As all of you have probably noticed, this year the newest trend for nails has been the magnetic manicure.  Polishes with embedded iron filings in them respond to the pull of a magnet while wet…resulting in beautiful undulating patterns and subtle gradients across the nail.

Airbrush-style nail art made easy!  Done in 5 seconds!  And now popping up in stores everywhere.

I bought Nails inc. Magnetic Polish Trafalgar Square in order to try out.

The color, once applied, reminds me of dark grey iron filings, with bands of light silver waving through.  And the polish was surprisingly easy and fun to apply.  Here’s how:

1. Start with clean, dry nails.  The instructions on the bottle do not say to use a base coat, so I also left it out.

2. Remove the magnetic cap from the bottle.  This particular one creates wavy patterns.

3. Apply a generous amount onto your nail – really glop it on there!

4. Quickly, while the polish is still wet, apply the magnet.  You press the rounded ridge just below the cuticle and the magnet will sit about 1/8″ above your nail.

Hold that magnet there for about 5 seconds, but don’t let it touch your nail!  (You may also see some polish lifting up and securing itself to the magnet…if so, just separate the magnet a little more from your nail.

Pretty easy, right?  Repeat for the rest of your nails.  Once dry, add a clear topcoat to extend the life of the manicure.

I did find that one coat, even when glopped on thickly, tended to be a little too translucent for my taste.  So to deal with this after putting one coat on and applying the magnet…

I spread another thick coat on (not even waiting for the first to dry!)…

And then reapplied the magnet.  As you can see, the dark areas are a lot darker, and a lot less translucent.  I think this is something you’d have to play with depending on the color of your polish and how opaque you want it.

Now I’ve also recently spotted $10 magnetic polishes available at Ulta (Magnetix Nail Lacquer from China Glaze), so having this lower-cost option is great.  China Glaze also sells a separate magnet that has 3 different designs on it which looks really fun to play with.  Or I might steal something off my refrigerator to see what happens!!;-)
How about you guys?  Have you tried out these magnetic polishes – or are you thinking of giving them a whirl?

xoxox
Carly

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