I'll Try Anything Once: Magnetic Nail Polish

The other week I wrote about having fun with nail art, and a reader suggested that I try out magnetic nail polish. Magnetawha? was my initial reaction, but then I looked into it and it piqued my interest. 

The brand that makes it is called LCN, a salon-quality company that makes some really lovely products for making your hands look and feel their fanciest.

And the magnetic polish? It works like this: If you order individually, you get a shimmery polish containing magnetic particles in one shade in a polish base that's a slightly different shade. It comes with two magnets, one in a stripey pattern and one in a starburst pattern. (It's $9.90 for one bottle and two magnets.) You paint a nice thick coat of the polish on your fingertip, and then hold the magnet of your choice right above it for 10 seconds (just be careful not to touch your still-sticky finger, you'll smudge it. I did this a zillion times).

During those 10 seconds, the magnet attracts the light particles and pulls them into the design, leaving you with this lovely airbrushed-looking effect on your nails.

Are you still confused? Don't worry, I made a video.

I really loved the design that the magnets made, making my nails look the way a gemstone does when you hold it up to the light. Being able to create a look like this at home makes you feel pretty fancy and professional too, since it looks like something you might have done at a salon.

And you also get to add the fun factor of explaining to people that you're wearing MAGNETIC NAIL POLISH and it kind of makes you look like you're from THE FUTURE or maybe you're some kind of glamourous, IMPORTANT SCIENTIST LADY. Or something like that.