Colour morphing frankens

An exciting post today ladies...

Today I'm showing you three new franken polishes that I made using colour shifting pigments. As you will soon see, these are just short of amazing.  Its my opinion that these are the pigments that are/were used in polishes such as Clarins 230 and the old Liquid Euphoria.  One of them is also identical to my Avon colour morphing top coat. So please ensure your tray tables are in the upright position and lets go...

First up is the green to violet blue pigment.  This shows two coats over black with photos taken in the sun.  This one starts off green.

The below shot was taken indoors and shows the polish being a very strong duochrome with blue on the sides and green in the centre.

Back in the sun at a different angle you see the green shifting to blue.

Now here is my first ever youtube video.  It's not edited so there is ambient background noise and maybe a cat meowing, but you get the idea!  But I just wanted to try show the colours changing in real life.

Next up gold to green - This one looks exactly like my Avon Colour Morphing top coat.  Exactly I tell you.  Not just distant cousins, or sisters, these two are twins! 

It starts off a bronzey gold with mossy green undertones.

Spinning on the spot it gets greener and greener (and I get dizzier and dizzier).

And finally the turquoise blue flash at the end.

Another video in attempt to display the colour changing in real time.

Finally Copper Red to green. 

Now just like Kang I say "we must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling".  Cause when I'm twirling, that's when the red goes green.

Holy crapola, I can't believe it went from that red, to the below green.  This is the kind of pigment I believe is used in Clarins 230 and Liquid Euphoria Bliss.  Now I made my franken really saturated because I wanted a full nail colour, whereas those polishes have a much more subtle colour changing sparkle, but that just depends on how much powder you put in.

Another spectacular video demonstrating my outstanding videography skills.

Here are my bottles pics of each of these frankens.  All I did was add less than a quarter of a gram of pigment to a bottle of regular clear nail polish.  As you can see these end up being a milky translucent polish.  If using regular clear nail polish (and not a suspension base) then it will settle to the bottom after about 3-4 days.  However I have found that these mix up a lot easier than glitter or spectraflair and you only need to re shake the bottle for a few minutes to use it again.

Ok, so now the fun bit about how you can get your hands on some of this pigment.  I was only able to buy this stuff in fairly large quantities, so I'm on selling the stuff I don't need.


What is it?

Its chameleon colour changing pigment, used in the automotive industry for car paints as well as manufacturing of plastics etc.  The particle size is 90 microns, which is larger than spectraflair, but smaller than ultra fine .004" glitter.  Mixed in nail polish it is totally smooth, no top coat required.

Where did I get it from?

I purchased two different brands from two places.

All three colours, Gold to Green, Copper Red to Green and Violet Blue to green, are Konfusion brand.  You can buy a half ounce tub from The coating store in the US for $45. But a half ounce is a lot of pigment when you talking a few bottles of nail polish.  That’s why I’m keeping some for myself to continue frankening with, but splitting up the rest to sell to you guys. 

Before I bought the Konfusion brand pigments, I actually bought a two ounce tub of House of Kolor chameleon powder in Gold to green from an Australian seller on ebay who had bought it to paint their car, and changed their mind.  This tub retails on the House of Kolor Australian website for $755.92!! 

Is it safe to use car pigment in nail polish?

First, I’m no scientist or chemist, so I have no definitive answer to that. When handling these powders you must use gloves and a mask because it is a very fine powder that will remain suspended in the air very easily, thus can be easily inhaled if you spill it.  Here are the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the KonFusion pigment and the House of Kolor pigment

It is not cosmetic grade for use in other makeup, however suspended in nail polish it all seems fine.   I have had mine mixed for several weeks and they are still perfect.  No cracked bottles, no explosions, no fingers or nails falling off.  All nail polish contains pigments etc, and these colour changing pigments can only be created a specific way.  Given that these types of effects have been seen in nail polishes before (eg Clarins 230, Liquid Euphoria etc) I suspect these pigments have been used in the manufacturing process before.

However, if you have any concerns, do not purchase it. And I also don't want to hear from people bitching that I am using it and selling what I wont use.

