Cobalt Cat Eye nails

Almond · Cat eye

Salon or steady hand

Midnight Cobalt magnetic polish drawn into a Powder Blue streak of light. The effect is in the magnet, not the brush.

2 bottles: Midnight Cobalt and Powder Blue. Midnight Cobalt and Powder Blue sit a comfortable distance apart: the motif is clearly legible without shouting, which is the easiest range to freehand in. The bottles are not all the same finish (crème and shimmer), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.

The almond taper pulls anything vertical along with it, so swirls and sprigs suit it and evenly spaced dots need allowing for.

Make it yours

Pick a part of the nail, then a shade
Base: Midnight Cobalt · Crème Open the bottle

Bottles for this nail

Tap a bottle to open it on the shelf

What you need

Magnetic gel cat-eye polish
Magnet stick hold 8 seconds
No-wipe top keep the shimmer

How to paint Cobalt Cat Eye nails

  1. 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. A dark base coat, cured.
  2. 2 Apply the Midnight Cobalt magnetic gel and hold the magnet at an angle for eight seconds to pull the Powder Blue band out.
  3. 3 Seal with a no-wipe top coat, because wiping kills the shimmer.

Questions about Cobalt Cat Eye

  • Is Cobalt Cat Eye hard to do at home?

    It is the hardest tier on the site. It is doable at home, but the technique is the point rather than the colour. Budget an hour or more for a full set, and two colours keeps it simple: cure the first before the second goes near it and nothing bleeds.

  • What polish do I need for Cobalt Cat Eye?

    2 bottles: Midnight Cobalt (crème) and Powder Blue (shimmer). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.

  • Does Cobalt Cat Eye work on short nails?

    Almond needs a little length to hold its taper. On a short nail the shape reads closer to round, and the design still works, it just stops elongating the finger.

  • Do I need a UV lamp for Cobalt Cat Eye?

    Yes. Powder Blue only works as a gel — the effect depends on rubbing or setting the finish into a cured tacky layer, which air-dry polish never gives you.

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