Animal Magnetism: Nails Inc. Magnetic Nail Polish

Rusty

Nails Inc.’s magnetic nail polish was released earlier this year and made a bit of a splash in the nail polish world. It’s an intriguing idea; nail polish that color shifts with the use of a magnet included with the polish, giving your nails a wave like effect. I got a bottle for Christmas in Houses of Parliment (purple) and gave it a whirl myself.

I’m not a super accomplished nail artist, but I’ve been painting my own nails for a while and I’m pretty good at it. To use this, you had to apply a base layer and allow it to dry and then apply a second coat that you’d use the magnet on. You hold the magnet very close above the nail with the wet second coat (the cap with the magnet has a little ridge you can sit right below the nail to help place it correctly) and leave it there for 10-15 seconds to get the effect.

The first annoyance I found was that if you smudge the nail polish with the magnet, you can’t repair it even if the polish is still wet. The area that you try to fix won’t match the magnet created pattern of the rest of the nail so you have to take the polish off and start over again if you smudge. Since you have to hold the magnet about two millimeters off your nail, it’s pretty easy to slip and hit the nail.

Once I got the polish on (including redoing one finger entirely) I did find the effect fun. Pictures don’t really capture it, but the lines aren’t flat the way they appear, but color shift from black to purple as you move your nails. It’s more a wave effect than a line effect. It’s very pretty and eye catching, and the first day I had it on I got compliments from people on the polish.

The second day, though, it started to chip. I’d applied a top coat, but the polish still chipped two days in and started chipping badly after that. Part of this is because I’m working in a job where I’m using my hands a lot, but I’ve had polishes (especially with top coats) last longer than that under similar situations. For the amount this cost and the difficulty in applying it effectively I’d expect it to be a little harder wearing.

Overall I’m rating this a 5 out of 8. I appreciate the novelty factor and the effect is very cool, but the fact that it chips so easily and requires a completely steady hand and distraction free environment to apply properly takes it down a couple notches.

Rating: 5/8 tentacles