Cat Eye Manicure — The Newest Nail Trend

Rachel Sihombing

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3 min read

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Aug 7, 2019

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Cat Eye Manicures Are the Newest Nail Trend. And they probably look different than what you’re expecting.

Cat Eye Nails

While a cat eye has long been a staple in makeup, it’s now made the move over to your manicure. Though it doesn’t include the same flick like you might think. The new trend more closely resembles the cat eye gemstone, and Pinterest reports that search for the style is up 792 percent since last year.

The only catch is that you need a special kind of polish to pull it off. “The polish contains iron powder fragments that are attracted to magnets,” explained an article on nailpro.com. “The iron particles are quite dense, so they usually sink to the base layer of the polish as it’s applied. When you place the magnet over the nail, the iron particles rise toward the surface and stay there due to the thickness of the polish as it dries,” says Michelle Wong, Ph.D. “The result? The particles can be seen through the nail polish, which creates the mesmerizing cat eye effect.”

Ask your local nail salon if they have the tools to create the look, or give it a try at home with this Gellen 3D Magnet Cat Eye set ($20; amazon.com). Once you have the kit, the process is easy. You apply the polish as normal, but after each coat, you hold the magnetic wand directly above the polish for five to ten seconds. The magnetic particles in the polish magically come together to form the glowing stripes.

The Science Behind Magnetic Nail Polish

Nail art is one of the hottest trends of 2011 and magnetic polish is the latest newcomer to join the polish party! I recently picked some up and did a little research to figure out what made magnetic polish work.

What is magnetic nail polish?

Magnetic polish gives your nails a textured effect by using metallic particles in the polish that can be “activated” by a magnet that is included in the cap of the nail polish.

How it works?

This is actually a pretty cool example of using simple science to create a really new innovation in nail care. The nail polish formula contains really small metal particles that are attracted to magnets. Remember elementary school when you had one magnet with a positive charge and one with a negative charge and they stuck together? Well, that is how this polish works! When you place the magnet over the wet nail polish (the polish must still be wet to work), the metal particles rise towards the magnet. The metal particles are darker than the polish color which gives the nails a “textured” look plus the magnet has a wave pattern in it (this just means that only part of the magnet is “magnetized”) that creates a cool wavy effect on your nails.

Tips for successful nails

First apply the polish to all of your nails and let dry.

Working one nail at a time, apply a second coat of polish and immediately hold the magnet over your nail for about 10–15 seconds. This is the trickiest part — you want to hold the magnet close to your nail without actually touching it — I had a few smudges the first time I tried this.

You will notice a really cool wavy, textured effect which you need to let completely dry and then finish with a top coat for a glossy look and to protect the pattern.

Bottom Line

I’ll admit to being a bit skeptical about this product but I am actually pretty impressed. Try it out and you’ll be instantly drawn to this come-hither look!

Like the idea but don’t want to fuss with the mess? Subscribe to Lookaftermi.com and find tons of top salons in Singapore to help you achieve the cat eye manicure and more!