Barry M have released four new magnetic polishes (and 5 new nail paints but that’s for another post!) in the colours black, blue, red and purple. I never really got into the whole magnetic trend because I’m not patient enough to perfect the technique (as you will probably be able to tell from my photos!). I did get two of Boots 17’s magnetic polishes in silver and green and for some unfathomable reason, I am yet to use them. Something about the Barry M polishes got me excited though. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge Barry M fan! In any case, the new Barry M magnetics come with a different magnet on the lid, so each of the colours has its own pattern. Of course you can always swap them round but it’s a good way to get you to buy all four, lol. I picked up ‘Magnetic Blue’ – I was wildly influenced by the model in the photo on the Barry M stand as it looked super duper pretty. Anyway, enough rambling!
I am really rather spectacularly in love with this. For a start, the magnet is in a star-shape, it almost makes a Union Jack! It’s a gorgeous denim blue, quite different from Boots 17 Magnetic Blue from the lovely Lydia at Lyd’s Blonde Thoughts. The background is a very deep dark blue, while the ‘star’ is a very silvery blue. Magnetic Blue totally makes me think of faded jeans!
I also think it’s kind of like the mysterons’ circles from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, lol! Anyone old enough/sad enough to know what I mean? It’s just a very alien-like, jellyfish-like finish and I LOVE IT! I’ve always been pretty much in awe of jellyfish and finally I can make my nails look like one!
Application:
I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy. The polish is very thick in the first place, which makes neat application difficult. Then there’s the magnet – I found it quite difficult to align it correctly over each nail and as you can probably see, my nails don’t match. I think my nails are a little too curved as well – this effect will look amazing on people with flatter nails! I found that it was difficult to get the magnet to affect the sides of my nail as well as the centre, and often I touched my nail by mistake in trying to make sure I kept it even. By the way, if you get polish on the magnet, don’t panic, just use a cotton wool bud with a tiny amount of nail polish remover and rub it off. The important thing is not to scratch the magnet. Like with a lot of magnetic polishes, there’s a little curved lip on the edge of the magnet for you to rest on your cuticle as you magnetise. Be sure to keep the magnet that distance from your nail because you’ll end up touching the nail and messing up like me otherwise! The magnet is on the top of the cap, which is detachable and removes to reveal a normal Barry M bottle. The pictures show 2 coats of polish – I magnetised it on the second coat, as the first is not quite opaque. Don’t put topcoat on until the polish is totally totally dry – I made this mistake and a lot of the metallic particles came with the brush which blurred the effect. If you do use a topcoat, use a thin, watery topcoat that won’t pull the polish.
What does it look like when it’s not been magnetised? A lovely denim shimmery-frost. Not too brushstrokey, still quite thick.
For curiosity’s sake, I put on a coat of Rimmel Matte topcoat – the effect was very pretty but totally doesn’t translate in this picture! It was somewhat 3 dimensional – very cool!
What do you think of the magnetic trend? Is it one of those novelties that you’d only wear at parties or is it something you’d go for? I’m tempted to try it on my toes, I think it’ll look pretty funky!
Barry M Magnetic polishes retail at £4.99 – currently only available in some Superdrugs and some Boots – when they announce the release of the polishes is when you know they’ll be in your local Superdrug/Boots, and they’ll be online too! In Superdrug there’s a buy 2 Barry M nail polishes and save £1 offer on – with my student discount I think I shaved £5.50 off my receipt!
x
Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Imagination In Colour UK Nail Polish Blog
The initial lilac finish has a chromey element to it – much like the Barry M Foil Effect polishes. It looks amazing even on it’s own! Then when you add topcoat or clear polish it creates a gorgeous Cadbury-purple jelly colour.
