REVIEW - OPAL BLAZE POLISH

INTRODUCTION

I am registered with the online #CraftWorld community and anyone registered with  #CraftWorld can express an interest to review products. This is how I got the chance to review the Cosmic Shimmer Opal Blaze Polish. 

Any products available for review are mentioned on the site in the Product Review Club each week. 

You can link to the site and join by clicking here: CraftWorld.com


MY REVIEW:

The Opal Blaze Polishes for this review were provided by #Craftstash and can be purchased directly from them.

Two pots of Cosmic Shimmer Opal Blaze Polish were posted to me and the two colours I received were:

1. Teal Raspberry
2. Turquoise Peach

PHOTO OF WHAT WAS SENT TO ME

This is what I received in the package (as above): Product codes, prices, Craftstash contact details, two pots of Cosmic Shimmer Opal Blaze Polish and a CraftWorld leaflet giving some useful information about the site.

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My initial thought was that the pots seemed small. Each of the pots measure 3.4 cms in diameter and 2.5 cms in height, with the product just filling the inside of the pot to about 1 cm. depth.

LABEL ON BASE OF POTS

As shown above, the pots of Opal Blaze Polish have a label on their base to show the content weight (7g),  their colour names, product name, the recommended method of application and some contact details for an address and email. The label also includes a warning to keep the product away from children.

LABEL ON SIDE OF POTS	PRODUCT SEEN THROUGH GLASS
(Above left): The pots have a label on the side of the pot to illustrate what the colour should look like when applied to black card. (Above right): Shows the colour of the product, as seen through the clear glass base.

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After experimenting with the product, I decided to take lots of photographs and continue my review based on the following observations:

• How the Opal Blaze Polish looked (and compared) when applied to different colour card. I tried 14 different colour cards - this section is quite comprehensive. If you are not interested in all the colour tests and find the information irrelevant to your own requirements please feel free to scroll through and go to the next sections.

• Some of the different modes of application. i.e. Finger tip, sponge, blending brushes.

• How it appeared when applied to card coloured with Distress Oxide Inks. This section includes 4 Christmas card projects.

• Used through a "stick-on" stencil. This section includes 2 bookmark projects.

• Highlighting details on embossed card. This section includes an embossed greeting card which has been coloured with Distress Oxide inks.

I include my observations and projects - with final conclusions at the end.

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LABEL ON SIDE OF POTS

PRODUCT SEEN THROUGH GLASS

(Above left): The pots have a label on the side of the pot to illustrate what the colour should look like when applied to black card.

(Above right): Shows the colour of the product, as seen through the clear glass base.

SO HERE IS THE PRODUCT USED ON DIFFERENT COLOURED CARD. 

WHITE CARD

WHITE CARD: Using my finger tip to apply the polish onto the white card, I got good coverage with only a thin application.  It dried quite quickly on the card - and on my finger tip too. I was able to remove the product from my skin very easily with soapy warm water and a soft nail brush. The sample card had to be moved around under a light to properly see the shimmer created by the polish.  Comparing the samples side by side it was impossible to detect any colour difference between the polishes.

GREY CARD	BROWN CARD
GREY CARD: Applied with a sponge in a wiping motion. The sheen was only obvious when moving the card under the light. Hardly any difference could be seen between the two colours.	BROWN CARD: I applied the product with a sponge, in a dabbing/pouncing motion.  I was pleased with the even coverage.   The shimmer was obvious, without me moving the card to catch the light. A very nice effect. I could detect a definite difference between the two colours. Shades of blue could be seen in the Teal Raspberry and shades of pink in the Turquoise Peach.

CREAM CARD	YELLOW CARD
CREAM CARD: I could see the shimmer, but the difference in colour between Teal Raspberry and Turquoise Peach was not detectable.	YELLOW CARD: The same as with the CREAM CARD. A sheen could be seen, but the difference in colours were not detectable.

 A NOTE:

It was at this juncture that I became aware that the product was causing the test pieces to distort very slightly. This, to me, confirmed the water based nature of the product. 

