Tag Archives: Barry M

Barry M have been seriously spoiling us of late. 7 new polishes (Black Multi Glitter, Cappuccino, Copper, Denim, Nude, Silvery Lilac, Teal) as well as the 4 magnetics… lots to play with!

The Classics (Nude and Cappuccino) are both online-only until June, when they will be available in Boots and Superdrug at £2.99.

First off, it’s sheer. If you don’t like sheer polishes, you won’t like this – it’s one of those nude jellies that never really builds up to an opaque finish. On the plus side, it does even out staining (my nails aren’t too bad but they are certainly a touch too yellow for my liking) – they look a very natural beige-pink tone with 2 coats of Nude, very clean and fresh. Nude will look fab with a tan or darker skin too, it’s got that lovely ‘your-nails-but-better’ quality to it. Personally? I love it. It’s a lovely blend of pink and beige and the closest to ‘natural nail colour’ I’ve yet found in the UK high street. This is something I would consider for a bridal manicure or for in the office, or maybe even in school if you’re careful!

Application:

The photos all show 2 coats. As you can tell, it’s sheer, but buildable. I don’t think it will ever really reach total opacity so if that’s what you look for in a nude, this may not be one for you. Nude dries quickly and has a high-shine finish – no need for topcoat unless it’s longevity you’re going for. Very smooth application, it wasn’t streaky so you can get away with just one coat if you just want a touch of polish.

What do you think? Personally I’m a huge fan of sheer nudes, I really don’t like nude cremes much at all unless my nails are really in a state. I have a little trick for making a nude creme look a bit more sheer and glossy without sacrificing opacity – more on that soon!

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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’m back! I’m still not really sure what’s right for me and what’s not, but I loved this polish so much I decided I had to share it with you guys. You know I love my Barry M’s… I managed to find a discontinued Barry M (with no name) in a charity shop the other day, which spurned me on to buy 3 more discontinued shades, along with the new ‘Cappuccino’ and ‘Nude’ – whoops! I don’t know what it is about Barry M’s – maybe the bottle shape, maybe the colour range, the price, the quality… so many reasons. I’ve become a bit of a hoarder of Barry M nail paints, I think I’m only missing a handful from my collection!

Barry M Red Wine is a gorgeously glossy blue-toned red jelly (what a mouthful!). It puts me in mind of lollipops. This lovely vampy shade is pretty much the exact colour of blood. Somehow I love that… but then I’ve always loved the rich redness of blood. I love the jelly finish – that beautiful squishy glossy coating of red looks blooming marvellous on the nail! I feel like jellies are few and far between on the UK high street. What’s great about Red Wine is that it’s not so jellified that it shows the free-edge however many coats you layer up – all you need is two!

Application:

The photos all show 2 coats. To be honest, most of my nails were opaque at 1 coat, which is pretty awesome for a jelly finish. The polish dried quickly and dried to an incredibly high shine – you won’t need a topcoat unless you want this to last more than the standard 3 or so days (for Barry M’s).

What do you think? I don’t often opt for a red on my nails. I don’t know why because I love red nails. I suppose I feel they can be a bit cliché – I always wore red when I was young. But they look so elegant and classy. I love them.

I’ve never actually seen Red Wine in shops – mine was a present from my mum bought from the Barry M website. It costs £2.99 and you can get it from the Barry M website, eBay and Amazon for pretty decent prices.

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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.

The third Barry M Magnetic polish is this – a lovely gunmetal and black shimmer with a fishnet-style magnet. The pictures don’t do this justice. And sorry for the messiness of my nails this time!

This is just stunning on the nails! The pattern is fantastic, I can’t decide whether I prefer this pattern or that of Barry M Magnetic Blue. I think I’ll have to try this pattern on the blue… seems like the perfect combination! Anyways, Dark Silver applies a silvery-gunmetal grey, then the magnet pulls the black particles through to create this wicked 3D effect.

Application:

The photos show 2 coats. The polish does dry fairly quickly so be sure to get your magnet over it fast! If you aren’t familiar with how to magnetise your polish, Barry M have given us a great Magnetic nail paint tutorial. Basically, as soon as you’ve painted the 2nd coat, hover the magnet over your nail using the curved lip on the edge of the magnet as a guide to how much space you leave between magnet and nail. I think I’m getting the hang of magnetising now… I think!

And if you aren’t a fan of the magnetic look, Dark Silver does also look gorgeous as a normal polish:

A lovely gunmetal shimmer!

What do you think? The Magnetic nail paints are currently on sale in Boots, Superdrug and Barry M’s website, and retail for £4.99. Which one is your favourite?

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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 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!

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!

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’!) .

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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’m slowly getting my way through these new Barry M’s, so gorgeous that I don’t actually want to take them off my nails!! So far I have reviewed Denim, Copper and Teal. Today I have for you Silvery Lilac, which leaves just Black Multi-Glitter to do!

Silvery Lilac is a very gorgeous whimsical kind of polish, much like OPI Not Like The Movies (see comparison at the end of this post!). I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

As you can see, this is no ordinary silver duochrome… Silvery Lilac seems to alternate in different lights between a silvery-grey, a pinky-purple shimmer and a green shimmer, whilst also having the effect of a duochrome in that it looks different depending on the angle you look at it. Dare I call it, a mythical multichrome? It seems to me to be a silvery-grey base, packed with green and pinky-purple shimmer as well as some silver micro-glitter, which adds to the sparkle. Silvery Lilac is beautifully shiny, too, the only reason I put topcoat on was because I accidentally added fingerprints to my nails and didn’t think it was all that nice! Silvery Lilac makes me think of unicorns and beautiful pastel colours and My Little Pony. Lol.

Application:

The photos show 3 coats, although quite honestly it was pretty much opaque at 2. The polish is quite thick, but it doesn’t seem to affect it’s drying time, it actually dried fairly quickly. It does make applying thin coats a little tricky though. It dries to a high shine, so no topcoat necessary.

I did initially think that this one would be very similar to OPI Not Like The Movies. It is similar… but they definitely aren’t dupes. Not Like The Movies errs on the side of frost (it’s more brushstrokey), is a lot more sheer, a lot paler and has much more pink shimmer than Silvery Lilac, whose shimmer is distinctly more purple and base is a lot deeper. Not to mention Silvery Lilac is much more opaque (can you tell which one I prefer?)

Index and ring fingers: OPI Not Like The Movies, 3 coats. Middle and pinkie fingers: Barry M Silvery Lilac, 3 coats.

(Sorry this is the best photo I could get, the sun had gone down by this point, I will do a better one in the near future!)

What do you think? Is Silvery Lilac unique enough for you? Which do you prefer – Not Like The Movies or Silvery Lilac? For me, Barry M wins hands down on price, colour payoff, colour itself and finish. Sooo pretty!

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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.