Sunday, December 1, 2013

ArtsyFartsy Crafts Glitter Review: When In Doubt, Add Glitter! (pic heavy)

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Hello lovely readers.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I spent my down time swatching and photographing some of my glitters from ArtsyFartsy Crafts.  I have a lot of glitter.  A LOT of glitter.  At last count (before I stopped counting many orders ago), I was up to 200 different glitters of varying shapes and sizes.  Over half of them are from ArstyFarsty Crafts.  When it comes to glitter for SOG, AFC is the best I have found.  The owner, Sandy, also uses Soak Off Gel, so she knows what to put in a good mix.  It's pretty much guaranteed that I am going to buy the new mixes every time they are released.

Update:  Sandy just sent me a message that she is extending her Black Friday sale until December 5th, 2013!  Use code CYBERMONDAY for 20% off.  :)

With that said, I'm going to do things a little backward today.  I'm going to start this post with my final mani and work backward to a sampling of glitter swatches.  First things first, you may notice I'm rocking some serious shorties.  I broke a nail last week and had to file them all down even.  Short is not for me, so hopefully they'll grow quickly.  Anyway, here's what I'm wearing.  As usual, details to follow.
Artsy Fartsy Crafts Glitter Manicure

I'm completely in love with this mani.  It reminds me of the velvet and foil art pieces you could find in just about every truck stop in the 80s.  You know...the ones that were usually of either Unicorns or Elvis (I just dated myself, didn't I?).

Rather than break it down as I usually do, let's break it down in pictures.  Under this gorgeous reverse rose stamp from MoYou London's Pro Collection 04 plate, is several layers of SOG and glitter.

The bottom layer is IBD Just Gel Entralled.  This is my go-to shimmery red.  Of course, my light box killed the shimmer, but if you look closely you can still see it, I think.
IBD Just Gel Entralled Swatch

I then scrubbed AFC Ultrafine Red Holographic glitter into the tacky layer of the last color coat of Entralled.  Scrubbing is a simple way to add glitter to a SOG mani.  You simply cure the last coat before the glitter, then use a brush to press the glitter into the tacky layer.  Press the glitter flat on the nail with a plastic bag for a linear effect, or simply pat it on without pressing it flat for a scattered effect.  Blow away any excess and apply your top coat over the glitter to seal it in.  You may want to keep a separate bottle of top coat for glitter, but I simply wipe the brush before putting it back in the bottle to prevent contaminating my top coat bottle with glitter. (Note: These next photos were taken under my ottlite as the light box killed the holo effect)
Red Holographic Glitter

I love Red Holo, but for this mani I wanted something a little deeper, so I added a layer of Gelish Stand Out on top.  Stand Out is a gorgeous, deep red jelly.  This is the resulting ruby red base for my stamped roses.  I added another coat of standout over the stamp in the final mani as well to create a multi-layer jelly sandwich.

I swatched one more glitter on my nails before turning to my swatch sticks for the others I'll show you in a few moments.  This is Autumn Sunset, which is an awesome mix of varying sizes of glitter in fall tones.

I scrubbed Autumn Sunset into the tacky layer of the final color coat of a base of IBD Just Gel Indian Sari.
IBD Just Gel Indian Sari Swatch

Let's keep going with the mixes.  I have a few mixes swatched to show you.  For each of the following, I scrubbed the glitter into a matching base color.

This gorgeous green holo mix is called Poison Ivy.  The holo effect from this one is much stronger than shows in this picture.  I'll show all of the holos in a quick video at the end of this post.  Swatched over Couture Aloe Very.

This next holo mix is a personal favorite.  On the AFC website, it is listed as Red-dy To Go, but my bag came labeled as "Michelle's Red-dy to Pop" as I was only a few weeks away from delivering my youngest son.  :)  Swatched over IBD Just Gel Entralled.

This next mix is not a holo, but is gorgeous none the less.  This one is called Watermelon and is a pink iridescent glitter with larger dark green hexes and black diamonds.  You can also get just the diamonds.  This one is swatched over a base of IBD Just Gel All Heart.

Red, White & Blue is another chunky glitter mix, but this one uses squares, varying sizes of hexes, and strips.  I don't know if you can really see it in the picture, but the base is an ultrafine iridescent white glitter.  Very festive.  Swatched over Ink Glacier.

