I went to a stamping/scrapping convention last year, and every third booth had these little finger-nail polish looking bottles labeled “Smooch.” Huh? Well, I finally got my hands on some and played with it!
Come to find out, Smooch is a shimmery acrylic paint manufactured by Clearsnap, and it’s meant for detail work in your paper crafting. Currently it comes in 30 colors, sold in little bottles that have a felt nib applicator in the handle. And yes, it looks a LOT like fingernail polish!
A felt nib is integrated into the handle.
The consistency of Smooch paint is kind of like heavy cream- thick enough that it won’t spatter or drip, but thin enough that it might take a few passes to cover. Here are my swatch tests on Glossy cardstock, Matte Cardstock, Watercolor paper, and green and black cardstocks.
As you can see, the first thing I did was to “scribble” with the nib to see how well it covered. There is some opacity in the center, especially on the darker papers- so if you want a thick coat you’ll have to take care or use two coats.
I found it odd that on the glossy and matte cardstocks I got some “bleed”- areas that the paint spread out. I had shaken the bottles well (or so I thought) and I was surprised to find the halos the next morning. Not exactly desirable! However, on the water color paper and dark cardstocks it did just fine. I thing the more porous the paper is, the better it absorbs. For example, I used two colors of Smooch on this Prima Craftables flower, and it looks gorgeous:
You can really see the shimmer!
Interestingly, the orange Smooch really shimmered with a gold glow, as did the yellow. I also tried out the paints on some fabric “inchies” I had made. You’ll see that the shimmer showed up even on fabric!
Now, I wouldn’t use it on wearables, but on small fabric arts pieces, I think it’s awesome! Since I was on a roll, I tried it out on some polymer clay pieces:
So, I’m not in love with it for polymer. It seemed to be fine on the first example, after I heat-set it. The bottom one, though…well, I had put 2Â coats of that yellow on the button to cover up a blemish in the clay. I let it set overnight, and then swiped it with my finger….and THAT’S why there is yellow paint across the holes. I even heat-set it, and it still seems tacky. Bottom line: when they SAY it’s for porous surfaces, the MEAN it’s for porous surfaces!
Now for the nitty gritty: Smooch paint retail for between $3.79 – $4.50 USD, and come in a 9 ml (just under 1/3 oz) containter. That comes out to over $13 USD an ounce for shimmery paint. A little pricey when you put it that way, but it’s only slightly higher than competitors such as Precious Metal Color by Viva Decor.
Bottom line? It’s fun, the packaging is cool, the colors are fun and shimmery, and while I’d like a bigger container, shelling out 4 bucks for a little punch of glimmery paint isn’t so bad. I’ll enjoy these little gems, and I bet you will, too!
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This is very interesting – am going to have to try and hope they have it at Pat Catan’s – Thank you!
Wow! I had been staring at those in the store and I’m glad I didn’t buy any with clay in mind. But I still may for paper – thanks for pointing out that distinction!
Rachel- in sparing amounts, they WILL dry…good for little accents! -Jenny
Beth- if not PC’s, I bet they’ll have it at Archiver’s. Whoops! I just may have talked myself into a field trip…..; )
I know they have it at Archiver’s – I saw it there, and in Stamplistic.