Barry M Matte Nail Polish in Crush Review & Swatches

 BARRY M MATTE NAIL PAINT 'CRUSH'

When I saw the Barry M Matte collection in my local Boots store I did a little squeal of joy. I had first seen the collection on Lily Melrose's blog and loved pretty much all the shades, but this one, Crush, stood out most to me, especially for the coming autumn/winter. A very deep burgundy - almost black matte polish, what more could you want? I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the application of this, it is streak free and opaque with one coat! I did two coats out of habit, but I think one coat would have been totally acceptable. I also love how quickly this dries down, it dries to a matte finish although it has got a sort of sheen to it, which I actually really like. I prefer the formula of this nail polish to any of the other nail polishes I have tried, it's just so thick and quick drying. The quality of this nail polish (and all other Barry M polishes!) is insane for the price tag of £3.99. I've got my eye on some more of the shades (I'm looking at you, Vanilla!).

I think Barry M have really hit the nail on the head with this polish - colour, formula  and finish are all spot on!

Have you tried the Barry M Matte polishes? Are you a fan?

Olivia

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Nails of the Day: Floral

nail wraps: primark

Nail art is something I've never really ventured in to (unless polka dots count?) and I can almost guarantee it wouldn't turn out as planned. So when I saw these Nail Wraps in Primark I thought I'd give them a whirl as I knew I'd never be able to master a design like it myself. The ones I bought contained 20 nail foils (for fingers and toes) so for only £1 you can't really go wrong!

I've never tried any other nail wraps before so I wasn't entirely sure how they would turn out or how to apply them. On the back of the pack there were instructions which I followed (basically peel off the foil, stick down, file down excess) I did find the application a bit tricky and it was hard to file down the foils so I just ended up cutting the excess off. Despite looking really pretty, about an hour after applying them they began to fall off whilst I was washing up! I was a bit disappointed and ended up just taking them off anyway. I expect other nail wraps may be better than these ones, or it could have just been my dodgy application! Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!

Olivia

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notd // models own utopia

Hey guys!

Thank goodness it's friday, this week has gone so slowly for me but it still feels as though the months are flying by! I know i might be a bit late to say this, but i cannot believe it is may already! where is the year going, seriously?! anyway, today is a nail of the day/review of my new favourite nail polish!

Yes, it's models own utopia, raved about on llymlrs' blog, which is why i went to get it! i featured it in a recent haul, and since then i have been loving wearing it! it is a cross between an off white nude and a pastel lilac, it's so gorgeous! As with the majority of the other models own polishes, the formula is lovely and thick and completely opaque with 2 coats! this doesn't need a top coat, but out of routine and habit i did! i don't have many nude colours in my nail polish collection, but i really like the way it looks on my nails and especially with a tan i think it will look really nice! i'm thinking of getting some more nudes, do you have any suggestions, maybe essie fiji?

Thanks for reading, hope you all have a good weekend!

Olivia

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spring favourites: nails

Hello everyone!

Hope you're all well! today i thought i'd do something a bit new to me. I was going to do a march favourites, but i don't have many products that i had just been loving in march, i have been enjoying most of them for quite a while now. So instead i thought i'd do a series of posts of my favourite products for spring, starting with todays post: nails!

L-R: barry m gelly hi shine nail paint in prickly pear | models own nail polish in buff pink | 17 lasting fix nail polish in sherbet lemon | rimmel lasting finish nail polish in sweet as sugar | claires nail polish |

As you can see, all of these polishes are pastel colours, i love pastels for spring and then often opt for brights when the weather gets a bit warmer! I know bourjois have just brought out an amazing line of pastel nail polishes that i just need to get my hands on it!

I love the barry m gelly hi shine nail paint in prickly pear because it is such a gorgeous lilac colour and looks really nice on the nails. I would say this one is the easiest to apply out of all of the ones i have chosen because it's quite thick and opaque and doesn't go streaky, i have a more detailed review/notd here! Models Own's buff pink is a gorgeous milky pink and looks gorgeous on the nails! it isn't too bright and is almost like a pinky-nude shade! Last summer, i was looking for a yellow nail polish that wasn't too garish and bright, but i couldn't find one, so when i saw 17's lasting fix nail polish in sherbet lemon immediately! Although it goes on quite sheer and can go streaky but is opaque after around 2-3 coats. I also have a blog post here on my next favourite nail polish for spring, rimmel's lasting finish nail polish in sweet as sugar, a gorgeous pale blue which i'm currently sporting on my nails now! It applies really smoothly and lasts well without chipping for a good few days! The final spring nail polish favourite is this lovely pail green from claires. I bought this a few years ago so i'm not sure if it's still available but i think there are a few similar to this in boots/superdrug. It's a really nice colour and applies pretty opaque!

barry m gelly hi shine nail paint prickly pear - boots 3.99

models own nail polish pink buff - boots 5

17 lasting fix nail polish sherbet lemon - boots 2.99

rimmel lasting finish nail polsih sweet as sugar - boots 2.99

claire's nail polish - not online sorry!

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this post!