How much is it?

AUD $6.50 per 1 gram pot

AUD $2.50 postage (to anywhere in the world)

I will combine up to three pots (one of each colour) for the same postage.

What will you get if you buy some?

I purchased some digital precision jewellery scales so I can accurately measure out one gram.  The scales measure down to .01 of a gram.

I also purchased some little 3 gram cosmetic pots to put the pigment in, rather than sending it to you in zip lock bags.  While placing the pigment in ziplock bags would be easier for me to do, I find it difficult to get  pigment out of them without creating a mess.  When you open the zip, powder often puffs up into the air.  I think this creates a greater risk on inhalation as well of being wasteful.  Whereas in the pots, you can leave it to settle, then gently open the pot, easily scoop some out and then do up the pot without powder going everywhere. 

So you will get one gram of your choice of pigment powder in a nice little cosmetic pot. Here is a picture of some I have packaged up already.

How many bottles of polish will one gram make?

Of course this depends on the size of your bottles and how saturated you want the pigment.  Do you want to make it a one coater or just a light flash of colour changing sparkle?  I made the above bottles up, which are 13.5ml, using less than a quarter of a gram.  I think mine are very saturated, but make your own mind up looking at the pictures.

How do you make a Franken polish with this?

If you just want a simple layering top coat, all you have to do is mix it with a clear polish.  Start with a little bit, then shake, and swatch it onto a black or dark base.  Keep adding pigment until you get the desired opacity.  Using a clear polish will mean it will settle after a few days.  If you use a very sheer French colour or other sheer shimmer polish as the base, it will generally hold the pigment in suspension. 

Of course you can add this pigment to other coloured polishes to franken up some awesome dupes of polishes such as:

• Clarins 230 – A sheer maroon purple base with copper red to green pigment.
• Liquid Euphoria Bliss – A sheer purpley/maroon base with copper red to green pigment. Check out a swatch here.
• Liquid Euphoria Dreamy – A sheer greenish jelly with gold to green pigment. Check out a swatch here.
• Liquid Euphoria Euphoric -  A sheer purple jelly base with Violet blue to green pigment. Check out a swatch here.

(Note: these are only my guesses at colour combinations and pigments – I don’t own any of those polishes and have based my ideas off pictures.  Please don’t take my word for it.  But I’m certainly going to start with these colour combos to try to dupe these elusive polishes and make easy to follow recipes.)

How to purchase?

I can only accept PayPal.

Send me an email to morenailpolish@iinet.net.au and tell me what colour/s you want.

I will then confirm that I have enough stock for your requested colour/s and send you all the details of how to pay in an email back to you.

Because of the outrageous PayPal fees, I will be asking you to send your PayPal payment as a "Personal" amount of "Payment owed", rather than sending money as "Purchase of goods". I will also ask people, where possible, to please use funds from a bank account or PayPal credit, rather than using their credit card.  I still get charged fees for all international transactions but doing the above two things helps to lower the percentage they take.

How much profit am I making?

After taking all costs into account (specifically PayPal fees) I’m making about a buck fifty for each lot, which I think is reasonable for the hours (upon hours) of time and effort involved in packaging and posting.

Why not sell through ebay?

It costs too much! I just want to share the awesomeness of these powders so others can have some fun like me.  If I were to sell through ebay I would have to pay insertion fees, final value fees and full commercial PayPal fees, plus spend more of my time to make eBay listings.

However if that is what people want (so they can receive PayPal buyer protection) I am happy to do it. But the eBay price will be AUD$8.00 per gram.  I will create individual custom listings for people who want this.  I'll then email you the ebay item listing.

I just want to do this as cheaply as possible for everyone, so you can experience this fun with nail polish.

What if it doesn’t arrive?

I will take photos of every order I send off to prove I have done it.  If the item is lost in the post (and I addressed the envelope correctly) I can’t take responsibility for that. Sorry.  If this is a concern for you, I’m happy to do registered post, although that costs $13.20 which you will have to pay.  If my photo shows I sent it to the wrong address, I will resend.

