Magnetic Polish - My turn!

Anybody else notice how gimmicky the world of polish has been over the last year or two?  We've got crackles, flakies, magnetics...what's next?  Me, I love a good gimmick, so I'm always game.


I picked up my first magnetic polish in Sephora back when I visited NYC last fall.  It was Nails Inc "House of Parliament."  I think Nails Inc was probably one of the first companies to really kick this trend into the mainstream, but they're certainly not cheap.  (They're currently retailing at Sephora for $16.)  Thank goodness, then, that China Glaze released a more affordable line of magnetic polishes a little while later.  Theirs retail for $6.99, plus you have to buy the magnet for an additional $6.99.  With Nails Inc, the magnet is in the bottle cap, and it's meant to impart a wavy lines design.  The China Glaze magnet has three designs: diagonal lines, chevron and star/asterisk.


As with so many things, though, magnetic polishes are a great example of getting what you pay for, but it's also a bit of a mixed bag.  Let me show you what I mean.

Pinky:  Nails Inc Houses of Parliament (using Nails Inc magnet); Ring:  China Glaze Cling On (using CG chevron magnet); Middle:  China Glaze Instant Chemistry (using CG star magnet); Pointer:  China Glaze Cling On (using NI magnet); Thumb:  China Glaze Instant Chemistry (using NI magnet)

Whew!  That's a lot to sort out, I know, but let me explain why I did what I did.  I've fiddled with these enough to have learned one very important lesson:  the China Glaze magnet...SUCKS.  It just does.  Look at that middle finger; does that look like a star to you?  However, I LOVE the China Glaze colors.  They're way more saturated and intense than the Nails Inc magnetic polishes.  Because of these observations, I've decided that the best thing to do is use CG polishes with the Nails Inc magnet.  It's a bit of an investment to have to do it this way, but it's worth it to me.  I mean...LOOK at that pointer finger.  Cling On is gorgeous, and when I placed the Nails Inc magnet over it, I could instantly (no exaggeration) see the pattern come up.  Check it out again here:

Beautiful!

I understand that $16 can be quite a splurge for polish for a lot of us; frankly, I'm not sure I'd have shelled out for it if I hadn't been using vacation money (which, like vacation calories, isn't real money).  If you really want to dabble in this trend but have a China Glaze budget, please check out Scrangie's amazingly detailed guide to troubleshooting magnetic polish here.  I simply don't have the patience or the will or the mad skillz to get mine to come out looking like hers, but perhaps you'll have better luck!