*EDIT*
As of July 2012, the regulations on shipping Spectraflair have changed. You can no longer buy it in powder form. You can only buy in it in a base and several indie makers are selling it in high concentrations in a nail polish base coat. You can add drops of this to nail polish to make it holographic just like I did here with the powder. Visit Spectraflair's Store for purchasing info!
*END EDIT*
In an effort to curb my need for holographic polish, I did a Google search for a holographic top coat. I figured, if I had a top coat, I could make any polish holographic! However, the search came back with holographic top coats like Fairy Dust by China Glaze, which has holographic glitter in it, but it isn't holographic in the sense that I wanted. Then, I noticed a YouTube video on how to make a holographic top coat. And that's when I discovered Spectraflair. It's a holographic powder that can be added to your polish to make it holographic! Seriously, I feel like I struck gold with this find! I watched a few videos on creating a holo polish with it and I read several blog posts. Here's what I learned:
As of July 2012, the regulations on shipping Spectraflair have changed. You can no longer buy it in powder form. You can only buy in it in a base and several indie makers are selling it in high concentrations in a nail polish base coat. You can add drops of this to nail polish to make it holographic just like I did here with the powder. Visit Spectraflair's Store for purchasing info!
*END EDIT*
In an effort to curb my need for holographic polish, I did a Google search for a holographic top coat. I figured, if I had a top coat, I could make any polish holographic! However, the search came back with holographic top coats like Fairy Dust by China Glaze, which has holographic glitter in it, but it isn't holographic in the sense that I wanted. Then, I noticed a YouTube video on how to make a holographic top coat. And that's when I discovered Spectraflair. It's a holographic powder that can be added to your polish to make it holographic! Seriously, I feel like I struck gold with this find! I watched a few videos on creating a holo polish with it and I read several blog posts. Here's what I learned:
1. It does not take a lot of holographic powder to make a polish holo. Add a little bit at a time.
2. Use a straw to put the powder into the bottle. Cut a little piece off the end to make it scoop-like.
3. Wear a mask and glasses when working with the powder. It is a metal powder after all! It is perfectly safe, once it's in the polish.
4. You'll need some steel balls so that when the powder settles in the bottle, you can mix it up easily.
After gleaning information online, I decided to give it a shot! Spectraflair comes in fine, medium, and coarse grade powder. This is definitely a fine powder, not a glitter! Judging from the pictures I found online, the coarse grade seemed to have the strongest linear holo effect. I ordered one gram of coarse grade Spectraflair holographic powder on eBay for $20. That seems a little steep, but the auction stated that it would make 5-6 bottles of holographic polish. Assuming you only got 5 bottles out of it, that's only $4 per bottle! When compared to holographic polish costs, that's an awesome deal! Plus, after having made one polish now, I can confidently say that I will get more than 6 bottles of polish out of my powder. So my powder traveled from CA to FL in record time (3 days!) and I was so excited to get it! It came in a baggie...look at that gorgeous holo effect just in the bag!
A woman from one of the videos I watched online had her Spectraflair in a small pot, which seemed much easier for scooping powder out of than a baggie. So, I found a little pot of hand cream I wasn't using from a Birchbox I got a few months ago. I cleaned it out with hot water and soap and I dried it out completely. Then I put on my mask and glasses and dumped the powder into the pot. It definitely had a little bit of dust action, so the mask and glasses were a good idea. Here's my little pot of Spectraflair! I chose a blurry one so you could see the flecks of sparkle!
While I was buying my mask and glasses, I also bought some steel bb's made by a company called Daisy. They are zinc plated, which I read mostly good stuff about. (By the way, if you need some bb's, email me at and we can work out a very reasonable price! I have more than I'll ever need, hahaha!)
I had an OPI top coat that I received for Christmas that I hadn't used yet, so I decided to holo-ify it. I used three teeny tiny scoops of Spectraflair and four bb's. Then, I got to shaking! It just takes the normal amount of shaking that any polish would. I tested out the holo effect on my nail and decided I wanted a little more, so I added one more tiny scoop, bringing the total to 4. I've read that you can definitely add too much, which diminishes the holo effect, so I didn't want to do that. I also read that you can turn a clear polish into a grey polish very quickly, and I definitely didn't want that! Here's what my polish ended up looking like! I LOVE IT!
For my first use of my new holo topcoat, I used Zoya Calypso. She's an awesome coral polish that was beautiful after two coats. I also wanted an accent nail, so I used China Glaze's Luxe and Lush. However, it ended up not really showing up well in the pictures and would probably look better over a darker polish.
I never realized how hard holographic polishes were to photograph! Man, they've been giving me a difficult time, especially since I'm combating the rainy season. I took so many pictures that I don't remember which ones I used flash on and which ones were taken indoors on a partly sunny day! I have used the polish a second time and I feel like I took better pictures with that, so once I have those uploaded, you'll get a better look at the top coat. The top coat isn't nearly as strong as Layla Hologram Effect, but it still looks great and I'm extremely happy about it! Enjoy! :)
Found you through Cosmetic Sanctuary's Free For All Friday! Love the little holo polish tutorial! I know holo is expensive, HITS is $10, so this might actually be something to try! I'll be following you now :) Please check me out as well!
Replyhttp://glitteryandpolished.blogspot.com/
Glad you found my fledgling blog! I hate how expensive holos are! Let me know if you give this a try! :) I'm following you now, too!
Could you possibly tell me where you found the Spectraflair for sale? I contacted the manufacturer but they will only sell it in 2lbs orders....I don't need that much and I can't afford that much. I am actually looking to paint a car :)
ReplyFirst of all, that would look awesome on a car! :) But last I heard (mid-July), the manufacturer is no longer selling it in powder form. The only way to get it now is to find someone who is willing to swap what they have and most nail polish bloggers/swappers probably have less than 1oz. I have no idea where else to get it. Sorry I can be of more assistance. :(
can this be used on eyes?
ReplyIt's a metal pigment so definitely not.
Like Autumn said, definitely not! :)
I just bought some of this today...CAN'T WAIT for it to arrive! Super excited!
Reply