Real Magic Polish Toppers by ILNP

So... ILNP (who are based in the USA) currently has this massive (18 because one of the polishes mentioned here is all sold out everywhere) range of iridescent colour shifting toppers of both the shimmery and shimmery flakie kind (word salad blah! basically, sparkly stuff) and I can't afford any of it!

It all (not really) started (not really) with The Magician, which was released as part of ILNP's Spring 2017 collection. This polish had that fabled Unicorn Pee pigment in it.

Some months later, they came out with an 8 piece collection of colour shifting toppers.

With the release of their Fall 2017 collection a little bit later that (that sounds so weird, speaking as a resident of the Southern Hemisphere... Autumn is BEFORE Spring... brain blaaah), 2 more colour shifting toppers were added to their range.

And then this year, for Spring 2018, ILNP released an 8 piece collection of colour shifting iridescent flakie toppers.

I'm lazy/tired/nobody-cares-what-the-difference-is today, so only links to Glitterfingersss blog posts!

Glitterfingersss swatches and reviews:

- ILNP Spring 2017 (FEBRUARY 27, 2017)

- ILNP surprise 2017 (AUGUST 21, 2017)

- ILNP Fall 2017 (AUGUST 30, 2017, excluding ultra holos)

- ILNP Spring 2018 (MARCH 01, 2018, flakies only)

NOTE to self: Northern Hemisphere = (start of year) Winter => Spring => Summer => Autumn (towards end of year)

(you have no idea how many times I'd jumbled the timeline of these collections around especially as I'm exceptionally fog brained today)

FUN-tasy Collection by FUN Lacquer

I think I might be a little bit obsessed with nail polish toppers at the moment.

So, during my "research" on chameleon pigments, I discovered that FUN Lacquer released a collection of 6 colour shifting toppers earlier this year, 2018. Forever late to the party.

Promo Image + tiny text

The 2018 FUN-tasy Collection

Made in SINGAPORE • 12ml Full Size Nail Polish Bottle • Limited Edition

Over simplified (lazy) descriptions as follows:

Divine - red-green like a dragon

Elysium - teal-gold like a lush forest

Enchanting - pink-green like a pretty garden

Heaven On Earth - blue-gold like the ocean

Iconic - magenta-emerald, like an intense Enchanting
Mirage - colours depend on base, cool shades on white, desert golds on black

Polish Line-up + tiny text

I collect pictures because I can't afford to get the actual polishes *CRIES*

What is Unicorn Pee?

Today, I'm gonna do a  redacted  and screenshot and quote existing stuff on the internet and pretend it's a whole new article.

What can I say, sometimes it's just stupid to try to reinvent the wheel. Not all the time, just sometimes... like this time.

So. Unicorn Pee. What is it?

um. wait. installing reddit app on phone. please don't be pointless.

edited screenshot, so much jpg... sorry. SOURCE 05/08/2017

Clarins 230 by reddit u/kimberleykitty SOURCE 11/04/2018

The UP fad resurfaced in 2017 (reddit, 05/03/2017), so that's last year, so I'm late... like usual.

Baroness X Doomfire SOURCE 04/08/2017
Also @ polishedlifting

I haven't quite settled on a reliable method of screenshotting yet. The current process is taking me way too long than it should be and so much jay-peg *CONCERN*

not quite what I was looking for but thanks. SOURCE 11/09/2011

An earlier wave of interest appeared to be around 2011/2012.

Swatch and Learn (08/04/2011) and Polish-Ninja (05/12/2011)

Fashion Polish (04/02/2011) , Chloe's Nails (13/06/2011)

There are databases (reddit, 20/08/2018) kept by fans to keep track of the polishes released containing UP.

After spending too much time, again, "researching" polishes that contain Unicorn Pee, I have come to the conclusion that I really like the looks of Darling Diva's Mythical Pee Collection (Naked Without Polish blog, 31/05/2017). And then, ONLY one of those polishes contain UP haha. I say looks, because I do not have access to these polishes in real life. The collection name is also hilarious. The collection appears to have 11 different polishes, with one containing metallic flakes of precious metals and 5 polish names with two variations each, basically 1 + 5x2 = 11

There is the ONE Unicorn Pee which has a clear base with the UP pigment, glitters, various flakes including holographic AND those fancy precious metals (silver, gold, platinum) flakes. It has a whitish-silvery overall shade.

everyone poops pees

The other types of "Mythical Pee" contain varying shades of chameleon (colour shifting) pigments and each type also comes in no-added-holo or with-added-holo versions.

Dragon Pee contains reptilian green-blue shifting pigment with fiery red flecks.

I am dragon, I go whoosh

Fairy Pee contains a field of green-gold-copper shifting pigments.

ancient places, in reality

Mermaid Pee contains aqua-indigo shifting pigments of the deep watery salty sea.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

Kelpie Pee contains the other-worldly glow of green-blue shifting pigments.

what's wrong with yer pony?

