Nail of the Week: Nails Inc. Magnetic Nail Polish

I've been waiting for ages to try magnetic nail polish. When I saw the Nails Inc. version at Sephora last week, I snapped it up. The price is a little steep ($16), but I've been waiting so long I would have bought it even if I didn't get to use my 20% VIB discount.

I bought the shade House of Parliament which looks bright purple on the Sephora website but in reality is a brownish plum. Still pretty, as the magnetic stripes give it an animal print effect, but I kind of wish I'd gotten the teal shade. There was also a silver.

Application was easy and the instructions were simple to follow (I didn't bother to buy the “base coat”.) The magnet is on the cap which is detachable from the applicator. Apply a thick coat and immediately hold the magnet over the nail. Within 15 seconds, a striped pattern appears as the magnet causes metallic particles in the polish to separate.

I had a few do-overs from getting the magnet too close, causing a nick in the coat, but all in all this was a fun, unique manicure experience. These would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone who likes to trick out their nails.

I'm hoping these will trickle down into lower-priced drugstore brands (like OPI's shatter did) so I can experiment with different shades and patterns. Meanwhile I recommend buying this in Sephora stores rather than online if you want to see an exact representation of the shades—the swatches on the Sephora site are a little off. Also make sure to use a top coat as this polish has a tendency to chip very quickly.