What are POP mica's?? (and for Canadians.. where to buy?)

[ministeph]

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick question, my usual supplier newdirectionsaromatics.ca has started offering MICA's.. but all the posts I've been reading about beautiful colored soaps have mentioned POP mica's.. what is this 'POP' part? To be honest I thought maybe it was because they were bright like soda pop.... fail. haha.

Also, for the Great White Norther's out there.. where do you buy your POP mica's or MICAS or colorants in general? I didn't have great luck with the oxides I purchased from www.canwax.ca.. so I was going to get those mica's from new directions in brampton. BUT i wanted to make sure of course, that I'm buying the right thing!

any advice would be super lovely!

P.s here is the direct link to the mica's here.. maybe they are only suitable for cosmetics?
http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/ra ... 3_150.html

 

[TessC]

The POP micas are from TKB trading: http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=747&page=2

Hopefully one of the Canadian members will be along shortly to answer your supplier questions.

 

[ministeph]

Thanks so much Tess, I thought POP might be a certain kind and that other 'mica's' might be totally different. I am a noob....

I am writing to newdirections to see if they have any information on their mica's being CP soap safe, but who knows.

 

[ministeph]

also I didn't realize mica's included oxides.. oh silly me haha.

I will make a new post including my luck/un-luck with the oxides I have.

 

[SudsyKat]

Interesting tidbit - all the TKB Pop Micas contain titanium dioxide. I don't have a problem with it personally, but in case anyone is trying to avoid titanium dioxide. That's why they stay so true to their color - it's that white base of titanium dioxide.

 

[Bubbly Buddha]

I don't know how close to the border you live, but I am only 20 minutes away so I have it sent to a US address and then go pick it up. Do they deliver to Canada?
The colourants I purchased from CanWax didn't impress me much either.

 

[Lil Green Ponies]

Try http://creationsfromeden.com/store/inde ... 52_125_135

 

[Lindy]

I buy most of my micas from Voyageur Soap & Candle. Their prices are good and they give you a 5% discount.

I buy my Pop Micas from TKB and love them!

Each mica seems to react differently to CP plus your oils are going to make a difference too. My toughest colour is mauve or violet.... blchh grey! The Grape Pop mica works like a charm!

Good luck and have fun

 

[Bean13]

I get some of my micas from Creations From Eden out of Edmonton. I don't live too far from the city. I order from her if I'm going to the city. But I have also ordered from TKB. It was cheaper for me to order from there. Not by much but still cheaper.
I think Creations From Eden gets her POP micas from TKB anyway. At least TKB watermark shows up on her Mica pics.
For the meaning of POP I do not know. I was guessing that the colour just stayed true in CP soap. What do I know.

Good luck with your search. If you find some good sales in Canada, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know.

 

[Lindy]

Hey Bean - hi from a former Albertan. If you haven't tried Voyageur you need to give them a whirl - amazing customer service and good quality products. I haven't found a supplier in Canada that carries POP Micas that aren't from TKB and personally it is so much less expensive to just order them from there even with the shipping IMO.....

 

[ministeph]

ohhh you guys are lovely, thank you so much for letting me know! I am going to take a look at all of these places tonight! excited!

 

[ministeph]

I don't know how close to the border you live, but I am only 20 minutes away so I have it sent to a US address and then go pick it up. Do they deliver to Canada?
The colourants I purchased from CanWax didn't impress me much either.

I wish I was close enough to the border.. its a good 7 hour drive for me.. But I did definitely consider your method at one point! even with all the driving haha. There were a lot of places I wanted to order from in the states, especially BrambleBerry.. but I couldn't afford $25 dollar shipping for 4 little micas

I'm glad someone else knows what I'm talking about when I mentioned CanWax, the colors I have are super lumpy (i had to really smash/mush the bags to get any kind of powder ) and although my TD is 'oil soluable' i can blend the heck out of it.. but if i leave it for three minutes I see it separating from the oil it's in. (also they packaged them in REALLY weird bags, I ordered all the same amount and some are in triple bags, some are separated into smaller bags and then put in a bigger bag, nothing is consistent)

 

[Pepper]

I LOVE pop micas. I must admit I've only used them once, in M&P, but I love the look of the colour they give.

