Liquid Bling question

Seems like "liquid bling" has kinda become a collective term at this point, though I know it is a brand name. I have been looking into it, and it seems like there are sooo many different kinds of fine-point glitter gels. Is one any better than the other? What brand do you prefer?

Hi, Liquid Bling and Glitter Glam are aloe vera based and I prefer aloe vera cause when I explain to the parental unit about the up to 10 min drying time, they appreciate my care and concern for their childs safty. I belive Mark Reid liquid bling isn't aloe vera based, plus I personally don't like the way it flows from the bottle, nor do I want to take the time to shake up the bottled contents to try for that perfect line of magic, which is ready to go with aloe vera. Some of the liquid bling colors avalable are outstanding, and can really make your design "pop". But when my line is long I don't wish to take the time to match the liquid bling to my design, so I just grab the gold or silver, and wing it. I have nearly every color of Liquid Bling thats on the market but I find myself useing gold as my go-to color. The only differece between Liquid Bling and Glitter Glam, that I can tell, is the metal applicater tip, which comes with the Liquid Bling but fits onto the Glitter Glam, Mark Reid doesn't have a metal tip available. I suggest you might want to start by looking in the forum store and just try one or two to start with, not do like I did and go off the deep end buying everything that sparkes

Wow Len, great answer thank you!

Melody, I bought some from the forum shop and I like it a lot. The metal tip really does make a superfine line, I love it.

I got some great advice a while back from everyone here about how they keep the tip clear, I know you didn't ask about that but I'm going to share anyway. What I do is put the metal tip on at the beginning of an event, and put an open safety pin in there to keep it clear and flowing. I use a safety pin because it won't roll away like a straight pin, and is easier to find if it does get knocked to the floor. At the end of the event, I put the plastic cap back on and clean the metal tip when I get home so it is ready for next time.

I bougth Mark Reid because was 1 dollar cheaper than Liquid Bling but I DON'T recomended it .1rst. silver and gold went too liquid that I never had a chance to use it, 2. white went too dry. I lost 25 dollars I invested in them, and I don't like the way it looks, so messy.
I started over and I bougth LIQUID BLING, and I love it, I love the way it flows and the way it looks, I have 5 different colors but I use silver and gold the most.

Thanks, Fab and Luz!

Fab, love the saferty pin idea.

I use pearl headed pins... it all works.

I also use Liquid Bling from Amerikan Body Art... I have, ahem... all the colours (they had a sale on the set, what can I say?) and have the large refill bottles and duplicates from trades/swaps.

I like them. But they do take some time to dry.

I've also got a couple colours of Glitzer which is from the UK... haven't really used it much, but seems very similar. But seems to dry faster.

Thanks Shannon! If ANYONE would know it would be you!

I have been thinking about getting some glitter gel too, my question, what colors do you find yourself using most often? If I were only to buy, lets say three to start out with, what would you consider the three most universal colors? I would guess gold, silver and white holographic...am I wrong?

Gold, Silver and Turquoise... I use the turquoise a ton in winter with snowy designs. Red is also useful for holly berries, accenting Christmas designs, but I use the turquoise more. Gold works for ANYTHING.

i have both Liquid Bling and GlitterMark. I use the GlitterMark most often as I find the Liquid Bling is too wet to get a nice line. I use it to do dots for gems.
I do not like to use the metal tips as I find the clog more and can scratch a face.

Get one or two of each to try and decide - both are top quality products.

I tend to buy gold and silver and add glitter to them. I squeeze some out - pull the top off and add as much dry glitter as i can fit in.
It helps to make it shinier and easier to use as it's not so liquid... that said I mostly use it for dots... not lines.
I have MarkReids gold and I don't use it it's a serious pain in the backside.. you get nothing or clear liquid or a big blob of mess....
I will try adding dry glitter to it to see if it helps at all.

Not my favourite picture or design - just the first one I cam across with the liquid bling used.

I like that Tash. A lot.

Thanks Shannon!

that's wicked cool Tash!

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

So here is a newbie question. I just ordered my first liquid bling from Metina but have been wondering if you could make your own using clear aloe vera gel. Anyone tried this?

martha wrote:So here is a newbie question. I just ordered my first liquid bling from Metina but have been wondering if you could make your own using clear aloe vera gel. Anyone tried this?

I have read in many places that you can. If you want to try it, I would suggest you make sure you are using PURE aloe gel, many of the over the couter aloe gels contain alcohol, which can hurt a child's skin.

Thanks for the tip. May have to do a comparison when the bling comes in.

You can make your own, but honesty, the cost of it is pretty reasonable compared to the effort it would take to make it... I'm lazy sometimes....

I have the Amerikan Body Art Liquid Bling. I bought it at FABAIC 2 yrs ago & only just now need to start replacing it. I use it for the birthday girl & on my upsell designs at PPF events.

There was a thread here not too long ago about making it yourself:
http://www.facepaintforum.com/t6983-clear-aloe-vera-gel#102433

But, I agree with Linda... I think it's easier to just buy it and not that terribly pricey.

So I tried to make my own with aloe vera gel. It takes way too long to dry IMO compared to the "store - bought". Could be because the retail bling has a polymer in it called C10. You could purchase that to add to your aloe gel but that kind of defeats the whole economy thing. Experiment complete.

I purchased 3 fine metal tipped bottles, 1 large bottle of pure aloe gel and 3 glitters (yes .008 poly) from local craft shop/chemist and made my own bling. Still have 1/2 bottle of gel and half each of the glitters to use loose or make a second bottle of each. All for under AU$10 or AU$1.70 per bottle. Plus I get to choose the colours.

I absolutely love the look of the bling but it bothers me how long it takes to dry. Has anyone encountered any problems because of this? I just wonder if it's practical to use on little kids since I'd have to tell them it takes ten minutes to dry. You guys all seem happy with it and are far more experienced so I'm probably envisioning non-existent problems. I like the sound of making it, Fun Frog - where did you find the aloe gel?

I only use on my bling mask for 6 years and older girls, no problem, they will let it dry. The difference a found on a home made glitter bling is that it dryes flat not in 3D as the one you buy ready. Did I miss something?

Here in Oz we have a cheap health/beauty store PriceLine that sells small and large bottles of pure aloe (no colour/water/chemicals added) as a moisturizer. My bling stays in the shape I pipe with th tip. A line stays where I put it and if I want a bead I just squeeze on one spot until I get the size I want, of course the larger the bead the longer drying time and yes it is 3D, just like stickon rhinestones, but way cheaper and they wash off. Line work takes about 5min to be fully dry. Yes I usually ask the older girls, "Would you like Bling with this design?" I don't charge extra, just makes for happy customer and great for walking adds as they walk away all sparkly with smiles