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

[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 !

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

Ahhhhhhh, this is amazing! I love all of your experimenting...it's nice to have a better idea of ways to approach this one, especially since I'm not super versed in magnetics to begin with, and seemingly have no patience with them 😅 I am glad to see you corroborate that one thin coat was basically useless, as that probably would have been where I started again next time, dropping me straight into frustration once more.  

Alternate theory on adding thinner:

Thick, gloopy polishes take forever to dry, but thinner evaporates almost immediately, and thinning down a thick polish can sometimes help speed the drying process along by allowing the solvents trapped in the goop to escape easier. 

That said...I dunno if this one is in that particular category of "way too thick", so yup, it's certainly a good idea to test a little before thinning the whole bottle. Too thin, and I suspect all the magnetic particles will just fall out of suspension completely. 

I don't think there are a ton of magnetic holo toppers out there...I wonder if this is why? I recall another indie (KBshimmer maybe? Not 100% on that though) did one last holiday season, but wound up discounting it pretty heavily not long after release...turned out the magnetic holo they used did something unanticipated and undesirable after a few months...turned the base grey maybe? Something along the line of losing it's sparkle, at least.

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  I'm glad this was helpful! Yeah, one thin coat will hurt your feelings. I mean, you could try it... maybe my bottle of Eyegazer's thicker than usual, I dunno. Kinda doubt it, though. When I get a bottle of magnetic polish, I always test it with a magnet through the bottle to see how easy (or not) is is to pull/push a pattern. Eyegazer seemed okay, just a bit sluggish. That should've been my first clue. 

I think the only way to get this topper to hold a pattern without migrating/shifting is to keep the magnet over it until it dries enough to not move around anymore, which could be up to 20 minutes. But who has the patience to do that? For multiple nails? No thank you. I do worry that thinning this polish will exacerbate the problem, but I won't know for sure without testing, so... next time I'm feeling patient enough to work with Eyegazer, we'll see what happens. I forgot about thinner reducing the drying time of some polishes; that'll be interesting to watch for here. 

Now I'm trying to think of other magnetic toppers I've seen, let alone magnetic holo toppers, and I'm drawing a blank. Well wait, there are some magnetics that are meant to be used over a base color, like the Born Pretty magnetics... I have some of those. Most of them are too sheer on their own and do best over a black or otherwise dark base color. But they're easy to use and they hold patterns/designs very well. None of them are holo toppers, though. I'm also trying to remember the disastrous holiday topper you mentioned. That'll be one of those things I suddenly (finally) remember at 3 AM when I'm trying to fall asleep. 🤣 

[Samtian]

@WinglessOne um wow!!!!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Samtian  🙂 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne your pics AND your review is really helpful.  Slightly off-track but do you like using a ring magnet?  I only have a bar but I've wondered if I might like a ring.

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @CookieGirl1 ! I love using a ring magnet. I'm sometimes not fast enough with a bar magnet, which is why I sometimes set the bar up on a table in a way that I can quickly slide my finger under it (vs. holding the bar over the nail). I'm much faster with the ring because I can wear it on my thumb while painting each nail, making the magnet quickly accessible. I usually don't fully remove the ring: I just slide it a bit down my thumb and then hold it over whichever nail needs a magnet. 

You can get different effects from a ring magnet by holding it (not wearing it) flat over a nail, so the magnet faces out sideways. That'll push metal bits and create negative space curves. If you put a freshly painted nail inside the magnet, you'll get some interesting results, especially on longer nails. 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne thanks for the perspective!  Since I've never had one I'm just not sure but it might be worth a shot.

[blushes88]

Here’s mine

 

[Saradestin]

Beautiful bright pink mani+pedi @blushes88 ! 😍

[itsfi]

@blushes88, I love a bold and bright hot pink. This is gorgeous! 💗

[CookieGirl1]

@blushes88 hot pink never goes out of style!

[RGbrown]

@blushes88 

Ooohhh, hot pink is a great choice any time of year! Gorgeous 💗

[Titian06]

Oooo, nice color, @blushes88 ! 😍

[Mellmars1185]

@blushes88 Pretty pink 💗💓