04 April 2014

Nail Talk: Multichromes - "More Please!" or "Had Enough!"

Hi everyone! I'm trying something new over here - let me know what you think! I've always wanted this blog to be more interactive. Last year I did a short series of "From the Readers" posts - something that I plan to do again real soon. But I thought it would be fun to do some discussion-style posts. This is just a trial run - I'll do a few and if it doesn't work out, I might not continue.

If you have suggestions for future Nail Talk posts, please leave a comment or email me: willpaintnailsforfood@gmail.com.





The question: What do you think of multichrome polishes? Do you want to see more of these polishes released or have you had enough?


My response: I have mixed feelings about this one. Several months ago, right around the time that my Spectraflair supplier started carrying Chromaflair pigment, a bunch of indie makers started releasing multichrome polishes. The I Love NP Ultra Chromes are probably one better known examples, another is the recent LE multichromes by piCture pOlish. Myself, I own three of the piCture pOlish LEs, plus two multichromes by Girly Bits. However, I can't help but wonder - how unique are these polishes? It seems many of them look the same, and I'd love if someone did a comprehensive comparison so that buyers can know how multichromes by one maker compare to ones by another.

So tell me - what do you think of multichromes? Worth the hype?

All comments are greatly appreciated, but comments with blog links will be deleted - this is always the case but I wanted to post a reminder.

41 comments:

  1. I absolutely love multi-chromes but I don't need dupes. If they are not dupes then I'm happy to buy them :)

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  2. Multi-chromes are gorgeous but there does seem to be a limit to how many original looking ones you can make - the rest are just duplicates after duplicates.. and it does get boring. I always get bored when everyone starts releasing the same kind of (special) polishes. For example it seems everyone and their grandma has been releasing holos lately. Gnggghhh. Sick of them by now. :) -Papu-

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    1. I think you raise an interesting point about holos, and I feel the same way. I find a lot of the holos coming out are similar to ones released already. Especially when it's just pigment + spectraflair. Part of that I think is customer demand, a maker says "new holos!" and customers immediately open their wallets. :P

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    2. I totally feel you on the holo front; I wish some indie makers would stop releasing whole collections of holo polishes and bring back some other finishes. It really turns me away from a brand when I would otherwise be wanting to purchase their new collections.

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  3. There are dupes and there are unique ones :) The cyan-blue-purple-magenta shift (like in Picture Polish Illusionist, Dance Legend Sulley, Enchanted Polish Across the Universe) looks great but it was repeated by, like, five or six brands already? OK guys, enough is enough :)
    But I love unique color shifts, like in ILNP Nostalgia, Dance Legend Knight or Enchanted Polish Autumn. I don't know exact dupes to these beauties (and I'm quite a lover of duochromes).

    Besides, I love it when there are copies of VHTF-crazy-prices-on-Ebay polishes. Enchanted Polish made a gorgeous LE Imagine collection (Beatles inspired) in 2012. ILNP duochromes are as close to three of EP polishes as possible - the size of holo particles, the color shift, the opacity. Isn't it great to have a $12,5 alternative to a $50-$70 Ebay items? I think it's pretty great!

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    1. Okay, I think you added a few items to my wishlist! ;) But I think it's interesting that EP was making multichromes awhile back before other brands suddenly flooded the market with their versions.

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    2. And they were holo duochromes, which (in my opinion) makes any duochrome a hundred times better :)
      But yes, last fall when the holo duochromes started to pop up here and there, I was like "Simpsons already did It" :))

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  4. I like multichrome polishes, but I am tired of teal-blue-purple shifts and variations. There seem to be so many of hem and most of them don't look very different to me. I understand that some combinations are difficult or even impossible to create, and that some shifts are easier to create and are more popular with consumers. It is great that many different manufacturers are jumping on multichrome bandwagon because that makes them more available in different markets and I don't mind different manufacturers basically stealing other's ideas as long as they add something original to the collection. And as long as polishes they sell as multichromes are exactly that and not duochromes. I don't mind duochromes, I love them in fact, but if I buy multichrome polish I expect more than two colours visible on my nail.

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  5. I like multichrome polishes but I don't own a lot of them. I don't mind them, I think there pretty and unique.

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  6. i don't think i own any of these, but they do look pretty but some of them like the blue/green/yellow and the pink/purple/blue do look quite similar!

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  7. I like the way a good duo/multichrome looks on the nail and in the bottle but I feel like both the indie and mainstream markets are flooded with them currently.

