Yearly Archives: 2012

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver

The third Barry M Magnetic polish is this – a lovely gunmetal and black shimmer with a fishnet-style magnet. The pictures don’t do this justice. And sorry for the messiness of my nails this time!

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver Fishnet waves criss cross pattern nail polish black gunmetal steel UK new release spring summer 2012 magnetised 3D 3 dimensional

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver Fishnet waves criss cross pattern nail polish black gunmetal steel UK new release spring summer 2012 magnetised 3D 3 dimensional

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver Fishnet waves criss cross pattern nail polish black gunmetal steel UK new release spring summer 2012 magnetised 3D 3 dimensional

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver Fishnet waves criss cross pattern nail polish black gunmetal steel UK new release spring summer 2012 magnetised 3D 3 dimensional

This is just stunning on the nails! The pattern is fantastic, I can’t decide whether I prefer this pattern or that of Barry M Magnetic Blue. I think I’ll have to try this pattern on the blue… seems like the perfect combination! Anyways, Dark Silver applies a silvery-gunmetal grey, then the magnet pulls the black particles through to create this wicked 3D effect.

Application:

The photos show 2 coats. The polish does dry fairly quickly so be sure to get your magnet over it fast! If you aren’t familiar with how to magnetise your polish, Barry M have given us a great Magnetic nail paint tutorial. Basically, as soon as you’ve painted the 2nd coat, hover the magnet over your nail using the curved lip on the edge of the magnet as a guide to how much space you leave between magnet and nail. I think I’m getting the hang of magnetising now… I think!

And if you aren’t a fan of the magnetic look, Dark Silver does also look gorgeous as a normal polish:

Barry M Magnetic Dark Silver Fishnet waves criss cross pattern nail polish black gunmetal steel UK new release spring summer 2012 magnetised 3D 3 dimensional unmagnetised

A lovely gunmetal shimmer!

What do you think? The Magnetic nail paints are currently on sale in Boots, Superdrug and Barry M’s website, and retail for £4.99. Which one is your favourite?

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Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Ciaté Sherbet Fizz

This is one of those shades that is notoriously difficult to capture on camera – fabulous in person, but the camera just doesn’t like it! Sherbet Fizz, I believe, is a re-release from Ciaté, as part of their ‘Forget-Me-Nots‘ collection. It’s so perfect for summer! A lovely glacé cherry-red pinky coral colour (I totally can’t make my mind up what it is!) and ever so pretty.

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

This is the most accurate photo of the finish - very glossy.

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish close up Sherbet Fizz is a gorgeous cherry pink red jelly packed with shimmer. It is very sheer, which is both an advantage (it can be used for layering) and a disadvantage (it takes a lot to build up to opacity). Nevertheless I love it, it makes me think of delicious puddings with cherries on top 🙂

Application:

The photos show 4 coats. And I could still see the free edge of my nail, though I’m sure this is partly due to the staining on my nails. I don’t know whether this polish would ever be opaque, it seems to have that ‘I’m going to make your free edge glow’ property about it, lol! In most lights the free edge wasn’t visible apart from outdoors in natural daylight. Which incidentally made the polish look a lot more orange than it is, too. The polish dried quickly which is always a bonus with sheer polishes. The application was an absolute breeze, like with Ciaté Angel Wings, the long brush and flat bristles of perfect thickness and width make it an amazing polish to work with. I think it’s probably my favourite nail polish brush of all time.

Overall, I really really love the colour. I think it will look fab layered over various different pinks and reds, maybe even orange, over the summer! Also for those of you with short nails and little free-edge, the opacity won’t be a problem. What do you think? Sherbet Fizz retails at £9.

I had a moment of inspiration and decided to do a flowery accent nail:

Ciate Sherbet Fizz Sheer Jelly shimmer pink red cerise new release re-release spring summer 2012 cherry glace UK paint pot nail polish nail art flowers floral accent nail

(It didn’t look this tatty in person – promise!) I used:

  • Ciaté Sherbet Fizz as the base
  • 2 coats of Barry M Matt White
  • Marks and Spencer Blue for the dots
  • Rio Nail Art Pen in Red for the petally bits
  • Rio Nail Art Pen in Black for the stripe

Hope you like it. I’m aiming to do much more nail art in the near future!

x

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Ciaté as a gift, but not for review purposes.

Ciaté Angel Wings

According to their website, Angel Wings is a new release from Ciaté. Angel Wings is a beautiful pure white shimmer (how cute is the name?!). This has to be the best way to wear white polish – pure white cremes are just a little too tippex-y for my liking, but something about the cleanliness of white is appealing. Add in shimmer and it’s soft enough to take away that corrector-pen edge – it actually looks incredibly sophisticated. This is something I’d definitely consider wearing on my nails or toes on my wedding day!

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012

Ciate Angel Wings White Frost white shimmer wedding nail polish snow pure white UK spring release new icing classic 2012 It’s not often you get a pure white shimmer with absolutely no duochrome… and I love it! There’s something so pure, polished and clean about it, like virgin snow! The polish is somewhere between shimmer and frost. Soo pretty!

Application:

The photos show 3 coats on all fingers except my middle finger, which has 4 coats. The polish is opaque at 3 coats. Despite this, I quite like the effect at 2 coats – you can just about see the free edge and some of the pink of the natural nail shows through, giving a lovely glowy effect. The polish dries quickly. It’s worth mentioning that any imperfections will show through this polish (see my index finger for reference!). If you have ridges, I’d recommend you use a ridge-filler before applying Angel Wings. Also, try to paint in a straight line from the cuticle to the edge, because wonky brushstrokes do show up! I want to also mention how easy it is to apply this polish thanks to the long handle and the flat, roughly 5-7mm wide brush. For me at least, this was a dream to apply, requiring next to no cleanup, which is practically a record for me!

