Magnetic cat-eye nail polish is one of the hottest nail art trends today. However, you’ll need magnets for nail polish to create the mesmerizing cat-eye effect.
Nail polish magnets attract special magnetic particles contained in cat-eye polishes and help the chatoyancy effect show through. There are tons of magnetic nail art tools available on the market. Today I’m going to help you select the best nail polish magnet for doing gorgeous nail designs at home.
My top 3 picks
Best magnets for nail polish
Frcolor Double-head Magic Magnet Stick
Frcolor magnet stick is made to work with magnetic gel nail polishes and regular nail polishes to create a gorgeous galaxy/cat-eye effect.
This effect is reminiscent of cat eye stones.
It’s created by attracting magnetic particles that are mixed in with the polish with a magnetic stick while the polish is still not dry.
And when you cure or air dry the polish the beautiful effect stays on your nails.
Of course, a magnet for nail polish only works with special magnetic polishes and won’t create any effects on non-magnetic ordinary polishes or gel polishes.
This stick is double-ended.
One end holds a large rectangular magnet.
The other end has a smaller circular magnet.
These magnets for nail polish are very strong and do the job of attracting the particles and creating the galaxy effect really well.
Even though it’s recommended to hold the magnet for at least 30 seconds for best results, you can create the cat eye effect in 5-10 seconds with this stick.
This magnet tool is great for working with both gel nail polishes and regular polishes.
That’s because you can make the banding effect very quickly with it. Before the regular polish dries.
You can create various patterns by moving the stick over the nails and by using one or the other end.
The rectangular magnet is great for creating straight lines.
And the circular tool is perfect for making curvy lines, including S-curves or circles.
You can remove the rectangular magnet if you want but the smaller round magnet is non-removable.
This stick is small, portable, easy to store, and is very functional.
It’s a high-quality professional tool that is super easy to use. And you can work with it both in a salon environment or at home.
One stick is basically enough for working with all kinds of magnetic nail polishes.
However, if you want to have an even bigger choice of patterns you may want to get a whole set of magnet sticks for nails.
WOKOTO 5-Piece Nail Magnet Tool Set With Double Head Flower Design
Wokoto 5-piece nail magnet for nail polish tool set has a variety of tools that let you create different cat-eye effect patterns on your nails.
This set contains magnet dotting tools for creating thin lines and for drawing with the cat-eye effect on your nails.
You also get a double-ended magnet dotting tool.
One end holds a little flower-shaped magnet that lets you create floral designs quickly and easily.
The other end has several tiny magnets that help you draw thin stripes instantly.
The set also contains the basic double-ended magnet tool.
It has a rectangular magnet end for making straight lines and a circular end for curvy lines and circles.
There is also a separate rectangular magnet stick with a larger magnet.
You can hold it over several nails at the same time.
Or you can hold two magnets against the same nail on the opposite sides to make your chatoyancy effect more interesting.
The manufacturer has named these two magnet tools “strong” magnet sticks.
However, they are not as strong as the top pick on this list.
But you can use weaker magnets with gel nail polish.
They may not cure regular polish before it solidifies.
With gel nail polish, you get more time for holding the magnet against the nails.
It only dries when you cure it under a lamp. So you have more control.
BORN PRETTY 9D Cat Eye Nail Polish Gel Polish Set With Magnet
If you’re just starting to use magnets for nail polish and are looking for a starter kit with polishes and tools you can get this set from Born Pretty.
Born Pretty is a Chinese brand that makes popular cat eye nail polishes and gel polishes, nail stamping pads, and nail powders.
This magnetic set contains gel nail polishes and everything you need to create cat-eye nail designs.
There is a basic double-ended magnet tool with a rectangular and a circular end included in this kit.
You can create straight lines with one end and curves or “hole effect” circles with the other end.
And another tool included in this set is a magnet for nail polish without a handle that is labeled by the manufacturer as a “strong magnet”.
It lets you create the effect quicker than when you’re using the double-ended tool.
There are 4 polishes that are packaged like nail gels in small jars in this kit.
These are chameleon polishes that have a color shift effect.
The colors are yellow/green, blue/purple, pink/yellow, and red/yellow.
The jars don’t include brushes inside but this set comes with
one long gel brush.
It’s easy to use. This brush is embellished with lovely little rhinestones floating inside the handle.
The manufacturer promises that these gel polishes are non-toxic and contain mineral pigments, purified water, and natural resin.
You will need a UV or LED nail lamp to cure these polishes. It’s not included.
In addition to that, you’ll get the base coat, the top coat, and a black gel nail polish.
You can use black polish as the background for your cat-eye designs. It makes the effect look brighter.
Ideal Swan 11-Piece Magnet Nail Art Polish Tool Set
This set contains 11 magnets for nail polish.
It’s the largest magnet for nail polish kit on this list.
It comes with a simple rectangular magnet tool for creating straight-line chatoyancy bands.
The best feature of this set is that it includes 8 magnets that let you create patterned effects.
You can make hearts, waves, stars, starbursts, chevrons, diamonds, horizontal stripes, diagonal stripes, and lines.
So your cat eye nail art will look unique.
There is also a yellow pen-like tool with a small dotting magnet tip.
You can use it for freehand drawing.
The other end of this pen holds a circular magnet for making circles and “black holes”.
The pattern magnets are strong enough to work with non-gel polishes.
SILPECWEE 6-Piece Nail Art Magnetic Pen Set
This magnet tool set is similar to the Wokoto 5-piece set.
It also contains a double-ended magnet tool with rectangular and circular magnet ends, a strong rectangular magnet tool, two dotting pens, and a flower and stripe double-ended dotting tool.
In addition to that, this kit includes a long black stick for making S-curve chatoyancy bands easily.
