Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Funky Fingers Summer 2015 Solar Polishes

Polishes that change color in the sun are a) fun and b) frustrating. Fun, because having one's tips transform before one's eyes upon going outside into bright daylight is entertaining. Frustrating, because I live in a place where sun is not guaranteed, so swatching solar polishes means waiting for the weather and my free time to line up just right. Sometimes I get impatient, like the day I decided to go ahead and try the first three solars that Funky Fingers released for this summer (at the time I don't think I knew two more were coming) even though there were plenty of clouds in the sky. I knew I wouldn't have another uninterrupted block of swatching time for a while, so told myself there'd be enough breaks in the clouds that it would work out okay even though it was late afternoon when I opened the first bottle.

I started with Space Cadet, a turquiose blue creme that the cap teased would turn green outside. It applied nicely, covering in two coats. Inside, it was a light but not pastel turquiose blue (on left below). Outside, it was a minty green.



The colors on the cap led me to believe there'd be a more dramatic color change, but I suppose since the inside color in the bottle wasn't as blue as the blue on the cap, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the outside color wasn't as green. And of course the late in the day patchy sunshine certainly didn't help.



Up next: To Infinity and Beyond (the name on the label has parentheses around "and Beyond" but you know I'm not crazy about punctuation in polish names). This is a bright cool-toned pink inside (left side below). Outside, it changed very very slightly to be a warm-toned pink. Like Space Cadet, it was opaque in two coats.



Outside in the weak sunshine, the color matched the inside shade on the cap, coming nowhere close to the orangey-red it was supposed to turn.



The last of the trio is Bling Dipper, a silvery lilac holo microglitter, basically a solar version of the ever popular Funky Fingers Sand & Stilettos. I swatched it at three coats, which was still not quite opaque, but the pops of color from the holo distracted nicely from any visible nail line issues. I also added clear topcoat for added shine and smoothness. The sunlight was even weaker by the time I got this outside, so it was hard to see any change (just the jelly base changes color, not the glitter, of course).



I could see ever so slight deepening of the purple in the base outside, but it still was a lot closer to the inside color on the cap.



No matter, I went back inside and admired the pretty colors in direct room light.



After I did the swatching session documented above but before I'd gotten around to sorting through the photos, I found and bought the other two new Funky Fingers solar polishes. The sun was slightly more cooperative the next time I had a block of time to swatch, but still not ideal. I knew if I waited for a perfect blue sky day, these polishes might not get into the blog for months, so I went for it. First step, a bottle shot al fresco in the shade. The new players are Pluto 4ever, a light orange creme, and Comet Mebro, a blue creme.



Because I feared running out of sunshine before I ran out of polishes to swatch, I went with the Skittles approach. Bling Dipper went on my thumb, Pluto 4ever on my index finger, To Infinity and Beyond on my middle, Comet Mebro on my ring, and Space Cadet on my pinky. To Infinity and Beyond and Space Cadet were two coats each; the others were three coats. The sun was stronger this particular day than when I tried the first three the first time. I saw a much more dramatic change in Bling Dipper; it transformed into a deep purple. To Infinity and Beyond and Space Cadet also changed more than the first time, but it wasn't as big a difference as for Bling Dipper. Pluto 4ever darkened considerably in the sun, going from a light orange to a coral. Comet Mebro changed hardly at all, going from a medium blue to a slightly darker medium blue; I hope I just got a dud bottle and that they're not all like this.





I'm sure it's no surprise that Bling Dipper is my favorite.



Bling Dipper also works at a glitter topper; here's one coat of it over the other four shades.



In the sun, it definitely looks better over some of the colors than others.



So pretty in normal room light:



Bling Dipper is the definite winner in this group for me. I am somewhat tempted to get another bottle of Comet Mebro at a different store to see if its possible to get it to turn purple in the sunshine, but I have so many other polishes waiting for my attention, giving one a do over seems like not the best use of time.

9 comments:

  1. You did a good job of showing the inside/outside colors.
    The change is subtle - and Space Cadet is my favorite of them all...

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  2. Bling Dipper looks absolutely amazing, I'm loving the intense sparkle! I have to agree with Maria, you demonstrated the contrasts very well and it was really fun to see the differences :) xx

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  3. I got three Del Sol (I think this brand was the first producer of nail polishes that change color in the sun) thanks to a friend, but these Funky Fingers seem nicer than them! Bling Dipper is definitely an epic win.

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  4. Space Cadet is so pretty! The glittery one has the best colour change.

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  5. OH!! Okay! lol Definitely saw the color shift in the 2nd set of pictures. Very cool!

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  6. Some of them change really well! I do like these kinda polishes and have a fair few Ruby Wing polishes ;-)

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  7. I think it's an interesting concept, haven't tried any solar polishes though. You did a good job with capturing the shift!

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  8. cool collection, love space cadet the best :D
    i have one old solar polish, but the transformation is hardly visible :/

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.