Hoping someone can help because I've lost my mind, about 1/4 of a bottle of kbshimmer "feelin groovy" and like 1/3 of a bottle of the amazing haunted polish "by the moonlight". I've tried thick layers. I've tried thin layers. I've tried adding polish thinner. I've used Essie's Gel Couture top coat – which has never been an issue wth magnetics before. I've tried Londontown's high gloss top coat. I've tried up to three layers of Ridge filler below the initial coat. I'm using a horseshoe magnet and lazy Susan- the same set up I've used many times before, and every single time it turns out like this – a streaky, inconsistent appearance with crazy shrinkage maybe 8 hours later. What in the ever-loving heck am I doing wrong? It looks like a nightmare before the top coat half the time. I've gotten other polishes to do beautiful glass beads and I know this one is more than capable of it because it's why it's been so popular! So why am I inept suddenly?
by mykingdomforsleep
2 Comments
My first thought would be to try using a QDTC. I like Sally Hansen insta dry. I don’t have this particular polish but it works well with my BKL fine particle magnetics.
I’ve been seeing people also having a hard time with By the Moonlight’s formula in particular but it seems to be a general consensus for a lot of fine particle magnetics.
I myself have this one and struggled with it a fair bit. I’m pretty intermediate with fine particle magnetics so I can get maybe about 7/10 nails in a glass bead style to my satisfaction on the first pass but By the Moonlight has given me the most trouble so far out of all of them so it really does seem to be a formula issue. My base boat set up is also similar to yours except I use the kbshimmer stay hydrated base coat before Fillin’ Groovy. I haven’t experienced shrinking issues but BtM chips pretty quickly on me.
As for tips, I found that resting my finger on a round magnet or any setup that demagnetizes or otherwise pushes the magnetic pigments out while applying the nail polish to help. If you’re like me and apply magnetics using a final thick coat, brushing the sides and then the center tends to leave a streak of excess polish where the previous strokes overlap. This is what I’ve found to be the main cause of the splotches of pigment in the final look since the particles get stuck in the excess polish. Applying the polish with my finger on the magnet encourages the particles to push the polish and even it out before doing the glass bead.
Of course you could try to do multiple strokes to create a completely even layer but I like to maximize the window for the glass bead effect and I find that fine particle magnetics have a shorter frame.
Lastly, I’ve taken to using a water based top coat before my regular topcoat so that it doesn’t rewet the polish or potential displace it with the brush. I noticed horrible streakiness with a matte top coat even when the initial application was flawless.