Pegasus Pee contains green-indigo shifting pigments of a dark forest.

no polish, so here's a forest from the Mixels

... but why aren't their "pee" of the yellow kind? Shhhhh... no questions...

AND then, there's the Spring/Summer 2018 Collection released by FUN Lacquer (of Singapore), sometime in 2018 as its name implies (unsure if Northern or Southern Spring/Summer?) also included three polishes (out of a 10 part collection) named after Unicorn parts*, NO Unicorn Pee (pigment) included but still unicorny and shimmery and I'm quite certain that Unicorn Nails should be Hooves or maybe it's referring to the application to human nails...

there's also "Unicorn Love" but that's NOT a body part!

I wants them. The precious...



* please do NOT use real unicorn parts, please only use pretend unicorn parts.

Interference & Chameleon Pigments

I am a total colour nerd/geek/who even knows what words mean these days anymore. Which leads to me being a nerd/geek on all things that make colour. That includes, the light spectrum (how we see colour) and pigments (how we recreate and use colours). Other topics include the anatomical requirements and limitations on how we and other living things perceive colour and how technology utilises the science of light and consequently, colour.

it's a rainbow!
(thanks Google... thanks Wikimedia... thanks svgtopng)

Lately, the topic of interest for *ME* has been the behaviour of interference & chameleon pigments. They can be seen in car finishes, acrylic paint mixes, plastic colouring, and nail polish (and colouring for everything else). Other words that have been used include "transforming", "duo-chrome", "multi-chrome", "iridescent" "flash colour" and "colour shifting".

(adding such an image makes me feel sad that I do not currently
have a decent vector program or a scanner for scribbles... I do have
a rubbish camera phone though!)

The tiny jpg'd-to-death text in the image (from Just Pigments) reads:

In the manufacturing of the Interference pigments, the TiO2 layer thickness is carefully selected and controlled to produce the desired color. In the case of Iridescent Pearl, the TiO2 is sufficiently thin, such that all wavelengths are reflected "in-phase", yielding a white reflectance. For Interference Gold, the thickness of the TiO2 layer results in the wavelengths representing yellow to be reflected "in-phase", yielding a bright gold at spectacular angles. The same principles pertain to Interference Green.

Firstly, I AM NOT A SCIENTIST. At least not in the professional or qualified sense. Which seems to be what a lot of people seem to only care about these days. However, I do have a keen interest in science... and I promise that I'm not an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist :(

Anywhooo... I definitely did do high school science and this *is* at the level of high school science so I feel confident to explain some of the science here.

TiO2 is Titanium Dioxide, it is commonly used as white pigment. So, basically, the white stuff. This is partly why most interference pigments appear whitish.

Mica is explained here by The Blue Bottle Tree far better than any attempt I can make. So basically, mica can be coloured AND can be mixed WITH pigments. They start off as separate materials though. Mica powders also tend to be less vibrant in intensity as a lot of pigments, so they are mixed to get a specified balance of shine and colour intensity.

Wavelengths, in-phase, reflected ie. "unneeded/unwanted" colours are absorbed (not seen) and the "required/desired" colour (wavelength) is reflected making the object appear as that colour. This is why interference pigments are usually shown on a dark background.

Have you heard of Unicorn Pee? Well, that's a whole 'nother post for another day! The short version is, Unicorn Pee or UP is an orange red that has shimmers from gold to green. So, it is a type of chameleon pigment. Basically, pee is usually yellow and so, UP appears to be from a very dehydrated unicorn, with an appearance of dark yellow-red that sparkles gold and green. The specific Unicorn Pee pigment (The New York Times, by Alice Gregory, March 12, 2014) that lacqueristas/lacquerheads go 'nanas for is of a specific particle size... or something...

Many pigment suppliers stock variations of both interference and chameleon pigments and most nail polish companies have released polishes utilising the fascinating effects of those pigments.

Transforming polish topcoats from Pretty Serious Cosmetics

MAC Studio Nail Transformation toppers

You can see the MAC toppers applied at beautygeeks by Karen Falcon (JUL 7, 2014 - MAC Transformations + MAC Studio Nail Lacquer + Swatches)

And then there are "iridescent" "flakies".
Iridescent meaning interference and/or chameleon, and flakies meaning flakes, little bits, small particles (but not microscopic small) etc they are basically just bigger flakes of the pigment than its powder form. They also do best on a dark background.

Iridescent flakies polish topcoats from Pretty Serious Cosmetics

Polishes are by Starrily but I have no idea what collections they came from or when they came out.

not active but still crazy useful

For a hobby focused resource, Polish & Pigments (franken polish research & information) is a brilliant reference treasure. Alas, it does not have a search bar and neither do I (sorry for the current plain-ness of this blog), so I must go through all the articles! (not really but eh)

Holographic and metallic, pigments and flakes are different topics for another day.