dry swatches, franken polish bottles and finish with the polish swatches themselves.

To review, Anna’s Art Asylum and the lovely Anna, sells 10 different duochrome pigments and none are identical to TKB Trading’s Travel to’s, Star Bites or Moon Dusts pigments. While TKB’s are mostly cool colors, Anna’s cover the other end of the spectrum by offering several warm colors. These can be purchased as an assortment of 5 for $20.00 ($/gram), free shipping. Since I wanted all 10, I selected the 5 for $20.00 option twice (I emailed Anna prior to confirm this was ok).

This is how the pigments are packaged, each gram in a small bag with its name written on a holographic label (I went back over the names in permanent blue marker). Both this one and the one below were photographed at the table under "daylight" lamp light.

Just to be organized and because I like the way it looks, I put them all on a binder ring in color order.


All 10, as polish, layered over black. Photos taken outdoors.
#362801, #462805, #22808, #481804, #412604


#412605, #35202, #821502, #35204, #221501

Alternate View:



The first one for today is #412604
#412604 looks similar to some of the others in the bag but it's really not, it transitions between purple to pink to orange (over black). By itself as a dry pigment, it goes from golden orange to orange to pink. Particle size is somewhere between TKB's Shanika Sun and Marinda Star.

On the fingertip more of the pink hues come out but it still appears similar to the others.

The dry pigment on double-sided sticky tape. Here the color shift is clearer and shows all three phases when used over white.


Next is #412605.
Being that this one, number-wise, comes after 412604, there's similarity in the colors but this one brings bright pink into the color shift with a brighter orange. Same particle size as the others.

All the colors are showing on the fingertip although the pink is muted.

It really is a nice color combo, reminds me of the classic sunrises and sunsets.

Since the next four are whites, we're going to do the pictures a little different.

Third in this installment is #35202.

The blue in this one is hard to coax out but here in the bag it shows- it goes from blue to purple to purplish pink, but like most white interference pigments, bright lighting washes out the color. The particle size matches the others so it's more sparkly than it appears.

A very slight touch of blue but mainly pinks and purples.

The range in this one looks limited but as I said before, it has a much stronger blue interference. 

The last color in this set is #821502.
This has a color shift that goes from an almost lime green to vivid pink under the proper lighting. and reminds me somewhat of Studio M's Alias. #821502 has a slightly smaller particle size but not as fine as #22808.

Because it's white, this is pale but both colors are visible.

Looking more purple than pink here.

All four in bottles, same order: #412604, #412605, #35202 and #821502

Both taken indoors, direct sunlight
Bottom of the bottles

All followed the same simple recipe, just 4 drops of pigment mixed with 1/2 clear & 1/2 Glamour Base. Even though I cut the Glamour Base by half, the majority of the pigment has remained suspended. The bottles are TKB's Elizabeth so these are between 5-6ml.

The nail swatches I did as “skittles” and all are layered over basic black polish. They are in the order of #412604, #412605, #35202 and #821502- #35202 required 2 coats while the others were 3.

The second set, and it will be obvious when the second set begins, were also done as skittles but on my nail sticks. These sticks are black acrylic nails which saved me time and layers of black polish.  

These were taken directly under a daylight lamp.




Away from the light source.


Different rooms, regular light.


Not the best pictures but...
indoors under a simulated daylight lamp. Same order


Outdoors from different angles, no sun.

#412604 & #412605, outdoors, no sun

#35202 and #821502, outdoors, no sun

#412604



#412605



#35202 



#821502




The variation to these pigments seems endless when I look at all the pictures I took under different lighting conditions. Even with my lack of photography skills.

Since I only use four fingers at a time, #35204 & #221501 will be featured in the next entry. Check back soon- MK

Related Entries:

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Anna’s Art Asylum Part 1

Links checked 12/12/13

If you love duochrome pigments as much as I do, keep reading.

There’s a store on eBay called Anna’s Art Asylum that was brought to my attention when the blog Fashion Polish posted two entries, Chromatic pigments swatches and review part 1 and Chromatic pigments swatches and review part 2. In these she reviewed the 10 duochrome pigments that Anna’s Art Asylum sells and she did such a beautiful job, I decided to buy them all! I’m ready to add my swatches to the mix but please go visit Fashion Polish first so you can see why I “just had to have them”.  

