Magnetic Gradient Nails

When I first saw the post that inspired this mani, it was one of those that made me say, “Whaaat?!  I was baffled as to how it was done, but it was actually really easy.  A magnetic gradient.  I wish I had better magnets for this because it kinda just looks striped, but I promise you, it’s magnetic. 

The aforementioned post was THIS by Laurie of Dressed Up Digits.  I actually only own two magnetic polishes, so short of going out and buying more, I had to make due with what I’ve got.  Good thing they work very well together.  I used Julep Kylie and 17 in grey for this design.  It’s genius really.  Start like you’re doing a regular old gradient mani, then use a top coat that is not of the quick drying variety.  This will re-wet your polish enabling you to use your magnet to get the desired effect.  You should apply the top coat and magnet one nail at a time.  That’s it!  Go ahead and apply a second coat of your favorite top coat if you wish .

Simple, right?  I really would love more magnetic polishes and really want more magnets.  The two I have are essentially the same thing.  I’m bored with them already.

Father’s Day Nails

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in my life, and especially my husband!  I think this mani is lots of fun!  I was originally planning to put a tie on each nail, but then had the idea to do a whole shirt look with the tie in the center. 

I have to get off subject here for a second.  I can’t believe how tan my hands are getting!  I’ve been out in the sun quite a bit lately, so I’m sporting a nice summer glow.  I’ll have to look back at my pictures from a month or two ago and see the color difference in my skin.  The white polish in this design must be bringing out the tan more, because for some reason I really noticed it when I loaded these pictures.

My base color is Sally Hansen White On.  My pinstripes are Julep Annette which is a light grey creme, but for some reason looks tan or beige over the white.  It’s not just the pictures either, it actually looks tan.  Strange.  My tie is Julep Kylie, which is magnetic.  I was going to paint a detailed tie, but was just too busy and didn’t have time to do something that time consuming.  So I opted to go with a magnetic polish that would create the design for me.  The first magnet I tried didn’t really work, so I had to hurry and go with my second choice magnet.  It’s actually pretty hard to see that there ‘s even a magnetic effect going on because the tie is so small.  Regardless, I’m happy with the design as a whole.

Julep Kylie

Is Julep just breaking in to the magnetic world?  I didn’t think they had magnetic polishes, but was pleasantly surprised to get Kylie in my Maven box for May.   The magnet came on a little stick, wand thing.  It’s a wavy design, but the waves really only showed up on my thumb since it’s the biggest nail.

When I first polished this on, I wasn’t really impressed with the color.  Once I set the magnet to it though?  I love it!  I love the darker shade made by the magnet.  This really looks like shadows to me.

The formula for this polish was really thin.  I had to be super careful with how much polish I had on my brush or my cuticles would flood.   My only other critique is that I feel like the lines made by the magnet are too far apart.  My nails aren’t super long right here, but they’re not terribly short either and I only got two stripes on each nail.  It would be nice if they were a little closer together to fit more stripes in.  Overall, I think Julep Kylie is a beautiful color once you set the magnetic effect.

My First Magnetic Polish

While my sister was studying in London for a few months I gave her the task of nail polish shopping for me. She was a little daunted at the task. I honestly don’t really even know what’s available in London that isn’t here. This 17 Magnetized Nail Polish in grey is one that she brought back for me. When I started opening this little package on Christmas, the first thing I saw was the magnet in the lid.  Yay!  I was excited!  This is my first magnetized polish.  The only Sephora close to me is a smaller store and doesn’t carry Nails Inc and there’s no other option for me that would carry something like this (other than the internet of course.)  Word on the street is China Glaze is coming out with a magnetic line sometime this year.  I’m stoked about it.

I played with this polish quite a bit just to test it out.  I wish I could do different designs with it.  I can really only curve the lines up, down, or sideways.  It really resembles a feather to me.  I’m not sure why.  On one finger I tried layering a red underneath it, but it didn’t work.  I’ve seen others be successful at this, so I don’t know why it didn’t work.  Maybe I need a brighter color.  I’ll have to play with it some more.

Magnetic polish is a quick way to get a dramatic effect.  It’s pretty awesome.