Frankening Fun: SpectraFlair vs. Diamond Pigment

Today I have an epic post on some of the frankens I made with diamond pigment! What is diamond pigment (DP) you might ask? It is a cosmetic grade holographic pigment which could be an alternative to the now hard to get SpectraFlair (SF). But is it really as good as the real thing?

Diamond Holographic Pigment - 35 microns

So this is what diamond pigment looks like in a bag, looks a lot like SpectraFlair doesn't it? I quickly mixed some up in a clear base and compare it to SF:

Diamond Pigment vs. SpectraFlair

On the left is a tiny scoop of DP in clear base, and on the right we have SF in a clear base. Apologies for the poor photo quality, but you can see although both pigments show strong linear holo effect, the SF bottle has a smoother prismatic effect to it.

Diamond Pigment - one coat

I then applied one coat of the DP base to a purple creme, and am surprised at how pretty the holo looks! Yes, it is more of a scattered holo, but the rainbow effect is still quite vibrant!

Polishes made with Diamond Pigment & SpectraFlair

Here are some polishes that I made with DP. Firstly I created the base color by mixing up some oil based colorants, then I added a tiny scoop of DP to complete the look. A quick tip when you are working with holo pigments or shimmers. Always mix the powder/pigment in a jelly base so it can shine through the polish. If you mix it in a creme/opaque base, you will find you can barely see the holo/shimmer no matter how much you add into the mixture!

I am quite happy how they all turned out, especially the orange, pink, and the reddish grapefruit one. I have also included one that I made with SF into the collage for comparison, can you tell which one looks different? It is the bottom left one, where the holo effect is more linear and smoother.

Bottle shot of polishes made by moi :)

So there you have it, I hope you find this post helpful! Although Diamond Pigment is not a dead set dupe of SpectraFlair, it is a pretty good alternative, especially when it is much cheaper than SF! I got the DP at $8USD per gram, and if I am not mistaken, SF (mixed in clear base) is now being sold at as much as $15-$20USD per gram. Since a little bit of pigment goes a long way, one gram of DP would give you many hours of frankening fun, so it is definitely more cost effective if you are a franken newbie like me!

KBShimmer Iris My Case

KBShimmer Iris My Case - two coats with top coat

KBShimmer Iris My Case from the 2013 Spring Collection, is a soft pastel lilac crelly mixed with white, magenta and blue hex glitters in various sizes. Can you just say gorgeous? Such a perfect shade for spring!
Application is also a breeze, there really isn't anything that I don't love about this polish!

KBShimmer Iris My Case

KBShimmer Iris My Case

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac, two coats with top coat

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac (LTWYL), yet another gorgeous holo from Chelsea. Seriously just take my bank account already, because every single Enchanted Polish is simply to die for!

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Love The Way You Lilac, a soft lilac linear holo, is just breathtaking. Formula is perfect too, two easy coats where the application is a breeze. I am waiting for more Enchanted to arrive, and I can't wait to show you what I've got! I think it's safe to say that Enchanted is now my favorite indie brand!

Enchanted Polish Love The Way You Lilac

Peri My Holo Heart - my first holo creation!

Peri My Holo Heart - my first handmade holo polish, two coats with top coat

Since periwinkle is my favorite polish shade, it is no surprise that the first holo polish I made is a periwinkle/cornflower linear holo. Given it is my first experiment with Spectraflair (SF), this polish is a tad too opaque for the prismatic pigments to really shine through. A handy tip if you want to create a holo polish with Spectraflair; add SF to a jelly color base so that the holo effect is more prominent, and that you won't end up adding (wasting) more SF than required!

Anyway I am quite happy with my first attempt, and apparently one of the girls from a nail polish group on FB is too! She likes it so much she wanted to buy Peri My Holo Heart from me, so I actually have sold my first ever polish! That is such a nice surprise, and totally not expected!

I have since then whipped up more holo polishes, and will be showing them to you very soon! If I could create one holo polish, what color would you like to see the most? Any suggestions are most welcome!