 

[agriffin]

POP Micas are a gift from the soaping Gods. I LOVE POP Micas.

 

[ministeph]

I ordered some!!!

I ordered some POP mica's straight from TKB trading.. and do you know whats crazy? I live in Ontario.. and they only charged me $12.00 for shipping!! It has to go diagonally across the country to get to me! I know 'Canadian Priority Mail' isn't the fastest or the most reliable, but when I comparison shopped with the same order from creationsfromeden in Canada, the price was dramatically different.
converted into the same currency, it cost (in total) $68.00 from CreationsfromEden in (Alberta)
andd... $31.00 from TKB!!! with the EXACT same order. crazy!

Anyway, I'll update here if I ever receive the shipment haha, just because that twelve dollar shipping is amazing me.

super excited!

 

[Bean13]

Ministeph - I feel your excitement tremendously. New shipment of new things for soaping makes my very bubbly.
I didn't think about the shipping from CFE because I live only 1.75 hrs away from her and am too cheap for shipping when theres always other reasons to goto the city. So yes I guess it would cost alot more in the end.

Lindy - Thank-you for the tip. I will give their site a looksie. Where did you live in Alberta? I'm in Whitecourt. But by the flag you can tell I'm a Newfie. Who's lost most of her accent unfortunately.

 

[KD]

POP micas

I am from Manitoba, and I have ordered from TKB twice. Their shipping charges are very reasonable, and the POP micas and the other soap safe micas are fabulous in my GM cold process soaps and MP soaps. The first time, I ordered the two-ounce bottles of liquid. My last order, I got myself the four-ounce powders, which come as a set of six (no strawberry). From that set, I have mixed up some half/half with glycerin in the original bottles, and I have played like crazy with my soap. I did order a couple of others: colorona bordeaux, cancerian heat, and antique silver. My sister and I got playing with them, making eyeshadow, and she ended up ordering a bunch for herself. I ordered some micas from Voyageur in November, and I wasn't happy with the morphing of colors that they said would stay true. It's very hard to find really great, funky colors here, which are also cosmetic-safe. A couple of places are starting to carry the POP micas here, but they are terribly expensive. In my opinion, it is well worth it to order straight from TKB.

 

[ministeph]

Thanks Bean13 and KD!

Yes, I was incredibly impressed from with their shipping charge! I can't believe its only $12.00. Even when I order from JUST over the border from me in Canada it usually costs upward $20 dollars.

I am totally floored by how it was double the price to order the same product from Canada haha, they are far from me also, but not as far as california I don't think! 10 points for TKB!

either way I'm super impressed.. and from what you say KD.. I'm incredibly excited for these!!! .. is it best to mix them with glycerin and use them liquid? is it easier/better.. I haven't heard of this before.

thanks!

 

[Lindy]

Some of the smaller soap suppliers in Canada are paying the same as we do to get their product and then have to mark it up crazy high to make any money at it. I would rather order direct and yeah the shipping is really, really reasonable!

Bean I was in Calgary for most of my life, but am loving the coast.

 

[KD]

Pop micas

The powders are really more economical than the liquids. I keep mixing up the liquid, though, because I like it for MP. It also works well for cp, but you need considerably more for a nice, punchy color. For my cp goat's milk soap, I mix the powder with just a tiny bit of glycerin and water before I add my soap batter to the cup. Then I use my mini whipper from Ikea to blend my colors. I have noticed, even on TKB's website that some cp crafters have trouble blending colors with their soap. Using the method described above, mine has always come out perfect. It's really worthwhile browsing on their website for color blending suggestions. I just ordered some black mica from them to mix some deeper tones, and their other soap micas are just lovely. TKB is by far my greatest online find for soapmaking!