I'm happy for you to ask any questions in the comments, or if you would rather send them by email you can to morenailpolish@iinet.net.au.

WOW, so there you have it.  I'm exhausted.

Dr.'s Remedy Hot Hot Hot Summer 2011 Collection Swatches and Review

Good morning! I hope you are all enjoying a lazy Sunday morning. I know I am! 

I am showing you Dr.'s Remedy Enriched Nail Polish today.  These polishes are big 3 free, contain tea-tree oil, garlic bulb extract, wheat protein and Vitamins C and E. These polishes help promote healthier, and stronger nails.

I know that right off the bat having these benefits aren't a must have for most of us polish addicts and I know the price can be a turn off ($17/bottle),  but I love knowing that there is a healthier, safer alternative for fashion and beauty conscious women whose health requires them to be more careful with what their bodies are exposed to. I was pregnant last year, and I wish I would have known about these polishes then! I was super paranoid about making sure my baby would have the best environment to grow healthy. Even if these things don't apply to you, the benefits of this polish line can't hurt right?

These are all really good quality polishes and the colors are on trend. So let's get to it!

First up is NURTURE Nude Pink. A gorgeous peachy nude with a slight pink shimmer. The shimmer doesn't show up in pictures however. This is 3 coats. I hardly ever wear shades like this, but it is definitely a nice palate cleanser from all the crazy colors I usually wear.

Next is LOVELY Lavender. This is very close to, if not a dupe for Zoya Caitlin which I do not own. I love this color and it's definitely a top pick in this collection for me! This was 2 coats for full coverage.

GLEE Gold is a shimmer packed light golden color. This was the most sheer of the bunch, but still a gorgeous shade. This took 4 coats for full coverage. 

This is probably my favorite of the bunch- TRANQUIL Tangarine. I am not sure what is tranquil about this color because it's really bright and juicy looking, but I love it! Probably wasn't that hard to guess since this is the type of stuff I typically wear! :P I have nothing like this in my collection which I was surprised to discover. This is 2 coats.

And finally BOLD Baby Blue. A pretty sky blue shimmer, almost a frost. I do like this color a lot also- I think it's perfect for summer. This is 3 coats.

And here is Glee Gold over all the rest of the shades. I think it works pretty well over most of them and I will be interested to see what other polishes in my collection this looks good on top of. 

Dr.'s Remedy is available for $17 online HERE or you can call 1-877-323-NAIL. You can also like Dr.'s Remedy's Facebook page HERE.

Thanks for reading! <3

*These products were sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Need a one coat black?

I'm sure you would agree that a good opaque black polish is an absolute must in everyone's collection. I think it's pretty well known for ladies that have access to Wet N Wild nail polish, that their Shine Black Creme is a great one coater for when you layering polish.  For those of us without access to Wet N Wild, we need to make do with whatever brand we can find. 

I was starting to get a bit jack of my staple black polish when I was doing my Ozotic multichrome swatches.  I was using Ulta3 Black Satin, but to get it opaque you have to use two coats.  So what do you do in this situation, you franken it!

I had already purchased a Mica sampler pack from TKB Trading. So I had a baggy of black oxide pigment.  This stuff is great because it is so pigmented.  I added probably about a teaspoon of mica to my bottle of Ulta3 Black Satin, a couple of ballz and shook the bejesus out of it.

Here is a swatch of one coat each of the original Black Satin and my frankened version.  Can you tell which is which? Tee hee.

So now I have a perfect black one coater.  

The other thing I love about this is that it doesn't stain.  I was talking to my mum about this and she was using Ulta3 Midnight as a dark base, but found that it was an absolute beeotch in the staining department.  Even just trying to do clean up she had what looked like blue ink everywhere.  Mum, I think I might just franken you up a bottle too. :)

Wet N Wild Ocean Grotto

Happy Saturday! Hope it's a good one for ya! I went to a bridal shower that was outside this morning and even though it was early in the day, it was HOT!

