NAILS | WINTER SHADES FROM BARRY M

From top: Vengeance is Wine, Drive Me Navy

It's definitely no secret that Barry M is my favourite brand when it comes to nail polish.  I own a lot of their shades now and the Daylight Curing collection is probably my favourite by them yet.  

I recently picked up two new shades that I thought looked perfect for winter and Christmas; Vengeance is Wine is a gorgeous deep blood red that I have been wearing the most.  It goes on really evenly and two coats covers my nails evenly, and with the top coat on it is super glossy and doesn't chip for a good 3-4 days.  

Drive Me Navy is a dark blue colour, I've been loving all things blue lately and this is a beautiful deep sapphire shade.  Again, it takes just two coats to give a strong and bold colour, which is brought to life when the Daylight Curing topcoat is applied.  

I'd really recommend trying the Sunset Daylight Curing range from Barry M if you haven't already; they are a bargain at only £4.99 for a polish that looks as glossy and professional as the high end versions, and if it turns out that this finish isn't your thing then at least you've only wasted a fiver rather than much more if you had bought another similar brand! 

Do you like the Barry M gel finish polishes?  What do you think of these shades? xx

NAIL POLISHES THAT LOOK GOOD WITH A TAN

If there's one that I love almost as much as I love lipstick, then it's a good nail polish.  Does it matter if we own three shades that are questionably very similar to each other?  No.  No it does not.  I've made it pretty clear on here before that my favourite brand for nail polishes is Barry M, so it's no surprise that two of them have made it on to this post today.  Nothing looks better then having a nice tan (real or fake) complimented with a bright colour on your nails, so I've picked a few that go very nicely indeed.  

So to start with Barry M I've chosen the shade Coconut, which is a lovely creamy white shade that is just made for wearing with beautiful bronzed skin!  It is the best off-white shade I've tried too - no tipex fingers to be seen around here.  

Another Barry M offering is from the Matte range, in the shade Copacabana.  This is a gorgeous orange red colour, and the matte finish works really well.  

Then there is this vibrant pink shade, Fiesta, by Essie which I have to say has been on my nails the most so far this summer.  I love it so much, and particularly love wearing it on my toes.  This shade of pink goes really well with my fake tan and the super shiny finish makes it really worth spending a little on Essie.  

My budget pick is the Seventeen Nail Colour in Tropical Island, which has a very appropriate name and is a lovely bright orange colour.  The colour is bright and it lasts 3 to 4 days without any chipping, which is pretty good going for a budget polish.  

I definitely could have picked a lot more colours out for this post, but I chose the main four that I always pick up when I'm at my most bronzed!  Let me know which colours you love to use to show off your tan! xx 

BARRY M | SUNSET DAYLIGHT CURING NAIL PAINTS

Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Paints in 'Do It Like A Nude' & 'I've Benn Pinkin', & Topcoat: £4.99 each

Being a major Barry M fangirl, I was all over their latest release!  The Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Paints are Barry M's answer to at-home affordable gel look nails.  The colours go on in a couple of coats and the thicker, clear topcoat goes on once it's dry to create a professional finish with high shine and the look of gels.  

I have had gels done a couple of times in the past, but I end up always going back to doing my own nails because it saves so much money, and you can change them whenever you like. However, you cannot beat the high quality finish you get when your nails are done professionally, so anything that claims to give a result just like it is going to be right up my street.

The range of shades is fairly small at the moment, but I'm sure Barry M will add to them at some point if they prove popular.  I got the shades Do It Like A Nude and I've Been Pinkin', the first is a light creamy nude shade which I love and have been wearing to work, and the other is a bright warm pink which is perfect for summer and looks gorgeous with the high shine.  

These polishes are as always easy to apply; the brushes are flat and one sweep easily covers my nails.  The formula is really good quality and the topcoat really does add a high shine and  acts as a chip resistant barrier.  I get a good 3 to 4 days wear out of these polishes before they start to chip, but bearing in mind that I work at a computer all day so it might not be the biggest test for them!

On the whole I really like this idea, and I will definitely be adding the rest of the shades to my collection!  Have you tried these yet?  What do you think of them? xx

NAILS | A FEW SHADES OF GREY

Another day, another nail polish post.  Today I'm sharing the love for some of my favourite grey (ish) shades, which I tend to reach for during the week when I've got to keep things subtle for work.  