All the magnets for nail polish aren’t too strong.
The manufacturer recommends using them with gel nail polishes and suggests using several layers of cat eye gel nail polish for creating intricate effects.
MIZHSE 9D Cat Eye Gel Nail Polish Fashion Chameleon Magnetic Gel
This is another magnetic cat eye gel nail polish set on this list that comes with magnet tools.
It contains the basic double-ended and strong rectangular magnets.
The magnets are really strong. You only need to hold them for a few seconds to see the effect start showing up.
There are 5 beautiful chameleon gel nail polishes in this kit and a black gel polish that you can apply as the background layer.
The color pairs are blue/turquoise, yellow/green, pink/red, purple/magenta, and purple/blue.
Unlike the Born Pretty kit, this set contains no base coat or top coat.
You’ll have to buy all these supplies separately.
Mudder 8-Piece Cat Eye Magnetic Stick Magnet Plate Magnet Set
This 8-piece set contains the ubiquitous double-ended rectangular/circular magnet tool and an additional single-headed rectangular tool.
In addition to that, you get dotting tools — a double-ended flower/stripe pen, and a single magnet dotting pen, plus a dotting pen with a circular magnet tool.
There are also patterned magnets for nail polish with starburst and diamond patterns and a black magnet plate tool.
The magnets aren’t very strong. You’ll need to use them with gel polishes only and hold them above your nails for at least 30 seconds.
Still, you get a nice assortment of tools with this set.
What are magnets for nail polish?
Magnets for nail polish are magnetic tools that work with cat eye nail polish and gel nail polish.
Cat-eye nail polish contains magnetic particles.
The magnet tool attracts these particles before the polish has dried on your nails.
The particles move up to the surface and reflect light.
This creates a lovely reflective banding effect that makes your nails look like cat-eye or tiger eye stones.
The banding effect is called chatoyancy.
Cat-eye nail polishes are very popular today.
They let you create beautiful nail art quickly and easily.
You can even create a variety of cat-eye patterns on your nails using two magnets or special patterned magnetic tools.
For example, the resulting cat-eye effect can look like a circle, star, wave, etc.
After you cure cat eye gel nail polish or, in the case of regular nail polish, after the polish dries, the chatoyancy effect stays until you remove the coating.
Use a dark background
Cat-eye nail polishes look especially beautiful against a dark background.
Apply a layer of black, navy, purple, burgundy, brown, or emerald green nail polish underneath the magnetic polish layer for a brighter and more dramatic cat-eye effect.
Dark polishes are very pigmented and even one layer may be enough.
However, I’d recommend applying 2 layers of dark polish for better coverage.
Of course, you can also use your cat eye nail polish on a light background or even with no background layer at all. You can just paint it over a clear base coat.
This will create a more subtle chatoyancy effect without any dramatic contrast.
Chameleon effect
Most cat eye nail polishes display a color shift between two shades of the same hue.
But some polishes have a chameleon effect.
That means the color of the band shifts between two hues.
For example, between blue and purple, green and yellow, orange and red, etc.
How to use nail polish magnets?
The nail polish magnet you choose must be strong.
Weaker magnets work well only with gel nail polish.
If you are using regular polish you’ll need to use stronger magnets because the polish air dries and solidifies very quickly.
But gel nail polish stays liquid until you cure it with a lamp.
To use your magnet tool you’ll need to apply magnetic nail polish.
The application process of this kind of polish is pretty simple.
It’s not much harder than the application process of any other nail polish.
How to use magnets for nail polish with regular magnetic nail polish?
If you’re using a regular polish push back the cuticles and cleanse the nail plate.
You can apply a clear regular base coat if you want.
Apply the background color nail polish layer. Let it dry.
Apply the second background color layer. Let it dry too.
After that, shake the cat-eye polish bottle really well to distribute the magnetic particles.
Apply the magnetic polish layer.
Immediately use the magnet stick.
Hold it over your nail for at least 10-15 seconds, the longer the better.
And the closer the better.
Just avoid touching the polish accidentally.
After the effect shows through and looks the way you want it to look, let the polish dry.
You can add a top coat layer if you want.
How to use magnets for nail polish with magnetic cat eye gel nail polish?
Push back the cuticles and prepare the nail plate.
You can buff the shine off your nail plate’s surface to improve adhesion if your polish requires it.
After that, you should cleanse the nail’s surface with a cleansing liquid.
You can use a dehydrator and primer as the next step if you want. But you can skip this step.
The next step is the application of the base coat. Never skip it.
Cure the base coat under the lamp.
Apply the first layer of the background color polish.
Cure it under the lamp.
The background polish that you use with your cat eye gel polish should be gel nail polish too.
Never use regular polish underneath gel products.
It will shrink under the lamp and make your gel nails peel.
Apply the second background polish layer.
Cure it under the lamp too.
Shake the cat eye gel polish bottle well to distribute the magnetic particles.
Apply a thin layer of magnetic gel nail polish over the background.
Cure this layer under the lamp.
Apply the second thin layer of magnetic gel nail polish.
But don’t cure it!
Use the magnet for nails.
Hold it over the polish layer for at least 10-15 seconds.
The longer you hold it the better.
Sometimes the effect needs even more time to show through.
So for best results, I’d recommend holding the magnet tool for at least 30 seconds.
Magnets for nails are absolutely harmless, according to their manufacturers. No need to worry.
Try to hold the magnet tool as close to the nail as possible but avoid touching the polish surface. You don’t want to ruin your manicure.
Let the effect show through.
When you’re happy with what it looks like cure this layer under the lamp.
Apply the top coat layer. Cure it. Wipe the sticky layer off if needed.
You can also add some embellishments or stamping art on top of the chameleon gel nail polish.
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