I love love love this polish, way more than I thought I would. Ciaté Angel Wings retails at £9. Worth it? I think so. For a bottle of 13.5ml, which is also 5-Free, it’s still £2 cheaper than OPI and is a pretty unique polish, in my eyes!

What do you guys think? I absolutely love it! It just looks so elegant. Also a perfect base for nail art or layering, methinks!

x

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Ciaté as a gift, but not for review purposes.

Marks and Spencer Jade

I love mint green as a colour. And I LOVE mint green on other peoples’ nails. But on my nails? It gives the illusion of my skin being lobster pink and generally clashes completely and looks dreadful. Which is a sad day for me. But, Marks and Spencer Jade has come along and alleviated all my mint green-related woes. This lovely sagey green creme looks bright and almost pastel enough to be perfect for Spring, yet causes no problems with skin tone and clashing. I reckon this is a great green for all skin tones.

Marks and Spencer Jade nail polish sage green mint spring nail trend 2012 warm tone dusty seafoam green creme cruelty free BUAV approved

Marks and Spencer Jade nail polish sage green mint spring nail trend 2012 warm tone dusty seafoam green creme cruelty free BUAV approved

Marks and Spencer Jade nail polish sage green mint spring nail trend 2012 warm tone dusty seafoam green creme cruelty free BUAV approved

Marks and Spencer Jade nail polish sage green mint spring nail trend 2012 warm tone dusty seafoam green creme cruelty free BUAV approved

Marks and Spencer Jade nail polish sage green mint spring nail trend 2012 warm tone dusty seafoam green creme cruelty free BUAV approved

Pretty cute. I like this way more than I thought I would! It was one of those curiosity-purchases, but I am so glad I have it! I wore this for 2 days straight and still wasn’t sick of it, which is saying a lot, for me. Perfect creme finish, no streaking, bliss!

Application:

Jade is definitely opaque at 2 coats, although the photos show 3 as my brittle nails have reared their ugly head and have been peeling which resulted in a chip off my middle finger :(. The polish dries quickly, and did not streak, not once! It dried to a high shine, so you won’t need a topcoat unless you want it to last for a while.

Would you guys like a comparison of this one and Barry M Mint Green? Just to prove the difference. I’m reluctant to put this one in my ‘already-blogged’ pile of polishes, I think I may wear it a few more times before that! I’m surprised how much I love it – I’m not usually this taken with cremes.

The Marks and Spencer ‘nail colour’ range retails at a measly £3, which I think, for the quality of it, is a super duper bargain, like Barry M. Not only this but all Marks and Spencer polishes are cruelty-free, and BUAV Approved.

What do you think? Have you suffered at the hands of mint green nail polish? Does this look like something you’d try?

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Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Barry M Magnetic Violet

So here (at last) is the mysterious Magnetic Violet. This one seems to have eluded the stands of Superdrug and Boots since the release of the magnetics, but I finally managed to get my hands on it! I found mine in Superdrug.

Magnetic Violet in person looks like velvet with the 3D finish, in fact, with the pattern of the magnet, it looks like coontails for nails!

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK (2)

This is soo pretty. The pictures really honestly don’t do it justice – get it on your nails and you’ll see what I mean!! I think the base colour of Magnetic Violet is actually pretty similar to Boots 17 Magnetic Purple and Nails Inc. House of Parliament, but that’s a good thing, as the Barry M one is cheaper than both of them! Also the pattern of the magnet is unique – it’s uniform stripes, which actually looks pretty awesome, like you have a really steady hand for nail art 😉

Application:

The photos show 2 coats. 1 coat was a little thin so I left that to dry then added the second coat and magnetised away! I’m getting the hang of magnetising, there seems to be a knack to getting the whole nail involved without blobbing the magnet fully onto the polish. Magnetic Violet dried very shiny, so no topcoat needed (and if you do decide to apply a topcoat, use a thin watery one rather than a thick one which will pull the magnetic particles with it, thus ruining the effect!). I don’t really have much more to say on it, other than it dries quickly.

If you don’t already know how to magnetise your magnetic polish, the lid (with the magnet on and a curved lip to give you an idea of how close to put the magnet) detaches leaving a normal Barry M bottle and brush. You apply 2 coats of polish, then as soon as you’ve applied the second coat to one nail, you hover the magnet over the nail for a few seconds, then repeat for all 10 nails.

And if you don’t like magnetic polish, it still makes a very pretty purple shimmer polish!

Barry M Magnetic Violet lined purple magenta pink red velvet coontails coon tails 3D spring release dark autumn summer striped nail art UK not magnetised unmagnetised

What do you think of this one? I like it a whole lot more than I thought I would! I still don’t know which I prefer out of Barry M Magnetic Blue and Magnetic Violet. Have you tried the magnetics range? The only one I haven’t tried yet is the red, and I’m increasingly tempted! These will set you back a mere £4.99, and you can get them from most Boots, Superdrug or the Barry M website (along with another two new nail paints in ‘Cappucino’ and ‘Nude’ – titled the ‘Classics’!) .

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Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in this blog post was either bought by myself with my own money, or given to me as a gift from friends/relatives. All opinions expressed here are my own.