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  8. I think multichromes very pretty, but I do think they (or rather, the pigments) are overused. I feel the same about holos, I absolutely love holographic glitter but I'd much rather see holo glitter or pigment used to complement a colour subtly, instead of being a full-on holobomb. Does that make sense?
    I guess what I'm saying is that I do like the effect, but I'm getting tired of seeing very similar releases from so many different brands!

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  9. I love multichromes, but I think there is only a certain amount of combinations that can be made with the available pigments. I also think with buying them, that if they come from a different country, then they are more special and exotic. I live in Australia and have one Picture Polish and I mostly regard them with "meh". They are just not that special to me. But how divine are ILNP?? If I want comparisons I go to a certain Aussie blog who seems to have every polish under the sun. I like this interactive discussion post and I hope to see more.

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    1. Thanks for the comment on the post - I've enjoyed reading every one's responses, so I'll definitely be doing it again!

      As for the Aussie blog, are you referring to More Nail Polish? I think when it comes to multichromes she's pretty knowledgeable.

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  10. I do like the look of multichrome polishes, but I agree that many of them are all the same. I like the look, but it seems there are only so many different color combos out there. I have never tried any mulitchromes myself, but I have spent some time oohing and aahing over the swatches of them online =)

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  11. I've also been thinking how useful these polishes are for nail art, since I've been trying to do more nail art this year. I don't have an answer to this one, and I need to do some experimenting with the multichromes that I own. The piCture pOlish ones are pretty dull on their own and need to be layered over black, which kinda limits what they can be used for. So I guess I'm off to google some nail art done with multichromes!

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    1. I think multichromes are rather limiting for nail art however your Warhol-inspired art the other day has me thinking Warhol + multichrome = cool nail art. ;o) I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too linear about a product that requires more outside the box thinking.

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    2. Ky - what an interesting suggestion, and not linear thinking at all! :)

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    3. Some duo- and multichromes are great for stamping. I know it isn't regular nail art but I think it still counts.

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  12. I love Multichromes! I really like the look of the colour shift but I agree the majority of them are all dupes of eachother! :)

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  13. I do agree with what others have written and that the multichromes out there now seem to be repetitive. I did love how KBShimmer took multichromes to a new level and made them holo as well as multichrome. You can have the regular multichrome verson and then they did another with holo added. If more brands put a spin on their multichromes to make them their own, that would be a winner in my book!

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    1. I totally agree - one of the things I like about the piCture pOlish is that they did put their own spin on the multichrome, by adding more shimmer and tiny glitter. There may even be some holographic action going on.

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  14. In my case, here in Spain, I'm not always able to find some of the most famous or indie brands, so the only one (of this type) I was able to find were the one from ASTOR, and I've seen some swatches of others on the internet and they really look very similar... So in this case I'm not as frustrated as always because of the fact that I'm not always able to find the polishes I want :P

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    1. You know, I never really thought of that - that in some places many of these might not be available. However, I think it's only a matter of time before someone steps in to fill that need - a Spain-based distributor or something.

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  15. I came late to the multichrome party but now that I have a few (ILNP, Girly Bits, PicPol, Llarowe) I like them. However, I definitely agree with the other posters who have said it seems like the ones which have come out most recently are all starting to look alike.

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  16. I think I agree with a lot of people here when I say I do like multichromes, but I personally feel once I have a couple, I have them all. I don't know much about polish making and the pigments/powders for multichromes but I am guessing there's only so many combinations. The blue/purple/pink shifts are getting kind of old to me and it seems like EVERYONE is doing them. Even ILNP Nostalgia holo and PP Solar Flare looked somewhat similar to me. I have a few but I think that's all I need. Btw I love this type of response post you're doing!

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    1. I don't know much about the pigments either, but I do know that the place where I buy spectraflair also sells Chromaflair, but only 3 varieties - and this is a popular shop for indie makers. Recently she was selling 4 other variations of Spectraflair, but only in limited amounts because the manufacture cracked down on selling them. Which also makes me wonder if some of the indies are using Chromaflair that shouldn't be in nail polish. :/ But I don't know all the issues.

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  17. I love duo/multichromes but I am sick to death of every brand dropping their own (and this is with any sort of nail polish trend/type/special effect), and they aren't that great. The best multichrome that actually blew my mind when I saw and used it (back in like 2010 or 2011) was the Chameleon brand which is now discontinued/out of business. The next best ones were from Orly. Every drugstore brand since has been releasing them and they just aren't that impressive. I mainly collect only blue polishes and every multi/duochrome from these collections is just awful. Much like the holos, I love them only when they are done right and are unique, otherwise, why bother! And if they could do something amazing with the color blue instead of a weak shift from blue to a slightly darker blue, it would be fantastic.

