A Magneto-Inspired Manicure

My long run of immunity to colds is now officially over, after I picked up my third one of the year this week (and the second in as many months). I spent most of today on my sofa, reading the paper, watching bad films on iPlayer, and generally sheltering from the cold. Eventually, the call of 15% off beauty brands at John Lewis tempted me outside for a brief wander, although I decided to wait until duty free at T5 in two weeks' time before buying the Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick I've been craving.

But in House of Fraser, I noticed that the nails inc. counter wasn't too busy and I had read that you could get a magnetic manicures for £5 instead of £17.50 if you asked for one. Magnetic nail varnish is the latest nail varnish trend. You apply two coats of polish and just after you've put on the second coat, you hold the brush handle above each nail for a few seconds. There is a magnet in the handle and magnetic particles in the varnish, so pretty patterns soon appear. On the nails inc. website, they look like neat chevrons; mine are a little more free-form--almost holographic--but I still like them. They only had Whitehall (a dark teal) and Trafalgar Square (silver) available so of course I opted for the former. As you can see from the photo, I desperately need a proper manicure. The bottle I'm holding is another product, by the way (Trind's Nail Repair from the Carmine Beauty Box I ordered).

I managed to get a tiny smudge on one thumb while trying to get my hat and scarf out of my bag but otherwise, I'm pleased with the finish. I like Whitehall but not enough to buy a whole bottle, especially as I don't think the quality of nails inc. varnishes is as good as Essie or OPI. If you fancy a fun nail look for holiday parties and don't want to spend too much, I'd definitely recommend the £5 magnetic manicure, though, especially if your local nails inc. counter has the Houses of Parliament (a pretty purple) in stock.