Swatch: BarryM Spring/Summer Gellys

Hi ladies! You may remember towards the end of last year, BarryM released a new line consisting of 9 'Gelly' Nail Paints (7 of the 9 shades by clicking here and here) which promised to be just as glossy as a Gel manicure, without the aid of a Top Coat or curing under a UV light, in just one coat. Though all of the polishes were super glossy, not all of them were a 1 coater but that being said, the sheer quality of the Nail Paints were enough to make them extremely popular amongst polish lovers everywhere.

This Spring, BarryM have decided to release 4 new additions to the Gelly range all of which are perfect for the Spring/Summer season and I'm super stoked to show you those today! But first I want to just give you a little overview on the polishes as a whole; of course we'll start with the formula, as with the previous Gellys, these all went on perfectly with barely any issues, there were a few streaks and patches along the way, but a lot of that is to do with the slightly runnier consistency than regular polishes, which I think has something to do with the ingredients to make it so glossy but a little perseverance and a kind hand those were easily concealable. They all lived up to the high gloss finish with the finest of standards but again, like the previous Gelly releases, not all of them were 1 coaters.

Okay, so whose ready to see the swatches?

Papaya is a muted pastel Coral with a Salmon Pink undertone. I had a couple issues with streaking and patching with this particular polish, if not for those issues this would have been 2 coats, however I added a 3rd to smooth out the imperfections.

Greenberry is a bright Jade Green, this was a nightmare for my camera to capture and actually leans a little more Green than it appears in the photos. Again, this was a little streaky on the first coat but evened out on the second.

Lychee is a light Beige and the perfect Nude for my skin tone. I applied 2 coats for full opacity.

Dragon Fruit/Dragon is what I would call a 'Nicki Minaj' Pink with the most subtle shimmer, so subtle that you can barely see if in the bottle or on the nail unless you catch the right lighting. This was probably the sheerest polish of the bunch, which was a little surprising. I had to apply 3 coats for full opacity.

Overall I was impressed with the new Gelly polishes, I did find the application process is a bit of a hit and miss, you have to really be careful with the amount of polish on the brush in order to get the 'perfect' coat. I found it works best when I place a generous dollop of nail polish onto the nail, wipe the brush on the bottle and then spread the dollop around. But of course, it's all down to your preference.

Like the BarryM Textured Nail Effects these are set to launch in Superdrug stores nationwide on February 13^th & Boots stores on February 20^th.  Products will also launch on BarryM on February 13^th alongside the Superdrug launch and will retail for £3.99 each! 

To make sure you don't miss the announcements remember to follow BarryM on their Social Media networks; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest!

Swatch: BarryM Textured Nail Effects

Hi ladies! Winter 2012 saw the explosion of the 'textured nails' around the Nail Polish Community, from Liquid Sand to Leather to Concrete and Feathers - it's no surprise that they continue to be a hit in 2013. With big named brands such as OPI, Nails Inc and soon to be China Glaze, it was only a matter of time before household drugstore brands jumped on the bandwagon & who better to start than one of the most renowned drugstore brands - BarryM!

I have all 4 of their new 'Textured Nail Effects' to show you this afternoon, all of which are Spring ready shades all named after famous haunts where Mr Barry Mero began his early working days in the markets of Ridley Road and Brixton.  Before I get into the swatches, I thought I would talk to you about the formula, since all 4 are the same consistency it would be silly to mention the same thing over and over again.

As with every BarryM Nail Paint I have tried, the formula is amazing. Especially due to the nature of the Nail Paint, I found all of them to be just the right consistency and applied like butter without any patchiness and streaking. All 4 polishes were opaque with 2 coats and dried in around 3/4 minutes to a texture similar to Nails Inc - Leather polishes, since they're not as rough as OPI Liquid Sands and also not as lumpy as Nails Inc Concretes. Though I don't own any Nails Inc Leather or Concretes, I'm basing my judgement solely on various swatches I have seen around the blogesphere.

Okay, so I've rambled enough, it's time to see the swatches! I want to just apologise now for my awful swatches, I have no idea what is going on with my nails/cuticles right now and I've also misplaced my clean up brush too!

