LCN Magnetic Power Magnet Nail Polish Collection

2011 is turning out to be a pretty amazing year for nail polish. I've seen almost all my nail polish wishes come true in the past two years, but one of them still seemed absent.... until now. Magnetic nail polish is the new trend on the horizon and I couldn't be happier.

Here's LCN's new Magnetic Power collection, a set of eight magnet-effect polish colors plus two pattern magnets.


Amazing Mauve. This one starts off as a pale purple frost, but when you expose it to the magnet, it turns to awesome silver and purple! This is true for all the magnetic shades- they appear one color in the bottle but magically transform when exposed to the magnet.

Copper Seduction.

Ferromagnetic Blue.

Fuchsia Attraction.

Green Temptation.

Iron Magic.

Magnetic Moments.

Nude Charm.

If you've never used magnetic nail polish before, here's how it works. First, you paint all ten nails with either the magnet polish or a base polish (I used a coat of black polish for my first coat). Then, one by one, you paint each nail and hold the magnet against it for 10-20 seconds while the polish is still very wet. This forms the design in the polish. After the design shows up, you move on to the next nail, and so on.

One of the things I really like about these is that they're super iridescent. After you use the magnet on them, all sorts of sparkles and colors come out. These are just so super cool, I can't get over it.

I tried a little bit of nail art with Magnetic Moments, inspired by this design by Stephanie Rae:


I applied a base of black polish, then a stripe of LCN Magnetic Moments down the center of the nail. I applied the magnet for 30 seconds on each nail. I outlined an oval design in silver glitter striper polish and then covered the edges in black striper polish. Sort of like a cameo design. Not bad for my first try! I'll do a few things differently next time, but I thought it looked pretty cool and it got me a lot of compliments when I wore it.

These LCN Magnetic polishes are very good, though so far I only have the Lancome Le Magnetique polishes to compare them to. They're very opaque, form a good design quickly and change colors in a beautiful way. A quick rundown of my experience with these:

What I liked:

• LCN Magnetic polishes come in a good variety of attractive shades.
• The magnet works quickly.
• Polishes are opaque in one coat.
• Good dry time.
• Easy to apply formula.
• They look incredible on the nails!! Magnet polish is awesome.
• Two choices of magnets for a starburst effect or a striped effect.

What I didn't like:

• The bottles are very small. 8ml. That's why I used a coat of black polish as a base- to conserve the magnet polish! If you do two coats every time, you could end up running out very quickly.
• The magnets are awkward to use. They're not attached to the bottle like the Lancome ones, so you have to find a way to position them close enough to make an even design but not so close that you bump your nail against the magnet (like I did in a few of these pictures). The loose magnet also makes it a bit difficult to center your design and make sure they're even, so it takes a bit of practice to get the positioning right.
• They're expensive. $9.90 for 8ml. $19.90 for the magnet alone. The starter kit which includes all eight shades plus both magnets is a slightly better deal at $115.
• The design can sometimes look blurry and fade over time, and sometimes only looks right from certain angles.
  

Despite the awkwardness of the loose magnet and the small bottle size, I do think these are worth the cost. They look so amazing and I get so many comments on my nails when I wear these. Magnet polishes are pretty unique. I know a few other brands will be releasing some later this year, but so far these are satisfying my craving for new magnet shades. They're gorgeous.

My top picks are Magnetic Moments, Iron Magic, Ferromagnetic Blue, Nude Charm and Green Temptation.

These are available directly from LCN either individually or as a set.

(These were sent to me for review.)