China Glaze Magnetix - first look

Hello my lovelies! Today I want to talk to you about magnetic nail polish. I'm sure most of you have heard of it already and seen a lot of swatches. Some of you have also tried it. But for those that don't know about it, it's a type of nail polish with magnetic particles in it. By placing a magnet with a certain pattern over your nail, the particles gather to form a beautiful, effortless design. It's the most accessible form of nail art in my opinion, because it doesn't require any special skills. It also looks great and the metallic finish of these polishes is really edgy. I'm really glad that this trend is getting popular because famous brands are jumping on the magnetic bandwagon more and more. This means it becomes accessible to a lot of people. The China Glaze Magnetix collection is the first collection I had access to in terms of magnetic polish. I was so excited to finally be able to order these! 

L-R: China Glaze Magnetix Instant Chemistry, Drawn To You, Pull Me Close, Cling On

The collection has 6 shades but I only got the 4 above. The other ones Attraction (silver) and You Move Me (brown) didn't seem that unusual to me. I almost didn't get the purple one either, but I'm glad I did now because it ended up being one of my favorites. 

Unlike other brands, China Glaze has only one magnet that has to be purchased separately. If you have magnets from other brands you can use those and not purchase this one at all. What I do love about it is that it has 3 designs: diagonal lines, chevron and star. This way you only need to purchase the magnet once and get 3 designs that can be used with all the magnetic polishes you have. 

Here are the 3 magnets with the different designs on the U-shaped holder. Each magnet has a little plastic ledge that rests on your cuticle, making it easier to hold the magnet over the nail without touching it. What I don't like about these magnets is the fact that they are flat. My nails are very curved and the sides are not close enough to the magnet, so the design only shows up on the middle part of the nail. I have not found a solution for this problem yet, but I'm still practicing. 

These are my first attempts using the Magnetix. It's the first time I use magnetic polishes in my life, so the results are less than perfect. I do think they turned out pretty well though. The polishes are: 

• index - Cling On with chevron pattern - a green that needs at least two coats to be opaque
• middle finger - Drawn To You with diagonal lines - a gorgeous purple that could be opaque in one coat
• ring finger - Instant Chemistry with star - maroon/dark purple, the most opaque of the bunch (one coat) 
• pinkie - Pull Me Close with chevron pattern- silver/blue that could be opaque in one coat

China Glaze claims that these require only one coat, but you have seen above that it can vary a lot. Instant Chemistry is the only one opaque enough to be a one-coater. With the others it depends on the thickness of your coats (except for Cling On that needs at least two coats). I held the magnet for about 15 seconds over each nail. I don't have other magnets, but I've read on other blogs that these magnets are not as strong as others. I'm waiting for magnetic polishes to show up on the local market and then I'm gonna do a comparison. I'm also going to swatch these separately and do a different post on each. What's your take on magnetics? Have you tried them and if so, is it love or hate?