Friday, September 2, 2011

Essence Metallics Magnetic Nail Polish


I have heard of magnetic nail polish and read the reviews before. It's intriguing - creating patterns on the nail polish by using a magnet. Knowing that it's only available in Europe which requires some scouting and online purchasing, I have made it as the polish-to-get in my Wish List.

Now...

   who would have thought Essence is available in Malaysia???
   can you imagine my expression when I saw it in Watsons?
   not only that, they have the whole collection of Essence magnetic nail polish!


There are other brands that carry magnetic nail polish, to name a few; LCN, Nails Inc, Alessandro... and Le Magnetique by Lancome (long time ago, should be discontinued now) and we can't find these in Malaysia. Nope, none, nil, zits.

BUT WE HAVE ESSENCE METALLICS MAGNETIC NAIL POLISH IN MALAYSIA NOW. 

Hello Essence, nice to meet you!

L-R: Steel Me, Metal Battle, Nothing Else Metals, Copper Rulez!
with guide booklet (magnet inside)

I grabbed each color except Iron Goddess, which is in light golden copper. My skin tone doesn't complement well with gold so I left it out in my purchase. The bottle is 8ml in size and costs RM9.90 each. The magnet and guide are sold separately, RM7.90. But the cashier forgot to key in the amount so I got it for FREE! Ha!

When I took the bottles from the shelf I couldn't find the magnet, not knowing it was embedded in the booklet. I also failed to find the booklet from the range so I sought help from a sales assistant. When she gave it to me, my face lit up and I couldn't stop smiling. She was puzzled how this whole magnet polish worked so I explained the process; how it's done, types of effects and etc. A customer came and listened as well, I guess this newbie is generating curiosity among Malaysians now!

This is the booklet that comes with magnet:

The magnet allows you to create 3 patterns: vertical, horizontal & diagonal

A simple magnet with holding end

I tested it the same night I bought them. I was impressed by the nail polish, they are very opaque in one coat. Yes one-coaters! And the colors are gorgeous; Steel Me is a silver metal, Nothing Else Metals is golden olive and Copper Rulez is a rich copper with golden orange glitters.

However I was dismayed by the weak magnet. It's a thin flat one that couldn't perform its task well. I failed to make vertical and horizontal stripes that night no matter how many times I tried. I gave up and went to sleep :P

The next day, with ample time and light, I was determined to make it work. After several attempts; using different angles, techniques, gauging the gap between polish and magnet... I nailed it!

The trick is to apply one thick coat on the nails (no wonder they're so pigmented) and hold the magnet very close to them. Like this:



Bear in mind that the magnet is strongest at the round end so place your nails at the correct position and wait for pattern to form. The instruction states 30 seconds waiting time. Blah, inaccurate. It took 1 whole minute to be effective. Another thing, Steel Me requires about 1.5 minutes for a full pattern. I still have difficulty in creating vertical & horizontal stripes, diagonal is the easiest and quickest to form. I suppose it's due to  my curvy nails.

There you go, swatch of the awesome metallics magnetic polish by Essence:

L-R: Metal Battle, Nothing Else Metals, Steel Me, Copper Rulez!


I wasn't aware till the swatch, that Metal Battle is not a magnetic nail polish. It's black with blue shimmer, nonetheless, it's very pretty.

Essence Metallics magnetic nail polish is gorgeous but tricky. Most of the time you'll end up tipping the magnet onto your nails, resulting in smudges and bald patches. One has to be very patient to make it work but the results will be very satisfying. Of course you can use other magnets to create the patterns but my fridge magnets couldn't so it's up to each individual.

I would love to strike this off from my Wish List since I have successfully acquired them but with the weak magnet, I am still lemming for better ones. If only they have LCN here!

For better pictures, effects, reviews and swatch, go to nailjunkie for more.

Last but not least, I promised to show a better swatch of Essence Where Is The Party (click here for bottle pics). Here it is, layered over Metal Battle:

Flashes green and purple in shade

Green and blue are evident when seen at an angle

Purple at its best when shot in flash

Hope you like the magnetic nail polish as much as I do. If you're intrigued, go get them in Watsons! Don't forget to buy the duochrome too :)


10 comments:

~aSstHa~ said...

Hi,
May I knw which branch you bought yours? Please email me at asstha@gmail.com. Appreciate your help. Hv been dying to get my hands on these like foreverrrr... =.=
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

hi there. :)

may i ask where you bought these in malaysia? my friend and i are trying to track it down. :p

thanks!

Poppyluva said...

Hi Anonymous!

I bought these pretties at Watsons in Sunway Pyramid (new wing). I'm sure other Watsons outlets should have them, especially those bigger ones :)

Good luck in finding and show your swatch once you have them!

Poppyluva said...

Asstha,

I've mailed you! :)

Joanne said...

I went to various Watsons.. 1u, the curve & sunway pyramid.. But don't have.. Sob sob

Joanne said...

I've search Watsons 1u, the curve and sunway pyramid.. Don't have .. Sob sob

Poppyluva said...

Hi Joanne,

Two weeks ago I saw it in Pavilion Watsons and Alamanda Watsons. But most of the polish are out of stock...

Fret not, I think they should be restocking, the salesgirl from Alamanda Watsons told me so :)

LauraLeia said...

Your nails look wonderful! :D I bought of the magnetic nail polishes too, but i didn't buy the magnet. >_< Not all Watsons carry Essence cosmetics too, only Sunway Pyramid, Midvalley, Sg. Wang and a couple others. Too bad, because their stuff are really good and, more importantly, affordable. :D

Poppyluva said...

Hi Laura!

Thanks for the compliments! I used to have bad cuticles and brittle nails. But it improved ever since I used Sally Hansen Cuticle oil and couple of hand lotion :)

I have two other Essence polish too, I agree their stuff is of above average quality given the price is in acceptable range :)

Thanks for visiting!

Christine Chua said...

Nail's Inc is selling magnatic nail polish for £13 per bottle and it's so easy to apply and create the effect - only need 30 seconds for the effect to form. I am coming back from London to Malaysia for CNY 2012. Anyone want to order?