Ridley Road is a Mint Green polish, similar to that of the same name from last years Spring release. I forgot to mention earlier, I found the easiest way to apply these polishes were to start with a thin layer for the first coat and then add a thicker second coat.

Atlantic Road is a light Sky Blue similar to Blueberry Ice Cream from the Ice Cream collection released last Spring.

Station Road is a Pastel Yellow with a Yellow/Gold Shimmer. Yellow polishes are like Marmite in the Nail Polish Community, you either love them or hate them, unfortunately I am the latter. Though I must say the shimmer was a nice surprise! Again, this is similar to Lemon Ice Cream from last years Spring releases.

Kingsley Road is a baby Pink similar to Strawberry Ice Cream from last years collection. I do believe, however, that Kingsley Road is a little bit lighter than Strawberry Ice Cream was, but since I no longer own that polish, I can't compare them for sure.

I'm sure you're all curious about the removal too? Well although I only had each polish on for 10 minutes max, the removal seemed fairly easy. I did have to apply slightly more pressure than usual due to the texture, so I imagine after a full days manicure the Tin Foil method or even a PVA glue base coat would be more beneficial and time efficient.

Overall, I was really pleased with the quality and how easy to apply these polishes were. After finding the Liquid Sands a little too rough for my liking, the Textured Nail Effects are a lot suited to my taste. 

If you're wondering where you can get yourself some of these Nail Paints, they are set to launch in Superdrug stores nationwide on February 13^th & Boots stores on February 20^th.  Products will also launch on BarryM on February 13^th alongside the Superdrug launch and will retail for £3.99 each! 

To make sure you don't miss the announcements remember to follow BarryM on their Social Media networks; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest!

Press Release: Spring Launches from BarryM!

Hi ladies! I received an exciting e-mail from BarryM's PR people this afternoon filled with information about upcoming releases from BarryM, including new Nail Polishes!! Since this is a Nail Polish blog, I wanted to only show you guys the upcoming polishes, but I thought I would include the information for the make-up side releases too;

♥ LASH VEGAS Mascara

For BIG Showgirl lashes!
Pump up the volume with Barry M’s NEW LARGER THAN LIFE Lash Vegas mascara with spiral wand to catch every lash. Available in jet black. Retail Price is £6.49

♥ GEL EYELINERS

For a rock ‘n’ roll finish Barry M are introducing a NEW Waterproof Gel Eyeliner collection; available in three colours Black, Silver and Champagne – this ultra smooth liner will provide perfect precision to give you a silkier, smoother and sharper finish. Retail price is £4.59


Now that's out the way, let's get into what you REALLY want to see.....THE NAIL POLISHES!

♥ GELLY NAIL PAINTS

To add to our Hi Shine Gelly Nail Paint collection Barry M have 4 new exotic fruit inspired shades! Lychee GNP10, Dragon Fruit GNP11, Green Berry GNP12, Papaya GNP13 will be your go-to shades this Spring for an extra shiny mani. Retail price is £3.99

♥ TEXTURED NAIL EFFECTS

Channel East End cool by adding some grit to your nails!  Textured Nail Effect’s grainy, matte formula creates a unique textured effect for a grunge-chic look.  Available in 4 Spring/Summer shades named after famous haunts where Mr Barry Mero began his early working days in the markets of Ridley Road and Brixton.  Ridley Road (Green) TNP4, Kingsland Road (Pink) TNP3, Station Road (Yellow) TNP2, Atlantic Road (Blue) TNP1.  Retail price is £3.99

These are set to launch in Superdrug stores nationwide on February 13^th & Boots stores on February 20^th.  Products will also launch on BarryM on February 13^th alongside the Superdrug launch! To make sure you don't miss the announcements remember to follow BarryM on their Social Media networks; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest!

How excited are you for the Nail Paints?! I knew with the textured polishes on trend throughout the higher end brands, that it wouldn't be long until Drugstore brands made their mark and who could be better than my all time FAVOURITE UK/Drugstore brand, BarryM. I'm dying to get my grubby little mits on these babies.