If you're looking for something a little less bold, check out one of the finer mixes like Sea Urchin.  Iridescent ultrafine glitter with larger aqua and blue hexes, plus a few strips thrown in for good measure.  Swatched over a base of Ink Glacier.

These next mixes are a bit unique as they include glow powder.  Yes, they glow in the dark!  First up, Pink Glow-in-the-dark Glitter Mix.  Swatched over IBD Just Gel I'm No Damsel.
Glow in the dark glitter

If you're feeling blue, try Blue Glow-in-the-dark Glitter Mix.  Swatched over LeChat Angel From Above.
Glow-in-the-dark Glitter

Don't let this Violet Glow-in-the-dark Glitter Mix fool you, it looks white but it glows Violet.  I'll prove it in a minute. ;) Swatched over Ink Glacier.
Glow in the dark glitter

The final glowing mix I have swatched for you is called Northern Lights.  It appears to be sold out, but Sandy is constantly coming up with new mixes that are equally as gorgeous.
Glow in the Dark Glitter

Want to see them in action?  I thought you might.  Top is in full light, bottom is in the dark.  From left to right, Blue Glow-in-the-dark Mix, Northern Lights, Pink Glow-in-the-dark Mix, Violet Glow-in-the-dark mix. 
Glow in the dark glitter
(Note: I forgot to shake Violet before I scrubbed it, and the glow dust tends to settled to the bottom.  When shaken before scrubbing, it glows brighter.  However, it is not as bright as the others.  You can check out the other glowing glitters here.  I have and love them all!  They glow all night.  Seriously, all night.  The first time I wore one, it freaked me out to wake up to feed the baby at 3:00 am and see my nails still glowing.)

Want to see some more Ultrafine holos?  I think I've mentioned before that I'm a complete sucker for holos.  I have the entire set of ultrafine holos from Artsy Fartsy Crafts and was tempted to show them all, but I decided to let my son pick his favorites to show you instead.  I swatched all of these with a scattered look, but they will be much more linear if you press the glitter flat on the nail.

(swatched over Couture Gilded)

(swatched over Gelish My Favorite Accessory)

(Swatched over Couture Little Black Dress)

(swatched over Ink Blue Ice)

Ultrafine Fuchsia Holo*
(Swatched over IBD Just Gel All Heart)
*This one is currently not listed on her website for purchase.  However, she is in the middle of switching her inventory over to her new website so she'll have much more listed in a few weeks.

(Swatched over IBD Just Gel Happliy Brighter After)

(Swatched over Orly Mirror Mirror)

Let's take a blurred look at the Silver.  The picture above does not do it justice!

Want to see the holos in action?  Let's start with my final mani from the beginning of this post.  Excuse how horrible my skin looks.  I had to sacrifice my complexion for the sake of my nails in this video.  ;)


And now for all of the holos and holo mixes.


Whew!  That's all for today.  Check out the Artsy Fartsy Crafts store for a ton of other glitter options, ranging from fine to chunky and everywhere in between!

~Michelle

10 comments:

  1. As I wipe the drool, thanks, as usual gorgeous !!!

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  2. Love the red holo and stamping. ;-)

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  3. I absolutely LOVE her glitters and have most of them. I've stopped swatching them because, depending of the polish you use under it, it gives it a totally different look. I dip the fresh gel directly into the glitter and then cure and think it gives a more sparkly effect (if that's possible).

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  4. Oh my gosh! So many glittterryyyyy gooodnesss must haves in one post! I think I'm going to have to break my no-buy for some of these. So glad you were able to share in the Best Of: Nail Art link up party! xo The Sparkle Queen

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  5. This is a drop-dead gorgeous mani! And I don't think your shorties are all that shortie...you have some great nails! :) (I came via the link-up from Sparkle Queen's place.)

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    1. Aww, thank you! I can't wait to see all the other posts on the link up. I'm sure I'll find some new favorite blogs :)

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  6. I think the jelly layer really puts this over the top. I love the depth and sparkle!

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  7. It does totally look like foil art or maybe beautiful foil gift wrap! Amazing, and my first visit from the link up! Cheers!

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  8. Can I ask what stamp late you used for this - Gorgeous! x

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    1. I can't believe I forgot to mention the plate! It's MoYou London Pro Collection 04 (the plate with the smaller images, not the XL one).

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