So I was in CVS this past week and saw a very picked over display of the WnW LE Mermaid's Cove collection. They just happened to have Ocean Grotto left, which was the only one I really wanted in this collection!  It's a gorgeous green/gold with microshimmer. 

We added a quick stamp to Ocean Grotto, this color didn't need a whole lot added to it because it stands out so well on it's own!

So there you have it! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! <3

Wet N Wild MegaSlicks Lipgloss Review

Hi everyone! I have a makeup post for ya today...I have to say, it is fun to mix it up a bit! I am reviewing a few Wet N Wild  MegaSlicks lipglosses, and the 3 I'm showing you are Cherry Glaze, Cherish, and Rose Gold.

I took this picture so you can see the packaging. Inside, is a sponge applicator. These dispense just the right amount of gloss so your lips don't get too much. None of these glosses are too thick or sticky which is always a plus! Also, as a side note, these glosses are not scented but they don't have a gross taste either.

All of these shades flattered my skin really well and I think they would flatter most people since these are pretty neutral. I think they would work well with whatever your natural lip color is.

Cherry Glaze- Super sheer, the color in the tube doesn't translate to the lip but it does give them a nice, juicy sheen.

Cherish- Probably my favorite of the three, a baby pink with shimmer. It goes on a little funky at first, but evens itself out nicely. This one is semi-sheer.

Rose Gold- I like this one a lot too just because it's an easy neutral that will go with anything. The formula is very similar to Cherish as it is semi-sheer also.

Cherry Glaze, Cherish, Rose Gold

Cherry Glaze, Cherish, and Rose Gold on me, they all look pretty similar here, don't they?

Overall, I would recommend all these glosses. They are easy to wear, and a great formula. They don't last too terribly long, but half of the fun of wearing a lipgloss is reapplying right?! :) 

You can get Wet N Wild at many drugstores, Walmart and Fred Meyer and these glosses retail for $1.99.

*These products were sent to me by the Wet N Wild to review*

Ozotic 617

Ahhh, the tranquility. Mr Three and Miss Six months are both currently haivng a middle of the day sleep. So a perfect time for a real quick blog post.

The pretty on my nails right now is Ozotic 617.  A rich aqua marine blue with large holographic particles.

No base, three coats, no top coat.  It really only needs two coats, but I felt better with three cause I didn't have a base on, and it dries so fast that three coats isn't an isue.

Another very sparkly one, especially in the sun, but OK indoors too.  Another 8/10 on my holo-a-meter for this.

I'm going to enjoy a quiet day today, as I'm still recovering from working in the yard moving very large piles of mulch (and we have more to do on the weekend). We had a mobile mulcher guy come and mulch up a whole stack of tree prunings as well as two massive pine trees, one of which fell down across our driveway a few weeks back in strong wind storms.  How'd ya like this big tree in your driveway when you got home?  Luckily our driveway has two entrances.

Gotta love those SES guys who came and chopped it out of the way for us.  You guys ROCK!

Milani 3D Holo Gradient

Hey everyone! How are you all today? I have been running around shopping and enjoying NOT being at home! haha

I found the Milani Hi-Tech at CVS the other day and I happened to have my other Milani 3Ds with me on my trip so I had Dustin create this "snowcone" mani.

This is Milani Digital, Cyberspace, and Hi-Tech. I love these even if they aren't totally linear. I'm sure you guys know by now I am a sucker for anything sparkly!

This is in more direct sunlight:

What do you guys think? I want to try this with other holos! <3

Ozotic 619

Howdy doodie everyone.  Hope your having a good day. 

Here is Ozotic 619 which is a darkish coral pink.  It almost looks brownish in some lighting too. It's really cool. Three coats, no base or top coat.  I rate it 8/10 on my holo-a-meter.

I actually came upon this colour rather by accident.  I did an online purchase of some Ozotics from LeBeauty.

