I'm usually quite conventional when it comes to nail polishes and don't pay too much attention to fancy new trends and styles. However, when I heard of the new 'magnet' trend from a few close friends, I decided to be a bit adventurous and bought a 10 ml bottle of 17's "Magnetized Nail Polish" from Boots for £4.59 to wear at any upcoming parties/social events. Basically, this type of nail polish contains tiny specks of metal inside the main substance of the polish and, while the applied polish is still wet, hovering a magnet over the nail immediately creates a funky and unique effect due to the tiny metal particles moving around the magnet's magnetic field. In theory, at least, what a clever little thing this is!
I decided to buy a blue/teal shade to go with a dress but, I think, there are 4 or 5 different shades available in total. From the Boots website I can see that there are only 4 but I'm sure there was another silver/white shade in store. As far as I'm aware, these are widely available in Boots and other related stores (also beauty parlors) and can also be bought from various online retailers (Asus, Amazon, etc). I generally find Boots to be the cheapest when it comes to buying nail polish and related items so that's my first choice. In terms of superficial features, everything is pretty standard. The 10 ml bottle is a nice and pretty glass bottom, plastic top design and the top is very easy to remove and replace. The cap includes the flat magnet piece and you need to hold this in one hand to add the 'magnet' effect. Since every polish comes with a "complementary" magnet, you needn't worry about finding some off the fridge door or your hubby's tools kit!
The instructions which come with the nail polish probably make the application procedure seem more daunting than it really is. In fact, applying it is very simple and easy. Since you only have a small window after applying the nail polish in which you can use the magnet to create some effects, the whole process can be quite time consuming initially. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to get it done more quickly the following occasions. Also, you have to hover the magnet over your nails for at least 10 seconds. If you do it for less than 10 seconds, the effect is less likely to stay on. It's also best not to move the magnet around too much because this can distort any patterns you've already created, leaving you with a bit of a mess. Once I managed to do it properly (after a few trials), I was thoroughly impressed with the effects that were produced; not only does the pattern integrate well within the background colour but the polish itself is very glossy (even with a thin coating) and beautiful. If you can find this 10 ml bottle of high quality, gorgeous nail polish for under £6, I'd recommend you go for it and try it out. After you get used to it, you can get imaginative and really play around with it to conjure up some really fun effects. Add to this the fact that it stays on and doesn't chip away easily (lasts the best part of a week for me), and you've got a really lovely product from 17.
I hope this was useful! Please feel free to ask any questions.
