Manic.Monday: Purple magnetism with Barry M

You may remember that just before Easter I did a post on the color purple (you can read my Purple edition here), and when I was selecting the products that I wanted to include I rediscovered an old favorite that has been pushed further and further back in my very over-crowded drawer of nail polishes and I quickly decided that I would show it some well deserved love. When Barry M launched their range of magnetic nail polishes a few years ago, I became more than a little obsessed with them. The idea behind them is that since the formula contains a very fine powder that reacts to a magnet, you can create a specific pattern. They come in a variety of colors (black, red, blue, green, purple and different metallics) and magnetic patterns (chevron, straight line, diagonal line, waves, Union Jack/star pattern) and since I couldn't decide which one I liked the most, I ended up buying all of them - after all, why compromise? I must admit though that I have used some much more than others and the Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish (£4.99) in Violet is definitely at the top of the list. Despite containing a microscopic powder, the formula has just the right consistency - not too thick and not too thin, and is as far as I can tell exactly the same as with the ordinary Barry M nail polishes, and the same can be said about the brush which is of average width but still easily gives an even and full coverage.

To create the magnetic look you definitely need at least two coats, and you need to shake the bottle properly before you apply each coat, to make sure that you get a good distribution of powder to react with the magnet, which you don't use until the second coat. After you've applied one coat on each hand, the result is best if you work on one finger at a time and as soon as you've applied the second coat on a nail hold the magnetic top over the nail for a few seconds. You can see a pattern appear almost immediately, so you don't actually need to hold the magnet over the polish long at all, although I usually count to 10 before I remove it. In my experience most of these magnetic effects turn out really beautiful and the only one that I can't quite get to turn out very well is the star effect - since my nails are quite narrow, there simply isn't enough surface for the pattern. The Violet shade is a beautiful deep aubergine color with a touch of silver sparkle and although the contrast created by the magnet is gorgeous, the shade is lovely enough to wear without using the magnet. I think the magnetic effects should be shown off with a high shine top coat for a brilliant and almost glass like look which is really stunning so I always finish with a top coat, although it might be interesting to experiment with a matte finish too. On me the nail polish will last about 3 days before it starts to chip, and unlike a lot of other glitters and effects, it's just as easy to remove as an ordinary polish. I know this isn't the latest among nail effects, however I still love the look and I always get compliments for them, regardless of which color or pattern I go for and the great thing is that you can of course use any magnetic pattern with any of the colors, so you can be as creative as you want - mixing colors and perhaps even patterns.