The cutest bottle award goes to Ciate: I would be lying if I said the little bow had nothing to do with why I bought this! But apart from looking good on my dressing table the colour, Cream Soda, is a really nice pale grey that applies easily and stays chip free for a good few days.  

Next up is a new favourite, Barry M Speedy Quick Dry polish in Eat My Dust, which is a much more blue toned grey and is the perfect shade for spring.  It does dry quickly like it says, but I'd probably like it even more if it was a matte shade - I'm not really sure why though! 

An actual matte polish that has made it's way here is another one by Barry M in the shade Vanilla, which isn't strictly grey but it must be pretty close to it in the colour spectrum so I threw it in anyway!  I love this as it works really well as a matte shade, and the colour is subtle yet smart and instantly makes your nails look much neater.

Last up is a shimmery silver grey by Seventeen, in the shade Moonstruck which came as part of a larger gift set - but I'm sure it is sold separately too.  This polish is my pick for going grey but with some extra sparkle, it has that futuristic look and is ideal for wearing on a night out or even to create some nail art or shimmery tips.  

So there are my picks for some grey (and ok maybe some not so grey) shades to see you through this spring!  What are your favourite shades?  Have you tried any of these? xx

BARRY M NAIL PAINT COLLECTION & PHOTOS

I think it was fairly inevitable that I was going to be doing a post entirely dedicated to Barry M sooner or later, so what better time than now!  I make no secret of the fact that it is my favourite nail polish brand, not least because of the amazing variety of shades and effects they come in.  I painted all of the shades I own onto one of these handy nail wheels (packs can be bought really cheaply on ebay), and as you can see I own quite a variety of different colours - although I've noticed that none of them are dark, I must have bought my blacks and berry colours elsewhere!  

At the moment I'm wearing Almond quite often, but one of my favourite all time shades is Copa Cabana from the Matte range.  It is a fruity red shade that I wore a lot over the summer, it suits my pale skin tone and generally just looks gorgeous and tropical (if that makes sense).   I also really like  Pink Punch, a true girly pink!  

If I had to pick my least favourite, it would probably be the Limited Edition seaside shade Promenade, as the colour payoff isn't as good as the rest of the polishes, and I prefer a bold glossy finish to the pearly, iridescent look of this.  

I hope you find looking at my shades helpful if you are looking to buy any Barry M polishes!  Let me know what you think and if you have any other shades to recommend! xx

NOTD | BARRY M GELLY NAIL PAINT IN ALMOND

I thought I would throw a Nail type post out there today, as it feels like ages ago since I last did out and I happen to have a new polish that I am loving right now!  

I feel like every polish I rave about is by Barry M, and I'm afraid that today is no different.  I have said probably loads of times before that it is my favourite brand for nail polishes, for both the range of colours and the quality you get for such a good price.  Recently I was looking for a new nude shade to see me through autumn at work, and Almond caught my eye.  It is a soft grey toned beige from the Gelly collection, and as always it hasn't failed to impress me.  The colour is on point and another classic shade that will look good all year round.  As much as I dislike the word, I think that chic is a good way to describe it; it is subtle enough for day to day work wear, but the high shine and muted colour is really lovely and will be ideal for all kinds of different looks and outfits.  I would say that the matte equivalent of this shade is Vanilla, which is another of my favourites!  

I am thinking of doing a post on my entire Barry M collection - to get it out of my system so that I stop going on about them so much!  But also to give an idea of what I mean by the fact that they really do have a shade for everyone.  Let me know if this is something you would like to see! 

Have you tried the shade Almond?  Are you a fan of nude nails or not so much? xx

NEW NAIL POLISH FAVOURITES

As I sit here writing this post up, I'm suddenly thinking that I actually post quite a lot about Barry M Nail Paints!  Oh well, it's only because they're my favourites!  

At the weekend I picked up two of the newer Gelly shades, a creamy white called Coconut and a bright Barbie pink called Pink Punch.  Both are just so pretty, and I think they even compliment each other quite well, they would probably look good if you did some nail art with them.  Coconut is an opaque off-white that looks a lot better than it sounds, it's the sort of colour you can use to show off a good tan!  Unlike Rosehip, there is no pink tone in this colour which I like as it makes it more bold and creates an entirely different kind of look. 

