Nail Art

Barry M Magnetic Violet

April 27, 2012 10 Comments

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’!) .

x

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.

Easter Egg Nail Art

April 10, 2012 3 Comments

Last Easter I did mini egg nail art, so this year I was casting around for more inspiration. You know when you get the cute little chocolate eggs in coloured foil? That’s what inspired me this time. My camera seemed to be playing up a little, the second photo is a bit blurry (sorry!).

Easter Egg Nail Art foil multicoloured silvery glittery opi rainbow connection models own indian ocean boots 17 fury accessorize goddess beautyuk moonstone max factor angel nails tape manicure mini eggs silver

Easter Egg Nail Art foil multicoloured silvery glittery opi rainbow connection models own indian ocean boots 17 fury accessorize goddess beautyuk moonstone max factor angel nails tape manicure mini eggs silver

These were done with sellotape (lots of it!) for the straight lines and many many polishes…! Here’s what I used:

Hope you like them! What did you adorn your nails with this Easter? Link me up if you have any pictures/blogposts on Easter manicures!

x

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 Blue Glitter

May 14, 2011 12 Comments

2 coats. Yep 😀
EDIT: This polish may look matte/suede in the photos but I assure you that’s just my rubbish photography paired with a non-co-operating camera, it’s VERY sparkly in person, could perhaps benefit from a topcoat but really doesn’t need it!
Blue Glitter is exactly that – a very bright, cyan blue glitter suspended in clear polish (although you’d barely know the clear polish is there!) The first coat applied well but with a fair amount of bald spots, however this evened out fine with the second coat.
My only issues with this are that firstly, the polish took a little bit longer to dry than most glitters. I guess this is on account of the fact that there was barely enough clear polish to go round all the glitter, not really sure. Anyway, within 10-15 mins it was dry enough to touch it without smudging the whole nail. The second coat was the same. But balanced by the two coats fabulousness, I think I’ll let it off. Secondly I did get a big chip and an average mount of tip-wear on the second day of wear, but I suppose that’s only to be expected when one doesn’t apply a topcoat. Lastly, the colour of the glitter seemed to have faded to silver, only very slightly (only noticeable to my scrutinising eyes) which actually was quite pretty.
Looking at online photos, this looks rather like a gold-less dupe of OPI’s Absolutely Alice – anyone care to compare? 😛
Very pretty polish, perhaps a bit jazzy for everyday wear (unless you’re like me and just don’t give a… about what’s appropriate for day wear!) but most certainly a good one for parties or occasions 🙂
Sorry for my blogging hiatus, partly due to Blogger being down but also partly due to cramming my brain full of information for my exam on Monday – I’m absolutely stressed out of my head, not quite sure why but I suppose that’s just me 😛 How are you all? Let me know 🙂
Oh and here’s Pink Flamingo’s fate:
I’m actually quite proud that I somehow managed to keep the dots in straight lines on both hands!
Emma xxx
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.

Flower Nails :)

May 7, 2011 6 Comments

The product of revision-induced misery.
What I used:
Nails Inc. Fashion Fawn (base)
Nails Inc. Chester Place (dark pink)
GOSH 571 Wild Lilac (dark lilac)
Barry M 308 Berry Ice Cream (pale lilac)
Barry M 309 Strawberry Ice Cream (pale pink)
Rio Nail Art Pen Green
Cocktail sticks to poke the polishes into one another to create a more 3D effect (which failed) but generally to make the colours merge a bit since neatness seems not to be my forté.
On an irritated note Blogger still isn’t working for me – on the Dashboard it claims I’m not following any blogs where in reality I’m following about 200… so basically I can’t see your updates 🙁 I’ve contacted Blogger but to no avail, woe is me 🙁
Emma xxx
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.

Nails Inc. x InStyle Freebie – Fashion Fawn (and Leopard Print)

May 7, 2011 8 Comments

Here is the second of the two lovelies I bought. Fashion Fawn is a very pretty, sophisticated polish. I had two problems with this one, the first being that the brush had one hair longer than all the rest. This wasn’t really an issue though as you can just snip it right off with some scissors. I do find it a bit odd though that Liloo also encountered this problem with her Fashion Fawn (you can see her post with polish comparisons included here).
Application was just as perfect as with Electric Teal, however (and I’m fairly sure that this second problem is more down to user error than the polish itself – I only had this problem on two nails out of ten!) I did encounter some bubbling, this was on my middle and pinkie fingers. I don’t remember applying the pinkie polish that thickly but I do remember that the middle finger took a particularly generous helping of polish so I think it is my fault, but having read a few reviews on the other polishes a few of you have had the same problem. Not altogether sure! Otherwise this one was just as fab as the usual Nails Inc.’s – dried fast, good brush control, good general consistency and opaque in two coats 🙂
Looking at it, this polish is more grey-toned than Barry M’s Mushroom which is more pink-ish I think. Anyway you can see a side-by-side comparison on Liloo’s blog as mentioned above! 🙂
And just for the sake of it some leopard print 🙂 I am slowly getting a little better.. I think…I hope..
Emma xxx
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.