Imagination In Colour UK Nail Polish Blog
Hello everyone! I am beyond excited to be bringing you this post today… it’s taken a LOT of prep so I hope you enjoy it :D. Barry M are releasing a brand new Summer 2014 collection of their Gelly Hi-Shine range, which consists of 7 new shades. If you haven’t heard of the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints yet, they are a gel-effect polish which have in general had great formulas and longevity from past collections. I am a massive fan of the Gelly range myself – being the slight addict that I am I have them all…!
As a pre-warning, this post will definitely be a long one as I’ve done some comparisons too, by popular request, so make sure you grab a cuppa!! 🙂
This new line-up is an interesting one – it feels half summery, and the other half are kind of all-year-round polishes. They don’t seem to really ‘go together’ as a collection but I am all for interesting colours! I am well-known for wearing my neons in the middle of the Christmas seasons so I’ll say no more! 😀
Coconut Gelly
This is a lovely off-white creme which has a hint of cream. The finished look is surprisingly flattering… I feel like this is the new way to wear white nails! The slight warmth of the tone makes it compliment the skin… and if I(with my red/purple/blue/sickly green skin) can pull it off then I think everyone can! I am a massive massive fan of the colour and I think it’s the perfect base for nail art and glitter, as well as looking great alone.
Application: Sadly the application didn’t live up to my hopeful expectations. This polish is very, very!!! streaky. This is often a problem with white-based cremes, although I had slightly hoped that it wouldn’t affect this one – Barry M Matt White is after all a great non-streaky white creme. I found that the first two coats were very streaky and required a third coat just to even these out. I devised a strategy for getting this polish to look great on finish; start with one very thin coat, and just make sure you form the outline, don’t worry about any streaking. Leave this until it’s dry. With a thin coat this shouldn’t take long. Apply a second thin coat, gently painting and not going over the same place too many times. Leave this until it’s dry too. Finish with a third thicker coat, which should cover up any streaky patches. It dries to a lovely high shine and does dry fairly quickly which is good, as you need it!! It’s definitely not a polish’n’go type of product – this took concentration and time! I’m undecided as to whether the pretty finish is quite worth the hassle…
Left to right: OPI My Vampire is Buff, Barry M Coconut Gelly, Barry M Lychee Gelly and Barry M Coconut Gelly.
None of these are dupes – Coconut is much paler. MVIB is more yellow-toned and Lychee more brown.
Olive Gelly
This is one of those colours that you either love or hate. I have to say that up until now I’ve been firmly in the hate bracket, especially in online swatches… however I did just have to try it so I could swatch it for you all. And I am actually a fan! I think I could wear it quite happily, which is definitely not what I was expecting from this one at all! It’s like a blend of olive and sage green… I really can’t find a word for this colour but it’s surprisingly pretty in person. I’m still looking at my picture and thinking it looks gross, but I am a fan of it in the flesh… Worth a try I say!
Application:Â This one has a great formula. It’s totally opaque at 2 coats and has no streaking issues. It’s a good consistency and is easy to work with. Dries quickly and to a high shine. What more could you want!
Almond Gelly
Almond is a pale taupe creme, which has a lovely warm tone to it. It’s a colour that has been done a good few times by various brands but it’s always a good shade. I am a big fan of the colour myself.
Application:Â I found this polish to be really very thick… almost to the point of being unworkable. I did have to take it off twice and start again – I’m hoping I just got a dud bottle… you can see on my index and middle nails where it’s uneven and gloopy-looking. It drags the first coat across slightly too. I would highly recommend using a thinner on this polish if you do buy it. It’s opaque at 2 coats, and dries (slowly) to a nice high shine. I reckon a good topcoat would sort out the uneven finish but the application requires patience.
Left to right: Barry M Almond Gelly, Nails Inc Porchester Square, Barry M Vanilla Matte, Barry M Almond Gelly.
As you can see these are very close in shades. Almond Gelly and Vanilla Matte are very close (other than Vanilla being matte of course…) and I would venture to say that if you have one you won’t need the other. To be honest I’d probably say the same for Porchester Square, which is a hint darker but not by much.
Elderberry Gelly
Thisis a really pretty colour. It’s a bit of a shape-shifter; in most lights it’s a pale blue-toned grey, while in low light it looks pure grey and in direct sunlight it’s a more vibrant blue with a hint of grey. I absolutely love it – I think it’s totally unique to my collection, and it’s super flattering as well as going with many outfit combinations, and looking summery in the sun and wintry in low light. Gorgeous!
