This Halloween, we plan to have a table with a glow in the dark magic potion station to make it look creepy and scary. And a bit unique. So, over the last few weeks, I have been playing with making different versions of glow in the dark magic potions. So, let’s jump in and try to make a glow in the dark magic potion for Halloween.
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Supplies Needed to Make a DIY Magic Potion for Halloween
While trying to make this craft, there were several different ways that I attempted to make the magic potion. The below list is all of the products that I used. Based on my findings and results, you can see which you prefer to use or not:
- Mica Powder – This was the base for all the magic potions. I used atomic blue mica powder.
- Water
- Food Coloring
- Mr. Clean
- Tonic Water
- Highlighters – Blue, Yellow and Orange
- Glasses or any container you want to have the potion sitting in.
Let’s Try Making Some Glow in the Dark Magic Potions!
I have seen some really neat videos on YouTube showing how to make magic potions. So, I thought I would try to make my own. If you recall, I like to use black lights to make things glow in the dark for Halloween. So, I thought it would be cool to have glow-in-the-dark potions for Halloween. For this project, I did several tests to see how to make a magic potion, see what it looked like mixed and then see if it would glow in the dark. So, let’s go through the trials and tribulations of making glow in the dark magic potions.
Also, I only used one color of mica powder, shimmery blue. The intention was for it to create a color gradient and cause the potion to look evil or something.
Magic Potion Using Mica Powder and Mr. Clean
Mr. Clean is a funny liquid. The color of it in daylight almost seems to glow. But if you put it under a black light it shines even more. So, simply having Mr. Clean and a black light will start you off with a glow.
Now, Mr. Clean was one of my first solutions to try, so we used 1 teaspoon of mica powder. I gave it a quick mix and watched it spin. The color of the magic potion changed from bright yellow to a hazy blue/gray. You can visibly see the mica powder spinning around. Now, in regular light, the glow of the liquid is gone.
Does Mr. Clean and mica powder glow?
After a good mix, I turned on my black light again and took a look to see if I had a glow in the dark magic potion. The answer is No. The mica powder took over the liquid and did not let the original Mr. Clean shine through.
After the mica powder settled a bit and started to separate from Mr. Clean, the glow started to show again, but not as much as originally.
Does Mr. Clean make a good Glow in the dark magic potion?
I was rather disappointed by the outcome of the Mr. Clean and mica powder magic potion. I had high hopes based on the original glow of the liquid.
Some things I would change:
- Use less mica powder – 1 teaspoon, although it does not seem like a lot, is actually a large amount. So, maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon would be better.
- I used blue mica powder – perhaps if I had used a white, color of the liquid would shine through more.
- This liquid glows by itself, so leaving it as just the base liquid would be enough.
I would not recommend using this liquid to make a glow in the dark magic potion, as it just did not glow in the end, and that was the purpose of my craft.
Magic potion using Tonic Water and Mica Powder
The second mixture I was going to make was to use Tonic Water. As it turns out, Tonic Water is supposed to glow in black light. So, I thought this would be a good place to start. I saw a bunch of videos of tonic water glowing, so I thought I would try it as a base for my magic potions.
Something to note about tonic water. Tonic water is carbonated and can foam up when you add powder to it, so it is best to mix the bubbles out of it. You simply need to mix it gently for about 3-5 minutes, and the bubbles will come out.
Does tonic water glow in the dark?
So, I tried out the de-gassed tonic water with my black light to see if it would glow. My black light is bright, so if it was going to glow, it would. But, sadly, there was very little, if any glow coming from the tonic water, even before I added anything to it.
Does Tonic water And Mica Powder Glow?
I added 1 teaspoon of mica powder into tonic water and mixed away. Again, similar to the other magic potion, you can see the mica powder swirling around in the solution, but there is no glow.
In regular daylight, the tonic water and blue mica powder have a neat shimmery blue color.
Does Tonic water make a good Glow in the dark magic potion?
Overall, I was very disappointed with the tonic water. I really had high hopes that it would glow on its own, which it did not.
If I were to use tonic water again to make a magic potion, some things I would change:
- Use less mica powder – 1 teaspoon, although it does not seem like a lot, is actually a large amount. So really, maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon would be better.
- The blue mica powder gave the magic potion a neat look. There was no color change as the mica powder settled, so using a base liquid with color would have been better.
- This liquid does not glow by itself, so it’s not a good starting point for making a glow in the dark magic potion.
I would not recommend using this liquid to make a glow in the dark magic potion, as it just did not glow in the end, and that was the purpose of my craft.
Magic potion using highlighters and Mica Powder
So, onto the next trial. I did some research and found that if you take apart a highlighter and put it into water, the color will leak into the water and the liquid will glow. So, I thought I would give it a try and see if I could get my glow in the dark magic potion to work.
However, as I have already been having little to no success on this, I decided to use three different highlighter colors. Just to help increase my odds of success. I picked out a blue, a yellow and an orange highlighter from my collection of markers.
For each of the three colors, I used pliers to remove the stopper on the back of the marker and pulled out the inner color-soaked pad inside. Then, I placed it into a glass of water and allowed the color to seep into the water. I couldn’t find any latex gloves, but if I had some, I could have helped squeeze the color out faster.