Because of the pieces distorting, I made a conscious decision at this point to not test the product by adding more water to it.  

I also concluded that, because it was water based it would not be ideal to use on Parchment paper, which is used for traditional Parchment Crafting, as this type of paper becomes misshapen very easily if it gets damp.

CONTINUING WITH THE COLOUR SAMPLES:

RED CARD	DARK RED CARD
RED CARD: A sheen was achieved when capturing the light, but only a very slight difference detected between the Opal Blaze colours.	DARK RED CARD: It had a nice shimmer when catching the light and the difference between the two colours could be seen.  Teal Raspberry looked slightly blue and Turquoise Peach slightly pink.  I think this outcome is because I was using a darker coloured card.

SKY BLUE CARD	BLUE CARD
SKY BLUE CARD: I was surprised to find that I could see a difference in the colours, but only when moving the sample under the light.	BLUE CARD: This is a much darker blue card than the previous sample, which is why I think I had a better result: There was a nice shimmer and the Teal Raspberry looked quite blue. The Turquoise Peach had a pink sheen. I think the difference can even be seen in the photograph.

PURPLE CARD	PINK CARD
PURPLE CARD: This turned out to be a really good sample.  Even the photograph seems to show the colour differences. Teal Raspberry had a blue sheen and Turquoise Teal had a pink sheen.	PINK CARD: This sample has a shimmer where the polish was applied. But it was almost impossible to detect any difference between the two colours

GREEN CARD

DARK GREEN CARD

GREEN CARD: The polish provided a shimmer, but there was no distinction between the two colours.

DARK GREEN CARD: On this sample I applied the product using a make-up blending brush. I only needed to use the tips of the bristles.  The coverage was good, but it looked a bit blotchy, because the brush dragged slightly on the card.  I much preferred using the sponge. There was a shimmer but surprisingly, although it was a dark colour card, the difference in the product colours were not obvious, unless I moved the card directly under the lamp.

BLACK CARD

BLACK CARD: This colour card is the one recommended by the manufacturer for use with the product. I agree, as the Opal Blaze Polishes show the strongest colour differences on the black card and the sheen provides a lovely contrast, whether the card is held in the shade or under the light. I really liked the effect that the Opal Blaze Polish achieved on this card.

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THIS SECOND SECTION DEALS WITH  OPAL BLAZE POLISH USED ON  BLACK AND WHITE CARD (FOR COMPARISON) WHICH HAS BEEN COLOURED WITH DISTRESS OXIDE INKS.

I INCLUDE CHRISTMAS CARDS MADE WITH THE TEST PIECES

BLACK AND WHITE CARD WITH DISTRESS OXIDE INKS

I blended three different colours of Distress Oxide Ink onto WHITE CARD and BLACK CARD, then sprayed it with some water and left it to dry.

NEXT:

OPAL BLAZE POLISH APPLIED WITH A BRUSH

The photograph above shows Teal Raspberry applied to the black and white card on the left. Turquoise Peach was applied to the black and white card on the right.

The result was very interesting:

The inks applied to the black card seemed to have disappeared behind the Opal Blaze Polish in both instances. This suggested, to me, that there wasn't a great deal of opacity to the polish. 

(Even though the Distress Oxide Inks didn't show up too well on the black card in the first instance). 

Alternately, the Opal Blaze Polish, applied to the white card, did not completely smother the Oxide Inks. It wasn't completely opaque, but the inks did show through.

Also, there did not seem to be an obvious colour difference between the polishes on either the black or the white card.

CHRISTMAS CARDS I MADE USING THE TEST PIECES MENTIONED ABOVE:

PHOTO ABOVE: WITH TURQUOISE PEACH OPAL BLAZE POLISH

PHOTO ABOVE: WITH TEAL RASPBERRY OPAL BLAZE POLISH

To make the Christmas cards the test pieces were placed behind a cut out frame.