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  18. Multichromes are SO fun to wear! I don't think I'll ever be tired of them, but there are definitely enough dupes now. The super-shifty ones are generally made with Chromaflair, and that only comes in so many variations. Unless an indie maker is putting a new spin on the finish I'm only going to want the one that is know for it's perfect formula & bang for the buck! (Collecting the ILNP shades. ♥)

    And OPI needs to just stop with their sad attempts at murky green/purple oil spill polish in EVERY collection. Bleh.

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  19. I love them! They are all so beautiful!

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  20. I love your initiative for opening a nail talk!!! I love multichromes generally. I wonder if the limitation of variations is due to available Chromaflair pigments? My first ones were from EP and soon got company from Ozotic. I would love to see a garnet based duo or multichrome for example. As of late I only bought the KBShimmers (some) and the Picture Polish of course. But with the exception of PP Aurora I wouldn't call any of them unique. I find the range of Indie Brands has grown so much that as well as a continuous flow of new collections that it must be hard to come up with unique polishes - very similar to mainstream brands which for example released a flood of nude shades for spring

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    1. Thanks for the comment about the nail talk - I'm glad there's enough interest in it! :) And I agree that's it's hard to come up with unique polishes, but when someone does it really stands out! :)

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  21. I love the idea of this series!! My opinion of multichromes has also been clear to me, I have never liked them. I see why others do but they also seemed really dull to me (not the concept the actual colours of the polish), the colours never appealed and most of the time I felt like you couldn't see the colour change. I really liked a duochrome polish and surprised myself (Color Club Sky High), but that was a glass fleck and was a gorgeous colour. I think to make multichromes appeal to me they need to be brightly coloured and the shift has to be insane and a million colours, then multichromes would become my favourite ever (maybe something along the lines of Crowstoes Love Stinks). But I somehow I don't think that's possible ;)

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    1. Thanks for the comment about the series! :) I agree that there's limitations with the multichromes. They do need to be layered over black for the most intense effect, which is kind of a drag. I too would love a brilliant shift on it's own.

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    2. I love this idea of an insane color explosion - like holo without the holo, right? I Layer my Multi or duo chromes never over black unless for comparisons. I usually pick a base color complementing the Base color of the multichrome.

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  22. I've only become addicted to nail polish in the last couple months. Who knew there were so many brands/colors/finishes, and that was just the main stream brands I'd heard of, I had NO idea there were indie polishes too! I don't own any multi chromes yet, but I've been lusting after them for awhile. I hope I can get a couple before they die out like crackle polishes...which I love btw, but it looks like I missed out on enjoying that fad.

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  23. It's a total love/hate relationship. I really appreciate that there is widespread availability and price points, but I'm also getting bored. However, it does mean that I save money. :)

    I was recently shopping mulitchromes and found a fabulous comprehensive comparison post on Des Trucs de Filles. My inklings about the rampant dupes were correct. :)

    Its been interesting reading the comments for this question, I like your idea of nail talk!

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  24. I am far from over multichromes but that's probably because I only have a couple myself. I don't know of any that are locally available so the only ones I have are 3 of the ILNP ones, and I'm not likely to get any more for a long time as shipping is far too expensive for me to buy most indie or overseas brands. I love the ones they have though!

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  25. I love multichromes, but I feel like we're kind of oversaturated with them now. Tons of indie makers are using the same pigments, so the market is flooded with dupes. Plus, a lot of the swatches floating around are clearly underwater pics that make the polish seem much more spectacular than they are in person, which is fine and cool to look at, but really needs to be marked as such on the pictures. Pics end up on pinterest and reposted other places without context, and it ends up being deceptive. I had to point out to a friend the other day that the swatch of an Nfu Oh flakie they were looking at was an underwater pic and the polish looked great, but not as phenomenal as that underwater pic was making it seem. I didn't want her to end up disappointed when it didn't look just like the swatch.

    Tbh, I'm ready for the next big thing.

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  26. I think the thing to keep in mind is that there are only so many types of finishes that are out there and so yeah there are dupes but many of us have our favorite brands and it is nice when they do something someone else is doing. I adore ILNP and gobbled up their Ultra Chromes but didn't feel like bothering with picture polish. I love multichromes and have loads. I also love the holos. I do love a good holo topcoat so I can make any of my lovelies into a holo

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