Alphabet Challenge: M is for... Mother's Magnetics

Hello and welcome! Halfway through the alphabet now! This is taking ages... but it's been fun using some polishes and techniques I haven't done as frequently/at all. This is why I like these challenges--some people think having a prompt every day limits your creativity, but I don't see it that way. They inspire me to think of things differently than I normally do, and it leads to some cool designs I may not have ever thought of before!

Today's post is a bit different. Instead of using polishes that start with M, I am using magnetic polishes! I might be a bit late for this to be trendy, but I don't really care, because they're gorgeous. Also tying in with the letter M is that my mother gave me these polishes for my birthday in April. Thank you, Mommy! :D

First I'll show you the set itself, then the manicure I did using them.

(click to enlarge)

Fairly long post, so keep reading after the jump!


The line appears to be called Absolute! by NickaK New York, and this set came in a little black-and-white striped bag. There are four magnetic polishes, a glitter topper (that wouldn't go with these polishes at all, but I'll use it for something lol), a clear topcoat, five magnets with different patterns, and two small containers with nail polish remover pads. Also included was a small pamphlet with instructions on using magnetics as well as showing the other four magnetic polishes they offer (there are 8 in total, and I kind of want the other four now...) and information about the website.

Looking on the site now, I'm not sure they have these things anymore, but it's here. Looks like a good site for quality and affordable beauty supplies!

Here is a close-up of just the polishes:

Again, click to enlarge. And ignore that mini bottle of clear in the background. Didn't even notice that 'til I zoomed in. Ha.

The topcoat boasts "acrylic-like shine", but I don't think I will use it much. It's glossy, yes, but very slow-drying and after a day or two it develops a weird sort of texture. I used it once and then switched back to my usual Seche Vite or the like. The glitter is a bit thick and nothing special--lavender microglitter with larger gold, silver, and green hexes. Unique if nothing else. I'm sure I will find a use for it.

The magnetic polishes themselves are excellent! A bit thicker than normal polish, well-pigmented (one coat was plenty), and the shimmer is very distinctive. They're nice even before you get the magnets involved. Speaking of the magnets, here are the five I received:

Starburst, waves, diagonal stripes, chevron stripes, and fishnet!

The magnets worked great when I was testing on my nail wheel. However, I have such tiny and curved nails that I couldn't get the patterns to show up clearly at all. The centre would be OK, but the sides were meh. This isn't a flaw with their product--I'm sure most people would like them well enough; they looked good on my mom's fingernails--but unless they make them in extra-small and curved I'll probably not be able to get the full effect.

So instead of banking on having a full, clear pattern, I just let it take me somewhere more abstract. And it came out gorgeous!

They look like cat-eye gemstones!

I used each of the colours to do French tips on each finger. The shades are called Bleu, Purple, Olive, and Pink. I'm sure you can figure out which is which ;) I used the wavy-lines magnet on these, and had to first do the middle of the nail, then try to rock it over to the right and left to make those parts react as well. It was tricky to do this without smudging the polish. I messed up a few times, but it really wasn't bad. Bleu looked best in real life. I love this colour.

Then grabbed two of my Stripe Rite striping polishes to accent: gold glitter to outline the tips, then the black... swoosh thingys... on the thumb and ring finger. The stones are little 1mm crystals I picked up at a craft store.

Topcoated with Seche Vite, which unfortunately shrunk these quite a lot. That isn't actual tip wear. Oh well.

I couldn't stop looking at these. I'm not sure if the pics really do it justice. In the sun, especially, they had sort of a mesmerising 3D effect. Makes it look like there is so much depth, and it's just one coat of polish!

By the way, when it came time to remove this, I did use the remover pads from this set. Not nearly as fast as my pure acetone I normally use, of course, but these things smell AMAZING! Mine are lemon and peach, and the peach especially smells delicious. I kind of want to eat them. (I take no responsiblity for what happens to you if you eat one.) I think I will stick with my 100% acetone when I'm here, and save the pads for when I'm travelling. They're perfect for shoving in a travel bag.

Anyway, if you're still reading, thanks for sticking around! Hope you enjoyed this little review, and the manicure. I'm quite happy with this set overall. Anybody else out there still digging magnetics, or has that ship sailed? Let me know what you think, and I'll see you next time! xoxo