Imagination In Colour UK Nail Polish Blog

Barry M have brought out three new ‘Chameleon’ shades – these are polishes which apply in one colour, then, when you add a clear polish or topcoat, they change to be a different colour. This makes for quick and easy nail art, or a quick way to polish up an old-looking manicure. Yesterday I showed you Barry M Chameleon Blue, and I also have Chameleon Lilac to show you when I can!

Also, I swear, my nails did not look this tatty in person! It was only when I’d uploaded the photos that I realised how tatty my polishing was. Whoops. Sorry about that.

Where the darker purple shows, is where I added Barry M All-in-One Basecoat Topcoat & Nail Hardener – including a complete coat on my pinkie finger.

Here, like yesterday, I played around with Barry M Limited Edition Silver Glitter, which had the same effect but with added sparkle. Silver Glitter is still available on the Boots Website, and is apparently due to reappear in Boots sometime in the next 2 weeks!

 Chameleon Pink is a gorgeous salmon-rose coloured shimmer, with almost a chromey-finish to it. It’s gorgeous on it’s own, even without the colour-changing effect! The polish becomes a gorgeous jelly-ish purple when you add either a clear polish or topcoat – here I used Barry M’s ‘All-In-One Basecoat Topcoat & Nail Hardener’. As with Chameleon Blue, the colours on the cap are very accurate to the colour on the nail, both the original pink and the topcoat-induced purple.

Application:

Again, this polish was a little on the thick side. For this reason I’d suggest you apply thin coats to avoid bubbling and long dry-times. The photos all show 2 coats (force of habit), but the polish was opaque in one coat. The polish wasn’t too brushstroke-y so no need to worry about applying in straight lines! Once you have the topcoat/clear polish on, the colour appears darker the thicker you apply the topcoat. So, if you find it looks streaky or too pale, add another coat of topcoat. DO wear a basecoat!!! I have moderate staining on my nails after this one, partly because mine are chipped and peeling and my basecoat is old, gloopy and in need of replacement – I reckon a slick of normal basecoat will save your nails from staining.

What do you think? Will you be trying out the Chameleon polishes? They retail at £3.99 in Superdrug, and will be stocked in Boots next Wednesday (13th June!).

x

Disclaimer: Barry M kindly sent me this polish as a ‘get-well-soon’ gift, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Barry M have brought out three new ‘Chameleon’ shades – polishes which apply in one colour, and change to another colour when you add top coat. Much like the discontinued No.7 Miracle Plum I showed you last week, these polishes are unique to the current market and I absolutely blooming love them!

Barry M kindly sent me Chameleon Blue and Chameleon Pink as I was in hospital yesterday and just about recovering now – this is apparent in the bubbles you will see on my nails!! I’m fairly sure it’s user-error and not the polish’s fault – see the below photo of my thumb to prove that this polish can be applied nicely!

See? Perfecto 😛

The polish how it appears when first applied.

Add a layer of topcoat/clear polish and away you go! The red bits are the bits which are covered with topcoat, including the whole of my middle finger.

Here I layered Barry M Limited Edition Silver Glitter over the tips of my nails – just to check whether it would have the same effect on the colour. Looks like sprinkles, no? 🙂 For those of you who missed out on Silver Glitter – it’s still available on Boots Website, and apparently will be back in Boots in roughly 2 weeks!

 Chameleon Blue is initially a gorgeous slate-blue-silver shimmer. Once you add a layer of topcoat or clear nail polish (here I used Barry M’s ‘All-In-One Basecoat Topcoat & Nail Hardener’), it becomes a gorgeous pinky-burgundy-red. What I love about this effect is it gives it a jelly-like appearance. Also, the thicker the coat of clear polish, the more rich the red becomes – see the difference between each of my nails for reference! This can leave it a little streaky – if that happens, add another layer of clear polish.

Application:

Chameleon Blue itself is quite a thick polish – not one to apply when recovering from general anaesthetic, haha! The formula is very similar to that of Barry M Denim, thick but buttery, and is opaque in one coat. The photos all show 2 coats as I was trying to cover up my accidental bubbles 😉 Seriously though, do apply thinly to avoid bubbles. Happily, the polish didn’t show too many brushstrokes, so unless you streak it right from one corner of the nail to the other, you don’t need to worry too much about applying it neatly.

I really really love this colour both alone and with clear topcoat, and I can’t wait to try out the others in the collection. My three top tips for this one are:

• Apply the polish as thinly as you can to avoid bubbles.
• If the burgundy/red looks streaky, apply a second coat of clear polish!
• EDIT: Wear a basecoat!! I have a bit of staining after taking this one off. Beware!

