Friday, June 21, 2013

Girly Bits Franken Starter Kit Review

Press Sample

Good morning, dear readers! I have something really fun to share with you today, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! As you already know by now, I absolutely love indie polishes, but this post is going to be a little different. Rather than sharing a polish made by one of my favorite creators, I will be the one doing the creating! And not only did I do it, but you can do it too! Sounds crazy, doesn't it? It's really not, and soon you can have your very own made-by-you polishes without having to spend a small fortune in testing glitters and suspension bases. Pam, the creator and owner of one of my favorite indie brands, Girly Bits, sells franken starter kits, and I had the pleasure of testing it out. Let's check it out!
Each franken kit comes with three full sized (15mL) bottles of suspension base and nine sample-sized packets of glitter. Each packet contains 1 tsp of glitter, and while that may not sound like a lot, it goes much further than you might think. You also can choose between two empty mini bottles or one empty full sized bottle. 

When purchasing this kit, you have different options in glitter colours.  For those of you that may be feeling slightly uninspired or just don't know where to start, Pam has created four different variety packs of coordinating glitters make it easy for you. If you're feeling more daring, you can also select your own glitter combination. I was feeling particularly adventurous when I ordered my kit, so I picked my own glitters. I had a lot of incomplete ideas floating around in my head, and it took me quite some time to pick mine out. I also opted to get the empty full sized bottle.
The Set Up
I had already played around a little and made a polish, and I decided to make a few little changes to make it easier for me and hopefully for you. You can purchase other franken supplies such as a mini funnel to make the process go easier, but I wanted to just use what I had at home to show you it is possible. I found that a small little piece of paper curled up fit nicely enough in the bottle lip and acted as a funnel; the trapezoid shape made it so the funnel flared out slightly. This definitely makes it easier to add glitters rather than a perfect cylinder! 
For the first bottle I mixed, I put glitters in my empty bottle and poured suspension base from one of the full bottles. Because of the bottle neck and the viscosity of the suspension base, it was a slow process. I happened to have a bunch of these handy transfer pipets that look like mini turkey basters at home, and found I could transfer suspension base so much quicker using it!

Want to see what I came up with? 

My glitter creation over Essie Watermelon, OPI A Roll in the Hague, two coats glitter only, three coats glitter only
I only created three polishes because I wanted two bottles of one of them. Each of these used about 3/4tsp total glitters. The three bottles of suspension base wasn't quite enough for four full bottles- I ended up with three bottles filled just below the cylinder and a fourth bottle that is about half full. As for my own creations, I'm not thrilled with the bottom one, but I do really like the others. I think I just didn't get the ratio of colours I had in mind quite right. Even though the last one isn't my cup of tea, I had so much fun creating these! I enjoyed the process of choosing my own glitters and just letting my imagination take me away.

Pam is currently revising this kit to include empty bottles and a 2oz bottle of suspension base rather than the three 15mL bottles of base to make it even easier for you to make up your own polishes. She is also working out the details on a deluxe kit that will include even more fun options for the novice frankener.  Both the revised kit and the new deluxe kit should be available for purchase early next week. Should you develop a love of creating, Pam offers larger volumes of glitters, base, empty bottles and more  for endless hours of creative fun. Your only limit is your imagination!

Check out the Girly Bits store here and keep an eye on the Girly Bits
Facebook page for shop announcements and to view new collections.

Have you tried frankening yet? I'd love to hear what sort of combination you'd come up with!


Disclaimer:  The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion.  All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual authors.  Therefore, I, the author of this site, cannot be held responsible for the opinions held by others.  I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.


19 comments

  1. I'm so glad to see a review for this kit! I've been putting off purchasing one (or two!) for so long. I think it's time I bit the bullet and went for it. So fun!

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    1. It really is a lot of fun! There is something nice about looking at your nails and knowing you are wearing your own handiwork. :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm thinking up a few more already, lol!

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    2. Thanks for the review, the ones you created are gorgeous. I'm gonna have to get a kit and have a play with it plus the prices seem very reasonable too xx

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  3. So beyond genius!!! Love Girly Bits :)

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  4. I love the review so you only get one empty full bottle to use?

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    1. You get 3 bottles that are filled with suspension base and one empty bottle. The idea is you mix together the glitters for your first polish in the empty bottle and then decant the suspension base from a full bottle into this bottle. Once you do that, it leaves room in the now partially filed with base bottle to add glitters to make the next polish.

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  5. This is really awesome! I have wanted to try to Franken something :D

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  6. It's fun to create! I can't get my nerve up to buy one of these though. But maybe I will try now!

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  7. This is so fun! I've never really frankened before, but I think I may have to try this kit...such a great idea, and I love the polishes you created!

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  8. Awesome! I've been enjoying a little frankening off and on lately so I really like this idea!

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  9. Nice frankens! I think it's really helpful that she sells those kits!

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  10. These are so pretty! Great job Jen!!

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  11. I really loved this post about franken polish! I can see it as a way to get a variety of polish without having to purchase just one bottle at a time. I can't wait to start ordering supplies & making my own! I'm already experimenting with what I have at home. I'm also commenting to this post in compliance with your giveaway currently ongoing.

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  12. Wow. I've been so curious about how the indie people work their magic. I love the idea of the DIY at home kit. Like a craft kit for dabbling. Satisfy that curiosity, learn how easy/difficult it might be AND you end up with (probably) one-of-a-kind polish. What a great idea. And I already love Girly Bits.

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