Application:Â This has a good formula – it’s opaque in 2 coats, and while a little streaky on the first it evens out completely on the second. It dries quickly and to a lovely high shine. I’d definitely recommend this polish!
Left to right:Â Barry M Blueberry Gelly, Barry M Elderberry Gelly, Barry M Huckleberry Gelly, Barry M Elderberry Gelly.
I’m sure you don’t need telling that none of these are remotely close to one another – while it’s not as apparent on camera, Blueberry is much more vibrant than Elderberry.
Damson Gelly
Damson is a fabulous vibrant blue colour. This is eye-catching in extremis and really pops against an outfit. I am a huuuuuuge fan (as you all know I love blues) and while I wouldn’t necessarily pick it out in the shop, I think it’s gorgeous on the nail. I think this will be a great base for glitters too… perfect for summer!
Application: I had no issues at all with this. Perfect formula, opaque at 2 coats and beautifully glossy! I just love it. It dries quickly too 🙂
Left to right:Â Barry M Blueberry Gelly, Barry M Damson Gelly, Barry M Blue Grape Gelly, Barry M Cobalt Blue.
Oh wow Рthis is an ombr̩ manicure in itself (I <3 my blues!) but none of these are dupes. I love and need them all!
Left to right:Â Barry M Damson Gelly, Rimmel Loafer Love For You!, Barry M Damson Gelly, Illamasqua Cameo.
So I already had a dupe of Damson in my collection! Rimmel Loafer Love For You! actually has a thinner base and slightly more crelly-like consistency, so could possibly do with an extra coat. But in terms of it’s colour, I’d say it’s a dead-on dupe! I’d choose the Barry M if I had to choose one. Illamasqua Cameo is lighter in tone.
Pink Punch Gelly
This is a standard bright pink creme. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly unique but definitely a staple for summer. Definitely a great one for toes or for under a nice glitter 🙂
Application:Â This one was a little on the thick side which made application a little tricky. It did that weird thing that a lot of bright pinks seem to do, where it drags a little of the pigment as you paint leaving a dark patch. I don’t know how or why but it did that! I used 3 coats for this reason, but you could probably get away with 2 if you’re careful. It does dry quickly and to a lovely high shine so that was the only issue really.
Left to right:Â Barry M Pomegranate Gelly, Barry M Pink Punch Gelly, Barry M Shocking Pink, Barry M Pink Punch Gelly.
I was asked whether this was similar to any of the previous Gellies – the answer is no. It’s a quite close to Shocking Pink from their standard line, which is a touch darker. There are a lot of highstreet dupes of this colour I’m sure – I think your best bet is to hold two bottles together in the shop to get an idea of how similar they are.
Kiwi Gelly
Kiwi is HARD to photograph! I actually resorted to my phone because the colour was just going crazy on my DSLR… it’s probably something to do with me not knowing how to set my camera properly but now that I have a new phone I don’t think the quality is tooooo different… Hope it’s okay with you! Anyway, this colour is just gorgeous. It’s a really unusual green – it pops like a bright minty colour and yet it’s quite dark for a bright… if that makes sense… I can’t work it out! It’s really stunning and I am planning on wearing it tomorrow 🙂 I feel like this could be quite a stainer… don’t take my word for that but I’d advise you definitely use a basecoat with this.
Application: No issues here. This has the perfect formula, like Damson, and applies in 2 easy coats. It dries fast and to a lovely high shine. Perfect 🙂
Left to right: Barry M Greenberry Gelly, Barry M Kiwi Gelly, Seventeen Emerald Tropics Gel Effect, Barry M Kiwi Gelly.
No dupes here! I suspected the Seventeen to be very close but they are actually quite different… so this is definitely a very unique green in my collection, yay!
Overall
I’m a big fan of half of this collection. It’s a shame a few have poor formulas but I think I can forgive Coconut, and because Almond and Pink Punch aren’t exactly unique I’m not too bothered by that. The others all have good formulas so I’m a happy bunny. You can probably guess but my picks are Elderberry, Damson, Kiwi and probably Coconut 😉
At £3.99 each you really can’t go far wrong and they are almost always on offer in either Boots or Superdrug. Speaking of which, these will be released in Superdrug on 7th May (this Wednesday!) and in Boots on 14th May. So make sure you’re checking your local stores in the coming weeks!
So now that I’ve written you all my essay, make sure you let me know what you think!! 🙂 And I hope you can forgive me for missing a few days of blogging to get this one done… it’s currently standing at 1845 words eeek!
x