A Joanna Sheen candle die cut topper, made from gold mirror card, was glued to the front and I stamped some tiny snowflakes in the top right hand corner of the frames.

I really like the finished projects, despite the Oxide Inks not clearly showing through on the black card.

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THIS NEXT SECTION SHOWS OPAL BLAZE POLISH APPLIED DIRECTLY TO BLACK CARD THROUGH A "STICK ON" TEMPLATE

FOLLOWED BY THE BOOKMARKS MADE WITH THEM

WITH TURQUOISE PEACH	WITH TEAL RASPBERRY
Turquoise Peach Opal Blaze Polish was sponged onto black card through a "stick-on" template of a feather.	Teal Raspberry Opal Blaze Polish was applied with a sponge through the template on this sample.

BOOKMARKS MADE WITH THE TEST PIECES

I think the bookmarks show how beautifully the Opal Blaze Polish works to create a feather image on the black card, when applied through the template. 

The Turquoise Peach on the left gives the feather a definite pink shimmer and the Teal Raspberry on the right gives the feather a definite blue shimmer.

I layered the bookmarks so there was a pink layer of card put with the Turquoise Peach feather and a blue layer of card was put with the Teal Raspberry feather.

The two bookmarks look gorgeous. The photo doesn't really do them justice and I am very pleased with them. 

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THIS LAST PROJECT USES BOTH OPAL BLAZE POLISHES ON WHITE CARD WHICH HAS BEEN EMBOSSED AND COLOURED WITH OXIDE INKS.

THIS PROJECT USED THE POLISHES TO HIGHLIGHT SPECIFIC DETAILS ONLY.

BOTH POLISHES WERE USED TO HIGHLIGHT SPECIFIC DETAILS

First the darker blue Oxide ink was stamped onto the raised part of the embossing folder, then the white card was placed into the embossing folder and run through the Sizzix Bigshot.

After removing the card from the embossing folder I applied lighter blue and some purple Oxide inks with a sponge to the white areas.

It was embellished with punched flowers and an organza ribbon bow. The sentiment was created with heat set embossing powder. I layered the topper onto a 21 cm by 10 cm card.

I applied both the Opal Blaze polishes with the tip of my finger, just to highlight the butterfly wings and the flower petals.

The highlighted areas gleamed really nicely when the light reflected off them. 

Although there wasn't a distinct difference in the Opal Blaze colours on the card they really helped to enhance the embossed details and I was very pleased with the result. 

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THESE ARE MY CONCLUSIONS, BASED ON MY EXPERIMENTS WITH THE COSMIC SHIMMER OPAL BLAZE POLISHES:

• The Cosmic Shimmer Opal Blaze Polishes, although supplied in small pots, went on very sparingly. I only used between a quarter and a third of the product for the review.

• I wasn't able to review the product as a comparison with something of a similar type. Therefore I was not in a position to judge whether it was value for money, as compared to a similar product.

• To me, at first, it seemed fairly expensive in relation to its size and content, but my mind was changed after seeing how little I needed to use -- a tiny amount really did go a long way.

• The Polishes dried quite quickly on the card and projects. A heat tool wasn't required.

• The product cleaned off the skin easily using soap and water and a soft nail brush.

• The product is water based, giving the card a slight tendency toward buckling. But, that didn't spoil my projects as I only needed to use a very thin application.

• I would not recommend using with parchment paper if you don't want the paper to bend.

• The different colours of the Opal Blaze polish showed up best on black card, especially when applied directly to the card (as with the feather bookmarks) - confirming manufacturers recommendation for its use.

• The polish works very well to highlight and provide contrast to specific details, adding a pleasant shimmer when captured by the light.

AND FINALLY - I would have no hesitation in recommending the use of Cosmic Shimmer Opal Blaze Polishes to highlight the details on projects. 

Added to that, I would highly recommend using it directly onto black card for the best result.

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MANY THANKS TO CRAFTWORLD FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE COSMIC SHIMMER OPAL BLAZE POLISHES

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