Olivia

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notd

hey guys!

hope you're all well and have a good week! the weekend is finally here, it feels like the weeks just keep getting longer and longer! anyway, this is just going to be a quick post showing you my nails today!

 

you may recognise this nail polish from my february favourites! if not it is rimmel's lasting finish nail polish from boots for only £2.99. it's a gorgeous baby blue perfect for spring/summer! please ignore how badly my nails are painted, i am absolutely awful! also, please ignore the cuts on my hands haha! 

thank you for reading! hope you all have a good weekend! i would love to know what are you wearing on your nails today!

Olivia 

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(late) february favourites

Hey guys!

Sorry this post is a little late, i have just been a tad busy recently, and i've actually been having a social life.. haha. On friday i went to pizza express for my friend's birthday meal and then on saturday i went to her surprise birthday party, arranged by her boy friend (so cute!) and i had a great time.Anyway, on with the favourties..

beauty favourites

| rimmel nail polish | barry m gelly nail paint | maybelline dream touch blush | real techniques contour brush | MUA undressed palette | GOSH primer |

 rimmel lasting finish nail polish in sweet as sugar & barry m gelly nail paint in prickly pear

during the month of february i have been loving pastel coloured nails, especially these two. due to still being in high school (and my excessively strict form tutor who says 'let me see everyone's nails' religiously every morning - he even checks boys nails) i'm not allowed to wear nail polish during the week but as soon as i get home on school on fridays, the first thing i do is paint my nails. i have a more detailed post on the barry m gelly nail paint which you can see here but it is basically just a really gorgeous pale purple-y lilac colour perfect for spring/summer! the rimmel lasting finish nail polish in sweet as sugar is also a gorgeous pastel colour but a lovely baby blue colour, also perfect for spring/summer and it goes beautifully with the gorg weather we've been having in manchester, and all over the UK, lately.

 

real techniques contour brush & maybelline dream touch blush

as many other beauty bloggers, i adore the real techniques brushes (i've done a blog post on them if you want to check it out here) i have been especially loving this brush. it's amazing for contouring with cream/powder products! it's also really good for blending in concealer to large areas! i just love it. i also have been using it with cream blushes and my favourite cream blush in february was the maybelline dream touch blush in apricot! it's a lovely corally colour. i sometimes like to use it as a bit of a highlighter too. its a gorgeous consistency and goes on like a dream. for a cream blush, it actually lasts pretty well on my skin, however it summer i'm not sure if it will be as long lasting.. but for now its perfect.

 

mua undressed palette 

 i also have a more detailed post on this with swatches and all my views (check it out here) this was super cheap and such good value for money. it has been compared to the urban decay naked palette, which i don't have so i'm not able to compare. there are a couple of matte colours, but i think the shimmery ones are more pigmented and last better on my lids.

 

 GOSH make up primer

i've actually had this for quite a while (probably longer than i should) which explains the lack of the lid, as lids just tend to go missing in my make up bag. anyway, my skin hasn't been great and it's been a bit rough, but putting this on my skin before make up really helps to make my make up go on a lot smoother and maybe last a bit longer. if you'd like a more in detail post on this just comment below!

non beauty favourites

film and music

this is a bit of a 2-in-1, i have been loving the submarine soundtrack, which is actually only 5 songs but they are so amazing, and amazingly used. they are all sung and written by alex turner, who is the lead singer/guitarist for the arctic monkeys! and i have also been loving the film. it was on tv a while ago and i recorded it and it soon became my favourite film. it's so cute but so funny in a non funny way, but not taking the mick sort of way (that doesn't even make sense to me) i won't say anymore, just in case you haven't seen it.

other

home ware

i adore these cute cath kidston mugs from john lewis. they are so cute and i love the print on them. my favourite is the blue one. they just make me want to drink tea all day, which i really can't as i already drink too much! they also hold so much, im not sure of the exact capacity but it's so much more than normal, which is something i love! i also think tanya burr may have the blue one haha!

so, that is the end of my feb faves! thank you for reading, don't forget to comment me with your february favourites!

Olivia 

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barry m gelly hi shine nail paint

hey guys!

i recently went into my local boots hoping to get model's own utopia nail polish after lily from llymlrs had raved about it on her blog/youtube, however with my local boots only being a tiny one, unfortunately they didn't have a model's own counter so i went to the barry m stall bit to look for the next nail polish on my list: barry m gelly hi shine nail paint in prickly pear (cor, that's a name and half isn't it?)






as you can see, prickly pear is a lovely lilac colour which has a lovely shine to it, even without a top coat. i love barry m polishes, and this is no exception. the only downside to this would be that the brush is a bit small, which doesn't help those whose forte is definitely not painting their nails (a.k.a me). negatives aside, i think this is a gorgeous colour especially for spring/summer!
i am not entirely sure about the 'gelly hi shine' range as i don't see a difference between it and the normal barry m nail polishes! nevertheless, i would definitely recommend and i'm hoping to get more from the range in the future!
have you tried any of the gelly hi shine nail paints from barry m?
thank you for reading and i shall see you in the next post!

Olivia x

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