Anna’s Art Asylum has ten colors available, sold per gram and you can purchase these in an assortment of 5 for $20.00 ($/gram) with free shipping. Since I wanted all 10, I selected the 5 for $20.00 option twice (I emailed Anna prior to confirm this was ok) and waited eagerly for them to arrive, which didn’t take long. 

This picture shows how the pigments are packaged, each gram in a small bag with its name written on a holographic label (I went back over the names in permanent blue marker). Both this one and the one below were photographed at the table under "daylight" lamp light.


Just to be organized and because I like the way it looks, I put them all on a binder ring in color order.


All 10, as polish, layered over black. Photos taken outdoors.
#362801, #462805, #22808, #481804, #412604

#412605, #35202, #821502, #35204, #221501

Alternate View: 



First up for individual dry swatches is #362801.
 This one goes from a pure orange to a beautiful golden yellow although it’s more readily apparent when used in a franken polish top coat- you’ll see that later. What’s visible from the bag is that it has a larger particle size that is comparative to that of TKB’s Shanika Sun.


While this was taken under the same lighting, this comes across as a little more orange and sparkly.


 This one is blurry but you can see a bit of both colors here.


The dry pigment on double-sided sticky tape.


Next is #462805
In the bag, the color shift is a subtle golden orange to green and has approximately the same particle size as the first or, around the size of Shanika Sun.

Some of the golden highlights come out here.

…And here just a hint of the green.

Third in the lineup is #22808.
This has a much finer particle size, (putting it closer to one of TKB’s Travel to pigments) and because it does, it’s less sparkly but that doesn’t diminish the duochrome. It’s a golden color overall with a shift from a bluish green to yellow green to gold.

On the fingertip and under the same lighting, it shows itself to be a golden yellow like #462805.

But the paper swatch displays the bluish green to yellow green to gold shift.

Our final color for this entry is #481804
Clearly #481804 is one of the few to display the color shift while in the bag. The particle size is larger, more like TKB’s Marinda Star while the color shift is similar to TKB’s Red Sparks.

On the fingertip it comes out as well but that is the advantage to curved objects.

Paper shows some duochrome but under this lighting, the pink appears reddish.

All four in bottles, same order: #362801, #462805, #22808 and #481804.

And from the bottom.

No elaborate recipes here, just 4 drops of pigment mixed with 1/2 clear & 1/2 Glamour Base. Despite that the Glamour Base is cut by half, the majority of the pigment has remained suspended. The bottles are TKB's Elizabeth so these are between 5-6ml.

The first set of swatches I did as “skittles” and all are layered over basic black polish on my own nails. They are in the order of #362801, #462805, #22808 and #481804- #22808 required 3 coats while the others were 4.

The second set, and it will be obvious when the second set begins, were also done as skittles but on my nail sticks. These sticks are black acrylic nails which saved me time and layers of black polish.  

The two of these were taken away from the light source, a daylight lamp.

 These were photographed directly under “daylight” lamp light.

The darker coloring is due to this being taken under regular light.

Different room, same type of lighting


Indoors under a simulated daylight lamp. Same order

Outdoors in full sun.

Outdoors, no sun.

#362801 & #462805 

#22808 and #481804

#362801



#462805



#22808



#481804



It surprises me that these look so different in each form and that none of them are the same color as any of TKB Trading's color shifting pigments. As a reminder, Anna’s Art Asylum has ten colors sold per gram and you can purchase these in an assortment of 5 for $20.00 ($/gram) with free shipping.

Since I use only four fingers, #412604, #412605, #35202 & 821502 will be featured in the next entry. Check back soon- MK


Related Entries:

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Tornado Outbreak

As most of you Americans probably know, tornadoes swept through the south from Ohio to Mississippi yesterday. I myself live in Northern Kentucky and while my family and my town were spared, many others were not that fortunate. They are reporting 30 people died across 6 states as of this morning with many injured and some places just wiped out. If you're the religious type, if you believe in a higher power, in God, say a prayer for those people... My heart goes out to them. -MK