Iridescent glitter and shine pearl for face-ups

You can try Pearl-ex. It's a craft glitter, but it's more of a sparkly pastel dust. I used it on my most recent face-up, and I just did the glitter layer last, I even sprayed a pretty heavy coat of sealant cause the glitter was so thick, and it's still pretty sparkly.

 

I second the Pearl-ex,I used it on the doll in my avatar. ^^

 

Pearl-ex powder mixed into a clear gloss acrylic like liquitex high gloss.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/pexp.html

You can find them at a lot of crafting places.

 

I don't know if this has already been mentioned before, but I find that using pearlescent/iridescent soft pastels are really good if you're unsure of which shimmer powder/glitter is okay etc.. Some well known brands have it in various colours (e.g. white, blue, pink, brown), like Schmincke. Since you're going to use soft pastels in a face-up anyway, why not have the shimmer be from a pastel as well? (And it may be easier to locate and buy (?), since you can just buy it with the rest of your face-up supplies)

 

I'm curious, has anyone used mica powders (of any sort) for full-body blushing? I have a couple of dolls who are supposed to have a silvery glow to their skin, and I figured that shimmer powder would be the best way to achieve this effect. However, having read through this entire thread I'm concerned about the powder moving when it's sprayed with sealant, or being dulled too much by the sealant so that it doesn't have the shimmer I want. Obviously I'd rather not mix it with gloss medium since it's an all-over shimmer "glow" that I want, not full-on shine.

Does anyone have any advice?

Also if anyone with more experience than me could advise which might be the best colour for a silver shimmer effect on WS dolls without them seeming grey-skinned, that would be appreciated. =)

The colours I'm considering using:

http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=11&category_id=12

http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=1591&category_id=12

 

I recommend pearly pigments for mixing up colours (mostly acrylics) they usually come in different colours and are extremely fine, and by that I mean not grainy at all but more of a dust.

 

i kinda think they just add the glitter before spraying sealant on to the face up. or maybe they use some glitter pigments ? but then again, ive never tried glitter on a BJD.

 

I've just read through this whole thread, and although useful it's not answered all my questions.

My main question is that am wondering if there are different quality grades of mica powders?. ie. if I get pearl ex is it going to have more 'shine' and pigment than a generic brand of mica powder.

Ive found this on ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Perfect-M...UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&hash=item1c302f44c3

There's no oil, but it HAS got a binder. Regardless of that (as I am asking exactly what it is), would the pigmentation of these be any less vibrant and shimmery than pearl ex? Does anyone know if the quality varies per brand? I am asking as pearlex is very expensive to get in England to my best knowledge, and ordering from USA runs the risk of a customs bite that will negate the whole point of trying to get it cheaper elsewhere. uff.

I've also heard that mica powder dissolves in water. Is this true?

Lastly, can anyone explain how the interference works? or an example picture? As the picture of the bottle looks so white that there is barely any colour to it, but from what i've read here it adds the best shimmer look over the pastel-like more solid colours which is a pearl look. Am I on the right tracks or....

Can you help? - Thanks in advance!