Hi Everyone! I had to run to TWO Sally's on Friday, but I am happy to report that I was finally able to get a couple bottles of the Gelish Magneto polish: Inseparable Forces (Blue) & Electric Metal Lover (Red). Sounds a little patriotic, hahahah. I also grabbed a pack of the 3 magnets (wavy, straight, and star).
Let me tell you, when I first looked at the bottles, I was kinda disappointed. I was paying as much as a regular full-sized bottle, but only getting a mini-bottle that would do about 10 manis (a normal full-size does closer to 40). Second of all, everywhere else online had the kit (which was what I was expecting) that included a full-sized bottle plus a matching non-gel bottle of magnetic nail polish (and a magnet). I mean...if I didn't pick up the extra magnets, I wouldn't have gotten any at all! So...first impression, not the greatest.
I decided to test this on my mom's nails first (poor guinea pig!). I tried all 3 of the magnets on Electric Metal Lover, and had mixed results. I wish I took a pic of her nails, and I'll update if I do. =) But as far as I can tell, the wavy lines and straight lines are the best of the bunch. The star just didn't work for us, and my guess is because our nails were too short/small. But anyhoo, let's go with the steps first.
1. Push cuticles back and shape your nails.
2. Lightly buff the top of your nail, just to get rid of the shine.
3. Clean nails with alcohol (or nail cleaner).
4. Apply PhBond.
5. Apply foundation gel then cure. (Try to get this layer on as THIN as possible!)
6. Using a clean brush or lint-free wipe, get rid of tackiness.
7. Apply one coat of magneto polish and cure (for 30s if using an LED lamp, 2 min if using a regular UV lamp.)
8. Apply 2nd coat of magneto (don't cure yet!) to one nail.
9. Hold magnet above the nail, as close as you can get without touching. NailHarmony recommends 5 seconds, but I feel that 10 seconds is more appropriate. The lines are more distinct and hold the shape better. It is very important that you put on a coat of polish and use the magnet right away for each nail. Try to hold the magnet as steady as you can!
10. Repeat for the rest of the hand.
11. Cure for 30s if using an LED lamp and 2 min if using a regular UV lamp.
12. Apply top finish then cure.
13. Use alcohol on a lint-free wipe to get rid of tacky layer.
14. Admire your handiwork!
Now, you can cure after each nail for the 2nd coat of the magneto polish, but I didn't find that was necessary. This is a relatively quick process, and you can easily finish one hand without worrying that the magnetic-ness will separate (did that make sense?).
On my right hand, I did a little bit of experimenting (left hand is completely the Inseparable Forces for both coats). For the first coat of magneto, I used Electric Metal Lover on every finger except my ring finger which is Inseparable Forces. After curing that, I used Electric Metal Lover for the second coat on every nail except my middle finger which is Inseparable Forces. So, a quick recap would be that the experiments were on my ring finger - Blue base and Red 2nd coat and my middle finger - Red base and Blue 2nd coat. I absolutely love how my middle finger turned out.
My pointer finger looks funky because I didn't hold the magnet over the nail long enough and I tried to fix it by replacing the magnet over the nail for a longer period of time. This did not work...so I guess there is a time limit as to how long you have to use the magnet for before it doesn't work right. Hence, why I said it was important to do each nail individually and quickly. Another important tip is to hold the magnet as steady as you can. To achieve this to the best of my abilities, I rested my hand flat on a table, and then lightly rested the tip of the magnet on my cuticle area. I found with this method, I was able to remain fairly steady for 10seconds.
My thumb looks a little funky because I didn't stick the finger in all the way and the nail didn't cure properly...and when I swiped the top coat, everything just smudge. I didn't really have time to fix it, so I just left it for now (well, I re-did the top coat, but that's just about it). I'm getting lazy in my old age, what can I say? Heheheh
Here's a closer look at my middle finger and ring finger. Sorry my camera shots have been kinda blurry. I think I will invest in a better camera soon enough...but for now, we'll have to suffer through these shots. I'm not sure if you can see it, but the middle finger has a hint of red underneath, and I really like how that turned out. The ring finger's purple hue has been a hit at the housewarming party on Saturday. =) (Excuse my poor sentence structure, but you know what I mean!) You can also see a better look at the non-waviness of my pointer finger. You can kinda see lines, but it's mostly smooth.
Kk, to the break down:
Pros:
- The wavy and straight lines look awesome...if you want a quick, funky nail, this is a nice route.
- I've worn this all weekend, and no chipping. I'm pretty sure I won't see any for at least another week or so. I think it's awesome Gelish was able to figure out how to combine their system with look of a magnetic polish!
- Colors on the bottle is pretty accurate.
Cons:
- Price - definitely paid more than a regular bottle of Gelish or Magnetic Polish, but I think that was my bad. I've seen the kit with both for $19.95, which I feel is reasonable.
- Slight learning curve - took me a few tries on my mom's nails to get the hang of it, and even then I messed up 2 nails. =) Eventually, your nails will come out great!
- The polish I got did NOT come with magnets...had to purchase them separately. And even then, the star magnet did not work as well as I would have liked. I'll try to do another post with just the designs. If you get the kit, it comes with one magnet.
Would I recommend? Of course! Everyone I know that uses Gelish is super excited about the Magneto, and I don't think they will be disappointed...unless they didn't buy the right thing, like me. LOL I'm not disappointed in the polish itself, so I'll try not to let me hold that against them! =) I suppose it was my fault in buying it at Sallys instead of where I normally buy it. =/ Woe is me. Overall, this product does exactly what I expected to, and that's what matters to me.
Anyhoo, I hope this review was helpful, even if I kept jumping from topic to topic. I obviously don't organize my thoughts before I start blogging, hahaha. But I like it this way...and I hope you do to.
Till next time!
Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I used in this blog.
2. I am not affiliated with any of the companies who's products I used.
3. I did not get paid for this review.
4. These are my honest opinions.
