Pearl Powder Charts
Here is the picture I ran across one day that made me fall in love with Mica Powders and how they look on hot glass. After seeing this picture, I just had to give it a try myself.
For comparison purposes, here are a couple of pictures of everything together and one with my hand for size reference.
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Click on each picture for a better look.
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Pearl-Ex Powders |
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| # | Color | On the Beads | Powder | Notes |
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---- | No powder - for comparison purposes. |
| 640 | Carbon Black |
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| 641 | Pumpkin Orange |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 642 | Salmon Pink |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 643 | Pink Gold |
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Ok if you're looking for a pale gold coverage, but if you're looking for pink, you won't get it. |
| 644 | Reflex Violet |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 645 | Grey Lavender |
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| 646 | Mink |
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This color packs too much to get a solid coverage. |
| 647 | Sky Blue |
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Difficult to get coverage from this color. Not really worth it. |
| 650 | MicroPearl |
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Numbers 650-652 are all pearl powders and each one increases the amount of pearl effect you get. This one really doesn't give much of a pearl effect. |
| 651 | Pearl White |
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This gives a medium pearl effect. |
| 652 | MacroPearl |
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Gives the beads a very strong pearlescent sheen. The powder looks like it has tiny flakes of silver in it. |
| 653 | Red Russet |
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| 654 | Super Russet |
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| 655 | Super Copper |
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| 656 | Brilliant Gold |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 657 | Sparkle Gold |
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Larger particles than most of the other colors. Really makes the beads sparkle. |
| 658 | Aztec Gold |
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| 659 | Antique Gold |
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If you want a mottled pink, this color on white does it. |
| 660 | Antique Bronze |
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| 661 | Antique Copper |
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| 662 | Antique Silver |
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This one give you a less mottled, but paler pink than the antique gold. |
| 663 | Silver |
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| 664 | Super Bronze |
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| 665 | Sunset Gold |
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| 670 | Interference Red |
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| 671 | Interference Blue |
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| 672 | Interference Green |
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The black bead I made with this powder kept breaking - took me 4 tries to get a black bead that didn't break. |
| 673 | Interference Violet |
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| 674 | Interference Gold |
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| 680 | Duo Red-Blue |
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Difficult to get coverage from this color. If you do get coverage, you'll get a slight blue from it. Not really worth it. |
| 681 | Duo Blue-Green |
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Difficult to get coverage from this color. If you do get coverage, you'll get a slight green from it. Not really worth it. |
| 682 | Duo Green-Yellow |
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Difficult to get coverage from this color. If you do get coverage, you'll get a slight gold from it. Not really worth it. |
| 683 | Bright Yellow |
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What you see on the bead is actually gray ash. Not worth the effort. |
| 684 | Flamingo Pink |
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What you see on the bead is actually gray ash. Not worth the effort. |
| 685 | Spring Green |
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If you're looking for a Shrek color, this powder on white will do it for you. |
| 686 | Turquoise |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 687 | True Blue |
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Difficult to get coverage from this color. If you do get coverage, you'll get a slight blue from it. Not really worth it. |
| 688 | Misty Lavender |
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Not worth the effort. |
| 689 | Blue-Russet |
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| 690 | Sparkling Copper |
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Larger particles than most of the other colors. Really makes the beads sparkle. |
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Pixie Dust Powders |
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| Color | On the Beads | Powder | Notes |
| --------- |
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---- | No powder - for comparison purposes. |
| Sparkle Bronze |
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This color packs too much to get a solid coverage. |
| Sparkle Copper |
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| Sparkle Dark Bronze |
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This color packs too much to get a solid coverage. |
| Sparkle Gold |
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| Sparkle White |
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| Sparkle Dark Gold |
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| Sparkle Fruit Punch |
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| Sparkle Red |
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| Sparkle Silver |
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| Sparkle Light Green |
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| Sparkle Teal |
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| Hi-light Blue |
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| Hi-light Gold |
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| Hi-light Green |
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| Hi-light Red |
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| Hi-light Violet |
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| Wilton Pearl Dust | ||
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Wilton now has an edible pearl powder in a variety of colors. What you see on the bead is not anything pearly looking - the powder sort of fizzled into a metallic looking mess. After testing this out on a bead, I will NOT be using this. Yuck! |
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Bronze Gold Leaf Green Lilac Purple Orchid Pink Ruby Red Sapphire Blue Silver White Yellow |
Comparison of the 2 Brands
Before I began working with the Pixie Dust, I thought it was just re-labeled Pearl-Ex because the colors were so similar. I've since changed my mind. The Pixie Dust powders are not as "fluffy" as the Pearl-Ex powders. This means that they tend to pack a bit more and this distorts the beads just a bit when rolling in the powder. You can see the results in the charts. I worked both sets of powders the same, but the Pixie Dust powder beads are just a bit more misshaped. All of the Pixie Dust colors worked though, and I can't say the same about the Pearl-Ex colors.
Important Safety Notice!
You should know that if the mica particles are flying around in the are in a high concentration (such as when you shake a bottle of powder and then open it) they can burst into flame as soon as they come into contact with melted glass. I keep mine in a glass bottle so that if this happens, all I need to do is remove the mandrel and the flame goes out. Others either keep a soaking wet paper towel nearby or use foil shaped into a cup and just squish the cup to put the flame out. This can be quite startling if you're not expecting it, but if you know about it before hand and have a plan, you can use these powders safely. Of course, the easiest way to prevent this is to not shake or stir the powders before use. Also keep in mind that you should at least wear a mask because you don't want those particles in your lungs.
Purchasing
I don't sell these powders. Your local craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore) may carry some of the Pearl-Ex colors. Check a local Art Store to see if they carry all of them. If you want to get the Pixie Dust Powders, many online lampworking merchants sell them.
Not all Pearl Powders are made the same.
Components used, as well as manufacturing methods can affect whether an individual powder will work well for lampworked beads. One of the biggest problems is that the color just burns off leaving something that looks a little bit like gray ash. I even have some colored mica flakes I got to encase in beads, but all 9 of the colors just burn off leaving me with just a plain looking piece of mica - but at least it looks interesting when encased. I have tried some of my eye cosmetics, but didn't have much luck with them. The color would turn to ash each time. I guess the next 2 items I would want to try are the pearl powders they sell in the stacking pots in the kiosks in the malls, or some of the pearls for use in the automotive painting industry.
Have fun and let me know what works for you!
You can contact Kitty by emailing her at kay@listen-up.org
© 2002-2023 - Kay R Powell. All rights reserved.