Barry M Gelly Autumn/Winter Collection 2014 Review, Swatches & Comparisons

Hey everyone! So yesterday I was excited to receive a surprise package from Barry M, and it contained the Autumn/Winter Gelly Collection to review! I hadn’t heard anything about these before yesterday so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There are six polishes in total – Chai, Cardamom, Chilli, Mustard, Cocoa and Parprika. Safe to say, these are all very autumnal colours (and names!) and it contains a good few I wouldn’t normally wear but having swatched them, I’ve really warmed up to them and can’t wait to wear them this coming Autumn! The names have sold me – I love my spices.

The last couple of collection posts I’ve done have received great feedback and it seems a lot of you like the comparisons, so I’ve done a few more this time on the ones that seemed potentially dupe-able. So grab a drink of your choice because it’s a wee bit of a long one!

Paprika Gelly

This one jumped out at me immediately. It’s a lovely orange-toned brown, it’s VERY Autumn and very flattering – I feel like this would suit most pale skin-tones. It’s gorgeous! If you can’t tell, this is probably my favourite. I’ve been Googling hard for a dupe but I can’t find anything that’s quite right, so this is definitely unique! (Hence no comparison swatch!)

Application: This was nearly opaque at 1 coat but the photo shows 2. It darkens up with the extra coat. It’s very juicy and very glossy. I put topcoat on the first swatch I did and it turned up less glossy… so I had to start again! Dries quickly. Lovely even formula.

Mustard Gelly

True to its name, this is a mustard yellow creme. It does bring out the pink tones in my skin (as you can tell!) but it’s definitely a lot more flattering than pastel or bright yellows, for me at least. And honestly, what does this colour scream if not Autumn?! It makes me think mustard yellow, thick cable-knit cardis 🙂 I don’t have anything else like this, so no comparison on this one.

Application: This was a wee bit streaky but it has a great self-levelling nature so I’d recommend really leaving it to settle at 2 coats before deciding you need a third. Dries quickly and to a lovely high shine. Very opaque – if you’re careful you could get away with just one coat – the streaky factor necessitated a second for me.

Chilli Gelly

This is a lovely, very unique, brown-toned red creme. I haven’t seen many colours like this before, possibly OPI Lost on Lombard from last year’s A/W San Francisco collection. It’s gorgeous, very flattering – I love it!

Application: Opaque at 1-2 coats, nice and even. Dries quickly to a lovely glossy finish.

Left to right: Barry M Red Wine, Barry M Crush Matte (with topcoat), Barry M Chilli Gelly, Barry M Raspberry.

As you can see these aren’t very close to each other at all. Red Wine, Crush and Raspberry are all more red, while Chilli is more brown-toned.

Cocoa Gelly

This is a gorgeous dark-chocolate creme. Perfect name. It’s soooo flattering, I absolutely love this. Not a hint of yellow in there so it would work perfectly with most skin-tones I feel.

Application: Perfect, even formula, it’s opaque at 1 coats but I always do two out of habit. It dries quickly to the most lovely glossy finish.

Left to right: Barry M Cocoa Gelly, Barry M Chocolate Brown, Cocoa Gelly, Barry M Mocha Matte. (I forgot to topcoat it – fail!).

As you can see they are all quite different. I feel like Cocoa Gelly is what Chocolate Brown (now discontinued) should always have been – the yellow tones of Chocolate Brown make it quite unflattering actually.

Cardamom Gelly

Ahhh, the perfect medium green! It’s just right. It reminds me of sage (the real plant, not the ‘sage green’ colour) – just gorgeous! Again a lovely autumnal colour.

Application: Perfect, perfect, perfect. Not a single flaw with this polish. Opaque at 1-2 coats, dries quickly and is super glossy. Wow, I love it!

Left to right: OPI Mermaid’s Tears, Barry M Cardamom Gelly, Mermaid’s Tears, Cardamom Gelly.

Mermaid’s Tears is the only nail polish in my collection that I could think of that seemed close… but it really isn’t! I don’t have anything else like this, which is so refreshing for a medium green. Yay!

Chai Gelly

This is a fairly standard medium-grey creme. It’s nothing special but greys are a great ‘more interesting’ neutral colour and a must-have staple! I’m not sure on the name – chai isn’t often grey!!

Application: This has a slightly thinner formula than the others, and definitely needs that 2nd coat (nail polish problems… right?!) but dries quickly to a lovely glossy, juicy finish. Can’t fault it!

Left to right: Barry M Chai Gelly, Barry M Grey, Chai Gelly, Grey.

Similar but not quite the same – Chai Gelly is a lighter grey. I love both.

Overall:

I’m super excited by this collection, I love Autumn colours and this one does Autumn perfect justice! And now I am really in the mood for a spicy chilli & cardamom-infused chai tea! Yum!

I hope you liked this post! 🙂 Let me know what you thought of this collection in the comments. It’s due out in Superdrug on 27th August (this coming Wednesday!) so make sure you keep an eye out for them! I believe they will be the standard Gelly price which is £3.99 – they often have deals on Gellies too so we’ll see!

If you want to see my Summer Gelly Collection post (& comparisons!) click here, and if you want to see my Summer Mattes collection post with comparisons click here!