NOTD Barry M Gelly ~ Sky Blue

It's no secret that the Barry M Gelly polishes are my go-to brand & this one is no different.  Sky Blue is from the Spring 2015 range & yet again, offers the perfect formula & application now expected of these, even for a pastel shade which are notorious for bad coverage.

This is with just 2 coats with my usual China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat & Seche Vite top coat & as I find with most of the Gelly polishes, it lasted a week with no wear or chips until I removed it to re-paint my nails.  It shows more green than it looked in real life, it is definitely blue though!  For just £3.99 a bottle, I really think you'd be hard pushed to find better quality at this price!

Are you a fan of the Gelly polishes?

NOTD Barry M ~ Rosehip

As a nod to all things pastel at the moment, I thought I'd show you this gelly polish I picked up last year, Rosehip by Barry M.  It had mysteriously disappeared into my daughter's nail polish stash which is why I'd forgotten I had it but it has the usual fab coverage & longevity that all the gelly polishes have.

I still prefer the brighter shades on me but this is great for a change!  Are you favouring brights or pastels at the moment?

NOTD Barry M ~ In A Heart Beat

It's no secret that Barry M are my go-to polishes, they're cheap (and nearly always on offer somewhere!), the colours are great & the formulas are superb - the Gellys are my absolute favourites - so whenever they release new polishes, I'm all over them!

Their newest releases are easily identifiable by the black & white chequered lids, a nod to the new Speedy Quick Dry formulas & there are 9 new shades, all pastel hues.  Two colours in particular caught my eye, this one, In A Heart Beat, a soft coral pink & Stop the Clock, a rich vanilla ice cream shade, which I'll review in a day or two.

Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this polish.  I adore the shade & I think it's perfect for spring (although it feels a bit odd wearing it now!) & yes, it really is very fast drying.  But......it's very streaky & took 3 coats to get an even-ish coverage but to be honest, it could've done with an extra coat for the perfect finish.

I started, as always with my China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat & then applied the 3 coats of colour.  Although there was a sheen, I prefer the high gloss finish of the Gelly polishes so I left them for 10 minutes to see how they dried & then applied a coat of Seche Vite top coat (not how you're supposed to apply this btw!)  In the 10 minutes before I applied the top coat, they felt totally dry to the touch although I'm not sure they would've passed the handbag or toilet test at this point!! (You know, delving in your bag or doing up your jeans after the loo without damage!!)

10 minutes after the top coat though they were well & truly hardened & dry so it still only took around 30 minutes to dry totally.  Although the manicure itself took longer with the extra coats.....  Having said all of that, pale shades are notoriously bad for coverage so next time I might try it with a base of opaque white, which usually helps.

Longevity wise, I'm only 2 days in to the manicure & am already getting tip wear & a couple of tiny chips, which is a tad disappointing.  So while I love the shade & will use the polish, I much prefer the gelly polishes so will stick to those - I hope Barry intends to release more of those shades very soon!!  It'll be interesting to compare this with the other shade I've bought.

What do you think, is this your sort of shade?

NOTD Seche ~ Mischievous

Hmmm, my daughter has pointed out that I have 5 or 6 near identical polishes, all variants on the infamous Rouge Noir by Chanel, my favourite shade ever - I disagreed....but yes, actually I do!!  Well, here's another one but I promise I'll show you some other colours next!!

Although I've used Seche Vite top coat for years, I'd never tried any of their polishes until I picked up this one, Michievous.  Although I'm very impressed by the application of this, I've found it hasn't worn as well as other polishes, the Barry M gelly polishes for instance.  Having said that, I'm still 5 days in & it's just starting to chip so still not bad!!

After wearing dark colours since around October, I'm ready to see something brighter on my nails now.  I'm looking forward to the new spring releases from Barry M & Essie - watch this space!!

You can currently buy Mischievous for only £3.79 here at Look Fantastic.

What colour is on your nails at the moment?

Review ~ Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Lips

I'm a big fan of lip colour pencils so when I saw these new ones pop up on the Barry M stand a few weeks back, I was drawn to Sirius shade no.4, perfect for spring!  These are a lot slimmer than your standard 'chubby' sized pencils but I actually prefer this as you have a slimmer, therefore more precise nib to apply with.

As the name suggests, this is nice & glossy but without any of the stickiness of a lip gloss (so no peeling your hair off your lips after a strong gust of wind!)  It applies so easily & feels more like wearing a lip balm but because it is so glossy, it doesn't wear that well.  After a coffee break, it had all disappeared, not even a hint of colour left behind so definitely doesn't have the staying power of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (seriously, who thinks of these never-ending names?)

This certainly wouldn't stop me from buying it again though, it's so handy to keep in your bag & I wear it when my lips are feeling a tad on the dry side as it feels so nourishing.  It's a great purchase for the bargain price of £4.99, currently on 3 for 2 at Superdrug.

Photo taken pre-coffee break!!

Have you tried any of these yet?

NOTD Barry M ~ Blood Orange Gelly

 

 

 

 

I don't have to say again how much of a fan I am of the Barry M Gelly polishes, they're just amazing polishes for a few measly quid!!

 

Like the others I've tried, this bright tomato-red one doesn't disappoint either.  This is photographed with 2 coats although the second coat wasn't at all necessary as it covered totally opaque with just one coat.  I just think it's habit for me!

 

As always, I used my China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat & Seche Vite Top Coat to finish the mani off.  The photo was taken 3 days in with no wear on the tips or any chipping!

 

 

 

 



NOTD Barry M Gelly polish ~ Guava

 

 

I cannot rave enough about the Barry M Gelly polishes....seriously, I can't!!  They are such great value for £3.99 a bottle, but you can usually find them on offer in either Boots or Superdrug though making them even more of a bargain!

 

The choice of colours they're offering at the minute are amazing, the brushes are the perfect size & they offer the best coverage - sometimes one coat is all you need!

 

The Gelly polishes are high shine to mimic gel polishes (obviously!) but I always top with a coat of Seche Vite & this means I usually get at least 7 days without any chips & only the very merest of wear on the tips.  They really are fantastic & if you've never tried them, I urge you to hot-foot it to the shops & buy some..........go on, off you go!!

 

 



NOTD Barry M Gelly Polish ~ Lychee

Yes, yes, I know, I'm extremely late to the party where these Barry M Gelly polishes are concerned but when my daughter came home with some more of them last weekend, I thought I should finally give them a trial.  I have lots of the original formulation polishes though & love them so I was really intrigued to see how these faired.

 

I'm not usually a nude nail polish wearer as I love my bright splashes of colour or dark, gothic nails but there was something about this colour that drew me towards it.  It's a really warm nude colour which I actually loved but I must try it with leopard print nail art on top as I think it's the perfect base colour for that!

 

I loved the application of this polish, it was really thick & glossy looking - although this was to be expected seeing as it's a gelly polish!  It dried quickly with no streaking & as always, it was teamed with my China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat & Seche Vite top coat.  I got 8 days wear from my manicure with absolutely no chipping or flaking & really only removed it so I could swatch other colours.

 

All in all, pretty darned great I'd say & I will be adding more Gelly polishes to my rapidly growing nail polish collection soon as I think I prefer them to the regular formulations!