Introduction

LifeColor has expanded their interests when it comes to paint sets, and are now offering sets that contain pigments and have now also entered into powders as they call them. This release is titled Lichens & Moss; let’s take a look at how I got along with it.

Contains

Inside the now usual and well known packaging that LifeColor utilises for this product range, you will find 2 fixers or paints and 4 pots of a substance I cannot identify, but it looks very similar to some of the high quality grass products on the market. The contents are listed as;

• POW 01 – Sprout Green
• POW 02 – Lush Plant
• POW 03 – Fall Season
• POW 04 – Rotten Plant
• FF 01 – Gloss Lime Fixer
• FF02 – Gloss Muddy Fixer

Review

This type of product needs to be used in some kind of context in order to relay its plus points to the reader. In order to try and satisfy that requirement I went rummaging through my odds and ends and found a very early attempt I had made at a small stone footbridge. This piece is not painted but seemed an ideal object for this review.

On one side I applied the darker of the two fixers with a brush; the fixers are as with the paints from LifeColor water based products. I then attempted to sprinkle the darkest of the four powders, this proved to be almost impossible as the powders had settled and did not want to play ball. This resulted in me using a square ended flat brush as a shovel and a pointed brush to move it around and loaded with more fixer. Unlike paint where I usually work from light to dark, this product I used from dark to light.

After the application of the first powder colour, I was not exactly impressed; however further applications of the two other colours made this product pop for me and made me a fan. For the purposes of this review I used the three darkest powders on one side with the darkest fixer, on the other I used the lighter fixer and the 2 lightest powders. Application took about 15 to 20 minutes in total for both sides and I really like the results, especially the result of the two lighter powders.

Conclusion

This product has taken me from being doubtful to a fan of a product that is easy to use and provides a realistic finish. It is ideal for adding the Lichens and Moss growth that appears on concrete, stone, brick and wood as it ages in the weather. The finished result actually improves look wise as it dries, with to my mind the addition of a gloss finish being an ideal way of adding the wet look. LifeColor has released a similar product to this simply titled ‘Algae’, and I suspect that product will be an excellent product to use alongside this one.