Monday Manicure: Barry M Magnetic Nail Effects in Magnetic Violet Product Review

Hi guys! So this post is going to be a bit different, in that it's both a Monday Manicure and a product review.  I'm ashamed to admit it but this is the first time I've tried out a magnetic nail polish. They've been around for a few years now but I just didn't feel compelled to buy one. However, one of my fab friends got me this for my birthday and so I've finally had the chance to try it out for myself.

Barry M Magnetic Nail Effects in Magnetic Violet* NP329 available here

The hype

Magnetic polishes have been around for a while but in researching this post, I learnt a lot. For a start, I had no idea that they come in different patterns. The panels on the magnetic top (in this case the horizontal lines) are actually a representation of the effect the magnetic will leave on your nails. In the Barry M range for example, there's chevrons, stars, waves, diagonal lines and more to choose from. What's even more fun is that you can swap the lids around and use them on different coloured nail polishes from the range to get even more colour/pattern combinations!

Things I learnt a) the magnetic lid comes off the actual lid b) the pictures/lines mean something!

How to apply magnetic nail polish

Here's the directions according to Barry M. 

1. Shake the bottle well to ensure magnetic particles are evenly distributed throughout nail paint
2. Apply a basecoat and then apply one coat of your magnetic nail paint and allow to dry
3. Apply second coat and IMMEDIATELY hover the magnet over the nail for 5 to 10 seconds and watch the effect appear
4. Once dry apply topcoat

I followed these to the letter (although I skipped the topcoat to see what the finish is like and I heard some topcoats don't agree with these polishes and destroy the effect) and here's what I ended up with.

Troubleshooting

A few commonly made mistakes with these polishes are:

Holding the magnet too close to the nail (smudge alert!)

Not holding the magnet close enough (no chance of the pattern coming through strong enough)

Moving the magnet whilst holding it to your nail (this creates a weak/blurry pattern)

Results

As you can see, my nails didn't come out perfectly. For a start, the design didn't cover the whole nail because my nails are quite domed which means I need to try and move the magnet around the whole nail (side to side rather than just directly above). Also, how close you hold the magnet to the nail makes a difference to the pattern, as it will be darker and stronger the closer you hold it to the nail.

For a first attempt I don't think this is too bad but I'm definitely up for trying out some different shapes and colours especially. I also heard that you can use normal magnets on these to give different shapes. Cue me going to the fridge and testing out about 20 different magnets to see if it's true. Well, whilst the small round/square magnets just created a bid splodge in the centre of the nail, the larger ones were pretty impressive, creating horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. The larger block magnets (where the whole of the back is covered in a magnet) even gave lots of really thin lines. Definitely worth a try!

How have you guys been getting on with magnetic nail polish?

P.S - If you're not interested in the magnetic effect and just want to see what the colour looks like on its own, this one's for you!