Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[Mellmars1185]

@Saradestin Thank you very much ☺️

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185 love all the sparkly colors. 😍

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Thank you very much!

[ather]

@Mellmars1185  This is so fun! I love confetti sparkle!

[Mellmars1185]

@ather Thank you 😊

[WinglessOne]

@Mellmars1185  That looks like a fun topper! Super versatile, too, especially if it really does dry quickly. 

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne Thank you! I was really impressed. It does dry quickly and a lot of sparkles are on the brush and spread evenly. ✨️

[RGbrown]

@Mellmars1185 

Ahhhhhhh, this is fantastic! Rainbow toppers are so much fun and this one looks amazing! 😍

[Mellmars1185]

@RGbrown Thank you! 🌈

[Titian06]

Pretty topper, @Mellmars1185 ! 😍  You will be able to use it with so many colors in addition to by itself.

[Mellmars1185]

@Titian06 Thank you. I havent been able to find many shades with sparkles or specks so far. This was the first one I had. It is a nude pink colour. So far I like it!

[Titian06]

@Mellmars1185 - The base color is absolutely perfect on you!  I enlarged the pic to look at the pretty sparklies before replying.  I thought it was a clear base! 😄

[Mellmars1185]

@Titian06 Thank you so much 😊

[WinglessOne]

I’m giving my nails a couple days' break from color, wearing nothing but Butter London Jelly Preserve Strengthening Treatment shade Victoria Plum. Also shortened them all again. 

Meanwhile, I’ve played with Whats Up Nails Eyegazer metallic holo topper on a couple of spare swatch sticks. @RGbrown might be pleased to know it's not just her: this polish is kinda hard to work with. 😅 

First, here’s my labeled stick—the one I’ll keep with my other topper sticks. I used a ring magnet on 2 normal coats of Eyegazer and a glossy top coat. Magnet was applied after each Eyegazer coat and the top coat. 

Then I used KBShimmer’s S magnet to pull an X rainbow and a single stripe rainbow. These photos show how much the metal bits migrate/shift around while drying. The non-flash photos don’t show the holo rainbow, but in person it’s more noticeable on the X swatch. Neither the X or wavy stripe are nearly as rainbowy as the band I pulled with my ring magnet; might be because I used 2 coats on that swatch. 

Not photographed: the failures of Eyegazer in one thin coat (as thin yet full coverage as I could get) and two thick coats. I didn't try over a white base color, and now I wonder if a silver base would pop more of the rainbow while hiding some of Eyegazer's own base. 

Lessons learned: 

1. The wider the pulled stripe/band, the more obvious the holo rainbow. I kinda expected that, based on experiences with other magnetic polishes. 
   
   
2. A thin coat of Eyegazer is ineffective for a magnet look. Gotta lay down at least one substantial coat of this polish. One thick coat works. Two normal coats, with magnet applied to each, yields the best results. Two thick coats is nearly beyond the rainbow pulling threshold. 
   
   
3. I think this polish is too thick for its own good. Then again, thinning it could cause more problems; see next lesson. 
   
   
4. The metal bits migrate a lot after magnet application, no matter how long the magnet’s held over the nail. That’s why my once sharp thin X lines widened and fuzzed up within 3 minutes of post-app. I didn’t try holding a nail over a bar magnet, instead of holding a magnet over the nail. That method usually pulls a wide diffused band. I suspect it might not work so well with this polish, but I might test it at some point. 
   
   
5. The grey/silver base is much stronger than I expected. I bought Eyegazer thinking it’d have a nearly clear base once a magnet was applied. But I couldn’t pull enough polish with a magnet to leave large bare (or black, in the case of my swatch experiments) areas. 

I might pour a puddle of Eyegazer and add a bit of thinner to that, just to see how it affects things. I don’t wanna thin the whole bottle without some pre-testing. I also need to try this topper on a real nail, especially while holding a finger over a bar magnet. 

With Eyegazer as-is, I can imagine a few stormy sky and mystic fog nail art ideas. And it can create a lovely ombre effect with various magnet methods. So it’s not a total loss. 🙂 In fact, this polish would be a good filler for a crystal ball on a nail… if I ever freehand paint a crystal ball on my thumb nail again, maybe I’ll use this polish to fill it in. 

EDIT: For the heck of it, here's Eyegazer compared to Cirque Colors Helter Seltzer, another magnetic rainbow holo polish. Cirque doesn't call theirs a topper, as it has a steely blue base. Helter Seltzer was easier to work with. Both swatches were done with a ring magnet. 

L: Whats Up Nails Eyegazer on a black base. R: Cirque Colors Helter Seltzer on its own (no base color).

[Saradestin]

Such a masterclass @WinglessOne ! 😮 Thank you for your always detailed experiments. They are as scientific as they can be! You make our lives easier and our failures less probable 😊

[itsfi]

These are great @WinglessOne! Love seeing how these performed. I’ve debated over a magnet ring for a long time. I rarely use my magnet and thought the same would be the case with a magnet ring, but maybe not after seeing these. 🤔 

Oh!! Some “stormy sky and mystic fog nail art” would be amazing! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @itsfi ! A ring magnet's very handy if you're slow on the draw with a bar magnet like I sometimes am, or you don't often keep the bar magnet under your fingers. 

I'll also recommend the S magnet. It's a bar, not a ring. It can create multiple effects, including the X pattern. It's fun to play with. There are a few YouTube videos about using S and ring magnets. 

[Titian06]

Very interesting, @WinglessOne ! 🙂

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Titian06 !

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne Beautiful swatches and so neat!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Mellmars1185 !