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Let's jump right in.
First of all, there were formerly three colors of nails inc. Magnetic Polish; a plum (Houses of Parliament), a pewter (Trafalgar Square) and a gold (Big Ben). The gold was recalled, I think because it just wasn't magnetic enough; the design was not very noticeable. Sephora very recently released a new third color, a deep and beautiful teal (Whitehall Teal). Although one magnetic polish is probably enough for my Stash, the new shade is verrry tempting.
I did a little research and learned that pewter ("Trafalgar Square") was probably my best bet. The darker the color is, the more noticeable your magnetic design will be.
Fail to plan, plan to fail. Sephora's site has posted these directions:
I also watched this video tutorial, featuring Thea Green, the founder of nail inc. I highly recommend it. First and firstmostly, it does a great job explaining the basic technique. Second, the VO is so charmingly British, and unintentionally hilarious because whoever's reading these lines is intense. Whoa! Or, as a Brit would say, "Bloody 'ell!"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqas6ym_BuU]
(Note: Both the Sephora site and the nails inc. video say there's an "outer cap" and an "inner cap," and you use the "inner cap" to apply the polish. I cannot imagine a weirder way to describe the bottle. It's really this simple... There's a chunky "overcap," similar to Chanel's Le Vernis, that you pull up and off. There's a magnet built into the overcap. When you pull off the overcap, suddenly the polish looks like any other bottle of nail polish. What they're calling an "inner cap" is really just the handle of the brush that you unscrew, as per usual. I think calling it an inner cap is confusing.)
Despite my prep... I still had many, many questions before I got started:
- Is this best as an overlay, a la Crackle?
- How thick do coats need to be?
- How fast does the polish really begin to dry?
- What happens if you move the magnet around over the wet polish?
- I'm a two coat kind of girl. Does it even make sense to use this expensive polish for both coats, as the directions instruct one to do?
- If you decide to use a different color for your first coat, what happens if you use:
- Black?
- White?
- What about a neon? Neon red!
- Or neon green!
- Or maybe a similar color to the magnetic polish that you already own?
I needed to experiment. More accurately, I needed someone to experiment ON. But who would just be sitting around? I needed someone unlikely to engage in any physical activity (such as chores, working, etc.), to guarantee that no damage would come to the testing nailz in their delicate drying stage.
The answer was in front of me all along. My significant other just got SKYRIM, a brand-new video game. He was planning on sitting in front of the TV for hours anyway! All I needed to do was slap a little paint on 'im.
Meet my new hand model. We shall call him Whiskey.
See the dot in the ring finger swirl? I glopped so much polish on — the magnetic particles became so strong that the polish stretched up and away from my nail like a stalagmite. I lifted the magnet a little higher and the nail polish settled down, but left a dot. Watch out for that when you're applying thick coats.
TO RECAP:
- Is this best as an overlay, a la Crackle? SURE! Make sure you do a nice thick-ish coat, though, because you will see streaks from the brush if you're not thorough.
- How thick do coats need to be? A typical, thin coat for your first coat. For your second coat... slap it on.
- How fast does the polish really begin to dry? I don't think it dries unusually fast for a polish. What I do know is that you must move quickly; the more liquid the polish is when you first place the magnet over your nail, the better the design will be.
- What happens if you move the magnet around over the wet polish? When I turned the magnet sideways, I got a weird sort of swoop-curve. (See above). I recommend placing the magnet over your nail as soon as you've applied your thick coat of polish, and then hold steady for 15 seconds if you want a high-contrast design. For a slightly more subtle, softer look, apply less polish and hold the magnet ever so slightly father away from your nail.
- I am a two coat kind of girl. Does it even make sense to use this expensive polish for both coats? Well, if you're unlikely to let anyone borrow this polish from you (you wicked thing) then just go all out. Thin first coat, thick second coat. If you really want to conserve this polish, then by all means use a different color for the first coat.
- If you decide to use a different color for your first coat, what happens if you use:
- Black? High contrast striation!
- White? Very glowy undertones; troublesome tip-wear.
- What about a neon? Neon Red! Spiderman!
- Or neon green! Not recommended!
- Or maybe a similar color to the magnetic polish that you already own? A wise decision.
Any other questions? Comment below!
xxo, GLOSS