Do blue highlighters glow in the dark?
I was really surprised to see that once the blue highlighter had seeped into the water, it did not glow.
Do orange highlighters glow in the dark?
Again, I was really surprised to see that once the orange highlighter had seeped into the water, it did not glow.
Do Yellow highlighters glow in the dark?
Finally! Something that glows in the dark! The yellow highlighter started to glow almost instantly and only glowed brighter as more color seeped into the water.
Do highlighters And Mica Powder Glow?
Based on my learning from the Mr. Clean and tonic water experiments above, I decided to use less mica powder as a base point. Even though I have a huge container of mica powder, there is no point in using too much in the magic potion. For each highlighter color, I slowly added a bit of mica powder to see how much was needed. By the end, each solution had less than 1/4 of a teaspoon in it. That was more than enough powder to give the solution a neat look. So, in with the powder, a quick mix. and let’s see what happens.
So, in the image here, in order from left to right, I have yellow, orange and blue highlighters with mica powder, in regular daylight.
You can see a cool look to each fluid. The middle orange highlighter has turned into a slime green-brown color and you can see the swirls. The blue has a very visible texture in the liquid. But the yellow has just changed to green, and not much texture is visible in the solution.
Now, when I turn off the lights and turn on the black lights, the yellow visibly glows! However, just like in daylight, you can barely see any texture in the solution. There is a slight difference in the liquid, but not much. Both the orange and blue still do not glow.
Do highlighters make a good Glow in the dark magic potion?
So, I got a potion that glows in the dark with the yellow highlighter. But honestly, the result wasn’t great. Yes, it did glow, and yes there was some swirling in the liquid, but it wasn’t great. I even added more mica powder into the yellow in hopes of getting better results, but it didn’t change the appearance of the magic potion.
The blue highlighter and the orange highlighter were a disappointment in the glow in the dark department, but their colors in daylight were neat.
But to be honest, the amount of work I put into getting something to glow in the dark and the final result was a disappointment. I would not go through all the effort to pull apart a yellow highlighter again to get a mediocre glow in the dark magic potion.
Magic potion using mica powder and water with food coloring
This was the last method that I tried. I only tried it to see how it would work. I knew it would not glow in the dark, but wanted to see how the potion looked.
So, I quickly added 3 drops of red food coloring into a glass of water. Then I added less than a 1/4 of a teaspoon into the water and gave it a mix. And this is what it looked like.
And there you have it! A magic potion that does not glow!
Things I learned along the way while trying to make a glow in the dark magic potion
I was really hopeful this would work, but in the end, it was really a wash. So, here are the things I learned along the way:
- None of the combinations of liquid and mica powder produced a good glow in the dark magic potion. Even though the Mr. Clean and the yellow highlighter glowed in the dark by themselves, when adding mica powder, the glow intensity reduced, and in the case of the Mr. Clean, it was completely gone. But the look of the potion with the mica powder in black light, and in regular daylight was very disappointing.
- A little mica powder goes a long way! You really don’t need much to have a nice magic potion look.
- Making a simple magic potion with just water and mica powder will produce great results for a regular daylight event. You can use different colors of mica powder to produce a different look.
- Making a simple magic potion with water and food coloring is the cheapest and fastest solution to make a basic magic potion.
Frequently Asked Questions about glow in the dark magic potions
What is the best way to make a glow in the dark magic potion?
I have to say, there is no best way. All of the combinations I tried did not produce a great result for a glow in the dark magic potion. I would recommend simply making a magic potion with water, food coloring and mica powder.
How much mica powder to add to a magic potion?
Mica powder is very effective, and only a little is needed. All of my trials used 1 cup of liquid. And with that amount of liquid, less than 1/4 teaspoon was sufficient to make a great-looking magic potion.
How long does the mica powder swirl in the magic potion?
Once you put the mica powder into the magic potions solution and give it a good mix, it will continue to swirl around in the cup for about 3-5 minutes. At that time, it will start to settle and sit at the bottom of the container. You can keep mixing and re-mixing the solution every few minutes to keep it looking like a potion, or you can use a magnetic stir stick that will keep it moving all the time. But I wasn’t willing to invest in one for this activity.
How to light up a magic potion
As the glow in the dark magic potion experiment didn’t really work out, I did one final test. I have seen people lighting up magic potions to make them appear to glow. Please keep in mind that every solution will glow a bit differently based on the colors used.
If you place a light behind the magic potion solution, you can have it shine a bit, and it will look something like this.
If you place the light on top of the magic potion solutions, the effect will be something like this.
If you place the light underneath the magic potion solution, the effect will be something like this. This one was a bit of a challenge as I had to hold the glass on top of the light, and I’m not going to do that for the full night, so I don’t recommend this.
Did you enjoy this Halloween Craft?
Did you enjoy this post on making a glow in the dark magic potion for Halloween? I know it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, but maybe it helped you out! Let me know in the comments below if you liked this, if you tried this, or if you have any suggestions on making this better!
Be sure to check out my other Halloween projects here.
