Hello everyone 🙂 as promised, here is the Superdrug counterpart of the Barry M Summer Limited Edition Collection 2014 🙂 I showed you the Boots duo here, and today I have two more to show you! I have to admit, in the bottle, I much preferred the Boots polishes. I looked at these two and thought something along the lines of ‘sheer shimmery pains-to-apply polishes’ – I was definitely thinking along the lines of Barry M Aqua Blue and Aqua Green, which were much more toppers than anything. I also thought the pink from these two would be a brush-stroky nightmare, and quite a dated shade. So the bar wasn’t set very high!
…I am pleased to tell you that I was wrong on all counts! A quick note on the packaging – I love that the Superdrug lids contrast with the Boots lids, which are black with white hearts! Such a nice touch 🙂
Seaside
I was fully prepared to dislike this, I think I’d almost set my heart on it until I actually put it on. The polish has a hint of green which didn’t quite get captured on my camera, so imagine this in a slightly more turquoisey tone. It’s a very unique finish – the base is a jelly but it’s jam-packed with shimmer, and there’s also some electric blue glassfleck shimmer in there that you can’t quite see in the photo. It’s gorgeous in person though, and I am pleased to admit that I love this 🙂
Application:
The application was actually pretty good – it did take 3 coats for full opacity but I think if you have short nails (i.e. not much free edge) you could get away with two, or layer it over a similar colour. It applied evenly and smoothly, and was a great consistency. It dried relatively quickly, although I’d definitely use a quick-dry topcoat when you’re using 3 coats. It looks best with topcoat anyway, which really brings out the glassflecks.
Promenade
I will admit that my automatic judgement of this polish was that it looked like a generic little-girls’ brandless nail polish, however this was the ugly duckling of the four limited editions. As soon as I applied it I realised it was anything but! Like Seaside, the formula is a jelly base packed with shimmer, with reddy-pink glassfleck shimmer which again my camera couldn’t pick up. I was very pleasantly surprised by this one!
Application:
This took 2-3 coats for opacity. I say 2-3 because you could get away with 2 thick coats or 3 thin ones. Or of course you could layer it over a similar base colour. Again it had a brilliant consistency and applied really easily. It dries pretty quickly but as before, I’d recommend using a topcoat (and might as well make it quick-dry at that!) to make the best of the sparkle!
I really love it when a nail polish surprises me, when I have low expectations for it and it turns out to be really pretty. I love these two – I’ll be making an effort to wear them over the summer!
The Superdrug Limited Edition Collection will be launching in Superdrug on 4th June for £3.99 each, along with the Barry M Summer Matte Collection so make sure you save the date!  Let me know what you think of these two pretty polishes!
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