My Picks from Fresh Paint Candy Arcade

Have you been sucked into the depths of addiction to Candy Crush?  I have.  I'm not even gonna say what level I'm on.  It's kinda embarrassing because it screams "this is what I do with all of my spare time!"  I might have it open in another tab as I write this.  Maybe.  Fresh Paint's Candy Arcade collection is a strong nod to the game so many of us hate to love, but it's not endorsed so the names are amusingly approximate.  Sugar Crush had to be mine because I love flakies and must own ALL of them.  Diving! and Lollipop are both too pink for me, but I found Jellyfish and Square Candy irresistible.  BLUE and GREEN!!  The ongoing 3/$5 deal made the choice even easier.  Fresh Paint isn't a national brand, unfortunately.  It's made by the same people who make Color Club and sold exclusively at Five Below.  I love that store and I really hope they keep expanding.  Part of it is a little bit of "hometown pride" since they're from the Philly burbs too.  Their first store is about fifteen minutes from where I was born.  They're also a magical land of bargain-priced polish and candy where nothing at all is over $5.  What's not to love?


Square Candy is a cool green and Jellyfish is a cobalt blue.  They're both jellies.

Both shades are on the less sheer end of the jelly spectrum.  They're more juicy than glassy, but they're sheer enough for layering and still show some VNL at three coats.  Both dry a little bit matte, but gloss up beautifully with top coat.  They remind me a bit of Essie Shake Your $$ Maker and Bouncer, It's Me, but I think those two are darker and less sheer.  I'm also not sure if they glow under UV like the Essies do.  I think they're different enough from the Essies to own both.  Application was ok.  I did have a bit of  pinprick bubbling, which you can see in the photos below.

It's really nothing catastrophic and wouldn't keep me from wearing them again.  They're so tiny that they get lost in the shine.

Sugar Crush is a super-dense orange/yellow/green/blue multichrome flake glitter.

This is just one coat!  This stuff is nuts, but in the very best way.  I think it's one of the densest flakies I own, up there with Dance Legend 603 and possibly even thicker.  It's essentially The Uptown with a clear base.

While it's along the same color lines as Essie Shine Of The Times, it goes into blue extremes much more easily.  The shift seems to be stronger and the overall effect is bolder and more firey.

The density of the flakes also gives it a stunning depth.

It's almost law to me that all flakies must be mattified, so I did...and....wow...

I also sandwiched with another thin coat of Square Candy and Jellyfish.  They both did pretty well, but Jellyfish seems to work a little better for sandwiching.

Bottom line: I can't quite call any of these must-haves, but if you don't own a good flakie you need to RUN to Five Below or beg a friend who lives near a Five Below to send you a bottle of Sugar Crush.  It has excellent frankening potential, so I might snag a few more.  I can't call Square Candy or Jellyfish unique, but I like them.


Are you a flakie fiend like I am?  Which do you have and which are you lemming?