The product: China Glaze Magnetix Nail Lacquers in Attraction and Instant Chemistry

Does anyone else remember when Lancome put out Le Magnetique, back in 2007? I remember thinking it was so cool – it was the first I’d ever seen of magnetic polish, and no one else was doing it at the time!

The trend may have taken a while (okay, like, five years, which in internet-time is like forever) to take off, but I’d say they’re finally coming into the limelight.

China Glaze Magnetix 3-in-1 magnet

China Glaze Magnetix Nail Lacquer in Attraction

China Glaze Magnetix Nail Lacquer in Instant Chemistry

The first few times I tried these Magnetix polishes, I wasn’t really impressed – they had the potential to be awesome, but they just seemed kind of mediocre, you know? But I gave them another try, and then another, and by the third time, I was starting to see what all the hype was about.

For starters, Instant Chemistry is just about the sexiest burgundy-plum polish I’ve ever come across, and (while it looks a little streaky during application), it settles into just the right evenness. I know not everyone agrees with me on this, but I like a little bit of a brushed-metal finish in my metallics and shimmers – not so much that it’s streaky, but just enough to give a little texture.

Instant Chemistry with topcoat in artificial lighting. Just one coat!

Diagonal lines on index finger, star design on middle finger, plain ring finger, herringbone pinkie finger.

And Attraction; oh my heart! It’s a little on the streaky side when left un-magnetized, but get that sucker under the magnet and wow. It lights up like the night sky, the base shade getting darker and the silver shimmer becoming starkly contrastive. Takes a few tries to get used to application process, but it’s so, so worth it.

(Just to note – this post contains three separate photo sets, as the results are quite different depending on application. I dawdled a bit the first time, but the patterns are so much more obvious if you hurry with the magnet!)

Instant Chemistry and star design; no topcoat, one layer.

The verdict?

I didn’t think I’d like these, after the first time I gave them a go, but it turned out I just wasn’t being quick enough getting my nail to the magnet. If you’re okay with being a bit of a speedy Gonzales with these polishes (a pop culture reference which, to be entirely honest, I don’t actually understand outside the context of colloquialisms), I’d say give these a try!

The magnet effects are (of course) incredibly cool, and the shades are absolute stunners. I’ll still be on the lookout for a magnetic polish with even more pop!, but in the meantime, I’m quite happy with these!

Attraction and star design on thumb; Instant Chemistry on ring and pinkie fingers. (Plain and herringbone, consecutively. Two coats, no topcoat.) Artificial lighting.

More photos, + availability »