I ordered the following Ozotic's from them: 509, 515, 516, 518 and 522, so all 500 series, which as we know are linear holos.  What actually arrived was 600, 601, 609, 617 and 619 all 600 series, which are large particle holos.  The main problem was that they didn't contact me to tell me they were shipping something different, but instead just sent them with a note saying:

509 is now 609

515 is now 617

516 is now 601

518 is now 600

522 is now 619

As you can imagine, I wrote a rather strong email back saying that they shouldn't have changed my order without at least an email, and all but one of the polishes they sent me I already owned.  They explained that they always swap the polishes, because most people choose a polish based on colour, not its number.  Well I guess us weirdo nail bloggers just aren't like most people. I specifically wanted those numbers!  

Anyway, long story short, they did the right thing by me.  I got to keep one polish to cover the postage of the other ones back to them.  They have now updated their website to accurately list the colours they have in stock, although I still disagree with which polishes they say replaced the others!  

So this is the polish I kept.  As it turns out I haven't seen 619 on any other website for sale yet. So Aussie gals, you can get it from Le Beauty for $13.50.  International ladies, sorry, you just get to look at the pretty picture because they don't ship internationally :(

This polish actually matched the top I was wearing, totally unintentionally. I must have just been in the right kind of mood for this colour.

LA Girl: Iron Red

Hey ladies! I am on my trip visiting my family now, but I still have lots to show you during that time! 

So today I am showing you LA Girl Iron Red, which is supposed to be a metallic. I picked this one up at Fred Meyer...it was my first time going there and for my area at least, it was a treasure trove of brands I didn't think were locally available! Love it when that happens! haha This color is perfect in one coat...I think it almost looks like a coral/pink.

This combo was created by my lovely husband. This is LA Girl Glitter Addict in Uninhibited. A real funky black glitter, but I think the effect is cool. I saw this on another blog a while back and they compared it to how dirt looks...which it's kind of true! :P

Finally, here is the stamping design. We dotted the tips of the cupcakes, but it doesn't show very well. I think the overall look is whimsical though! 

Hope you enjoyed today's post and always thank you for reading! <3

Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid

This is one of those polishes that I purchased earlier this year and just never got around to posting it.  My Kind of Cool Aid was Cult Nails' very first color.  I ordered it as soon as Maria said it was for sale on her website and then I got it and it quickly got lost in my collection.

Then yesterday, Maria tweeted that Cult Nails had given 600 bottles of My Kind of Cool Aid to the HollyRod Foundation in support of their Design Care 2011 event.  As a mom of an autistic child, I thought, "that's awesome!" and then, I thought "I have that".  So, today, I dug it out of my (still) disorganized polishes.

And now I'm kinda sad that I left it unworn so long.  LOL.

My Kind of Cool Aid is a "greige" shimmer, but it also leans a bit lavender.  Kind of like Wild Orchid from Color Club's fall 2010 collection, though they aren't dupes.  The shimmer in this one is micro-shimmer in shades of pale blue and pink, but you have to look close.  When I first looked it it, the shimmer just looked silver.  The formula was good.  I did have a bit of an issue with drag, but that's easily solved by waiting a couple minutes between coats.  Pic is 3 coats, though it you are careful you could probably get away with 2.

This makes me really want to try more Cult Nails polishes, and I'm still kicking myself for not picking up Captivated before it sold out.  :(  :P
l
Cult Nails polishes are available on their website.  They are $10.  Also, I noticed that during the month of August, Cult Nails will donate a portion of its sales to the HollyRod Foundation.

this polish was purchased by me

Ozotic 606

Back to our scheduled programming now with more Ozotic 600 series.  

This is Ozotic 606 which is a pale lilac.  Other swatches I've seen of this make it look rather subdued and very silver looking, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I put this on to see that is was certainly lilac coloured and also very holo.

This was three coats, no base or top coat.

Where on my holo-a-meter?  I would say about an 8/10. 

Another beautiful large particle linear holo.  I know I have been calling these scattered holos, but I think that term better suits that Milani 3D holo polishes.  These have a definite rainbow over the nail, so they are linear, but the holo particle size is much larger.

I still have more of these Ozotics to show you. I've been wearing one each day.  I hope your not getting sick of seeing them yet?