Pink Punch is a vibrant, candy bright pink which I think looks good enough to eat.  It's a bright summery shade that will add instant pop to your fingers or toes (or both).  

As with all Barry M nail polishes, they apply easily and look best after two coats.  I find they last on average about 2-3 days without chipping, which I think is pretty good for drugstore polishes.  I have never had a bad polish from Barry M yet, so for now I remain totally faithful to them!

Have you tried these nail polishes?  What do you think of them? xx 

REVIEW | BOOTS PERFECT FINISH CLEAR NAILS

Hey!  I hope you are having a good week whatever you have been doing; The most exciting thing that I have done so far is order a rain coat from ASOS!  I can't wait until it arrives, I treated myself to it with the excuse of that the English summer is unpredictable and I need to be prepared for rain..not that I needed an excuse - I would have bought it anyway!  

I thought I would do a post on my favourite glue on nails, which I use a LOT.  After wearing acrylic nails for quite a while recently, I got a bit fed up with how quickly they would start to grow out and how often I would find myself booking in for infills.  I have used these glue on nails many times before, and I decided to try them again in an attempt to save myself some money.  turns out it was the best nail-related decision I've ever made!  I'm so happy with how they look that I can't see myself swapping them for anything else in a long time.  

They come in a little box that contains a large variety of sizes, so there's some in there to fit every one.  I have fairly small nails so I'm glad there are plenty of nails that fit them.  They come with a nail glue too, you only need a really small amount on either side of your nail for them to stick really well, and by not putting the glue all over then you are preventing a large amount of nail from becoming damaged.  Obviously no kind of false nail is going to be amazing for your nails, but the way I see it is that if you want to wear them then do: you can't do anything drastic to them as you would be cutting them often anyway! 

They claim to last up to seven days, and this is probably a little optimistic but I'm currently on my fifth day of wearing them, and they still are looking good and showing no signs of coming unstuck.  This was a different story in the past when I did a more practical job: knock them about a little bit or stack a few shelves with them on and you with end up with just the thumb nail left!  But these days I'm sat on my fat ass at a computer much of the week so I'm sure this has an effect, don't expect them to last longer than 5 days - but at around £8.50 for 200 you really cannot go wrong.  Nail polish also applies amazingly well on these, it goes on evenly and to me just looks much better than on my natural nails. 

I recommend them if you don't want to commit to acrylics but want your polish to look amazing and even.  The polish I'm wearing in the photo is Barry M Gelly in Rose Hip, my current favourite! 

Have you tried these glue on nails before? xx

BARRY M SUMMER NAIL PICKS

l-r: Gelly Nail Paint in Grapefruit, Nail Paint in Block Orange, Gelly Nail Paint in Passion Fruit, Gelly Nail Paint in Green Berry, Gelly Nail Paint in Prickly Pear, Matte Nail Paint in Vanilla & Gelly Nail Paint in Rose Hip.

Hey!  This was going to be a general nail polish post, but as I was taking the photos I realised that most of the shades I had picked were by Barry M...so here we are with a dedicated post!  It makes sense to me, as Barry M is most definitely my favourite brand for nail polishes and you really cannot go wrong with the amazing range of colours and effects that they have.  I have picked a handful of colours that I will be reaching for this summer; the theme is clearly light and bright, and I've thrown in a couple of softer shades that will look good with a tan (a fake one for me!).  

Grapefruit is probably my most love out of the bunch, it is already half empty.  It is a bright bright almost neon pink shade that is just so summery and girly.  If you like a good pink like me, then this is the perfect shade.  

Block Orange is from the original Nail Paint range and I generally save this colour for my toes.  It is a juicy orange shade, as the name suggests, and two coats is enough to give a decent block colour that  lasts a good few days without chipping in my experience.  

Passion Fruit is a gorgeous orange/red.  It has a real tropical feel to it and is great if you love reds but want something a bit more summery without any blue tones.

Green Berry is a bold minty colour, I love anything in this shade lately and it just seems to go with anything.

Prickly Pear is a lavender shade that is not quite as full on as the other colours but still looks lovely worn at this time of the year. 

Vanilla is a Matte Paint and is the only one I own from that particular range.  I love the effect of this it's different, has great pigmentation and looks great if you happen to have a tan! 

Rose Hip is my most recent nail purchase, it is a really soft pink that's almost white, but with just enough colour in it to make it prettier and also warmer.  I am really loving this shade right now, it's another one that will make a tan pop! 