I was really pleased to see that the colours on the cap matched the colours of the polish almost exactly – all too often I’ve been taken in by packaging claims so I’m glad this was accurate. I noticed that the polish applies a shade lighter than the bottle colour, which shows a lot more purple, so if you’re wondering whether this suits you, definitely check against the lid colour not the polish colour in the bottle!

What do you think? Will you be trying out the Chameleon polishes? They retail at £3.99 in Superdrug, and will be stocked in Boots next Wednesday (13th June!).

x

Disclaimer: Barry M kindly sent me this polish as a ‘get-well-soon’ gift, but all opinions expressed are my own.

 

Marie Claire are giving away three different shades from Ciaté free with their magazine this month – the shades are Ciaté Bon Bon, Jelly Bean and Purple Sherbet (lilac creme). There is one bottle per magazine… I couldn’t resist and bought all three! The magazine costs £3.70, which compared with Ciaté’s  retail price of £9, makes these polishes a huge bargain! Today I have Jelly Bean to show you – a gorgeous Barbie pink.

 I mentioned in my review of Ciaté Bon Bon that the three shades seem to closely resemble some of those in Ciaté’s official polish line – to me, Jelly Bean looks a lot like Ciaté Cupcake Queen – what do you think?

Anyways, Jelly Bean (the most perfect name ever for this polish – I love it!) is a blue-toned hot pink creme with hidden blue shimmer. The blue shimmer is very apparent in the bottle, but once on the nail it is practically invisible. What it does do, though, is gives the pink a gorgeous blue tone, which makes it unique in terms of pink-with-blue-shimmer polishes.

Application:

Perfect. As usual, I can’t fault Ciaté on the application. Well worth £9, let alone £3.70! The photos all show 2 coats – you can see my free edge on my ring finger in the photos, but that isn’t the case in person. The polish dried quickly, and dried to a super high shine. The brush allows for neat application of the polish – it is the perfect width and thickness, and the long handle gives a superior control which makes application all the more perfect.

Have you bought any of the free polishes from Marie Claire this month? What do you think? I really can’t choose a favourite – all are amazing in my eyes!

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.

So as we all know, it’s our good ole Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this weekend. I love celebrating being British, and I have a lot of respect for much of the Royal family. I decided to attempt Union Jack nails… they look a LOT worse in the photos than they seem to in real life, I suppose because you tend not to scrutinise real life nails like photographs allow you to! My brother thought I had nail wraps on, which is good enough for me!

If you look at my nails out of focus then they don’t look so bad 😉 This is the illusion real life has given my nail art 🙂

I used:

• Barry M Navy
• Barry M Matt White
• Boots 17 Knockout Red
• Rimmel Pro Superwear Ultra Shine Topcoat
• Nail Art Brush set

Now I am not blessed with ambidexterity. I struggled using my dominant (right) hand for this so, if you want to see how my right hand turned out, well, prepare yourself for a nail fail!

I didn’t even bother to clean up – sadly I am walking round with my right hand still looking like this. Ah well.

What nails are you sporting for the Jubilee?

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.

I’ve never really been a lover of taupey shades. But this one has won my heart over! There are three Ciaté shades being given away free with this month’s Marie Claire, in ‘Bon Bon’, ‘Jelly Bean’ (pink with blue shimmer) and ‘Purple Sherbet’ (lilac creme). I accidentally picked up all three – oops! Though for £3.70 you really really can’t go wrong – I always say that Ciaté have unbeatable quality and are worth every bit of the £9 they retail at, so this is a total bargain!

The three Ciaté shades free with Marie Claire are all ‘new’ shades, in that you can’t actually buy them usually, Ciaté have produced them specifically for the magazine. But, unless I’m very much mistaken… they are all very similar to three shades in Ciaté’s permanent line. I think Bon Bon is pretty similar to Ciaté Iced Frappe – can anyone confirm this?

I love this shade, it’s ever so flattering and I think it will look fab on all skin tones. It’s very office-friendly and work appropriate, and also very subtle for those of you who don’t like to wear bold colours on your nails. I reckon this would make a super-sophisticated pedicure!

Application:

One word: flawless! The photos all show 2 coats – the polish was pretty much opaque at one but the shade is buildable – at one coat it is a paler, pinkier finish and at two we have the shade as shown in the photos. The polish dries quickly, and dries to a high shine. As always with Ciaté, the brush handle makes for good control of the polish and the brush itself is the perfect width, thickness and shape for a neat, beautiful application.

Would I pay £9 for this shade? I’d have to save up, and I personally don’t tend to go for taupes but this one I would most probably splurge on! Would I pay £3.70 for it? Absolutely!

Have you tried any of the Marie Claire x Ciaté shades yet? Which one is your favourite?

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.