What shades are you loving for summer?  Do you have any of these ones? xx

NOTD | Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in ‘Lychee’

Hey!  Soooo… this is awkward, since this month I have been trying to take part in #blogyoursocksoff september and this is my first post since Friday I believe..boy is my face red!  Not that it’s a major disaster or anything, I just feel a bit disappointed in myself  ):   My new (ish) job is a lot harder on my brain (thank god) so I have been coming home in the evening struggling to switch off and after cooking etc all I want to do is crash out in front of the tv!  I have actually been reading a lot of blogs though and watching even more videos,  so I haven’t been completely awol from the blogging world.  My dog has also been taking up more of my time, as his latest hobby appears to be running off during walks and rolling in horse poo etc., so showers are becoming almost a daily task!  I’m sure you really wanted to know that..you’re welcome ;)

Never mind, here is today’s post.  Another simply nail look featuring Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in ‘Lychee’.  This is the latest addition to my nail polish collection, and another that I deemed suitable for work.  It is a pretty inoffensive colour, a really glossy nude that takes two coats to look perfect.  I think I love it, but a small part of me still sometimes looks at it and thinks “I kind of hate it”, and I think that’s because it blends into my skin colour a little too well… that sounds ridiculous, maybe it’s just that I love my bright nail colours so much that this just doesn’t cut it for me!  But in general I do like it for an every day shade.  The formula is good and the hi shine finish is as lovely and professional looking as ever, if I want a new colour lately Barry M Gelly is the brand I always looks to first. 

What nail polishes are you loving right now?  Are you a fan of this colour? xx

NOTD | Glitter Manicure with Barry M & Rimmel

Hey!  I haven’t done a nail related post for a long time, mainly because during the week I have to keep them subtle and natural looking for work.  However, I soon tired of looking at my boring hands and thought that I would experiment and try to make the most of a bad situation.  This look is my latest experiment and I have been wearing it on my nails for a couple of weeks so far.  It is made by using Rimmel Brit Manicure in Ivory Tower as the base, and Barry M Glitter Polish where the white tip would usually be.  I created the slight graduated glitter effect by first scraping most of the excess back into the bottle, so it’s small pieces of glitter rather than large that are left on the brush, and putting it halfway up my nails.  Then I wait for that to dry and get some of the bigger pieces of glitter and dot them carefully (ish) along the top of my nail.  Lastly I add a top coat to hold it all together and add shine, and voila! 

It is a really simple look, but I think it looks really pretty and is a nice alternative to having a regular french mani or just one colour on the whole nail. 

Rimmel and Barry M are two of my favourite brands for nail polish; I love Rimmel for their Pro collection and the flat brushes that create an even finish, and Barry M’s Gelly polishes have the most gorgeous range of colours and all have such a high shine. 

 Do you like this look?  What is your favourite daytime nail polish? xx

Review | Barry M Gelly Nail Paints

Happy Easter!  I hope that you have had a lovely Easter Weekend what ever you have been up to :).  I thought I would do a quick first impressions review of these Barry M Gelly Nail Paints that everyone seems to be trying out lately, I got them in Boots and they were part of their 3 for 2 offer so in total they came to £7.98, which is pretty good considering that’s what you can pay for one single pot depending on the brand! 

I bought these three bright colours because it is supposed to be spring after all, and I must therefore try and keep away from the darker shades for a while.  I am wearing some false nails in the photo, some that I did myself that also come from Boots in a plastic box of something like 100 clear square nails.  I am trying out the bright orange shade first which is called Satsuma.  I really love how bright and bold this is and after only one coat, I didn’t need two which is a complete first! 

The shine that this polish gives is incredible, the photos really do not do it justice which is a shame but it is the sort of shine that I previously have only achieved by using a clear shine top coat by Rimmel.  It looks so professional, and like I said, I cannot believe that it is so pigmented and glossy after just one coat.  It goes on really nicely, a flat brush like the Rimmel Pro ones would be good but this isn’t a big deal as it still goes on well with the regular brush.

At £3.99 each, these nail paints are such a bargain and give the same if not better results than some of the high end rivals, the shine is just fantastic and I will be sure to purchase any other colours I want from this collection! 

Have you tried these nail paints yet?  If you have reviewed them too leave me a link to the post and I’ll give them a read :) xx