Barry M Nail Paint Review

In recent months, I seem to have acquired a small handful of Barry M nail polishes so I thought I'd give my opinion on them.

These are the colours pictured:

115 Red Black
I'm not 100% sure about this but I think (because of the numbers) that this may be one of the earlier colours they came out with so it perhaps has a different formulation. This is quite a sheer colour and needs 3-4 coats to be opaque. It's a lovely dark red, maroon/burgundy colour with no shimmer.

136 Tangerine
Shimmery bright orange.

150 Red Glitter
Clear with large flecks of bright red glitter. Great to create gradient nails or as a top coat but also very pretty for that "Ruby Slipper" look. You'll need roughly 5 coats to achieve this and it can be very hard to remove. I recommend using a piece of felt soaked in nail polish remover to get it off.
261 Vivid Purple
Dark purple with shimmer.

272 Shocking Pink
Bright pink with no shimmer.

291 Cobalt Blue
Flat bright blue.

292 Navy
Navy blue with shimmer.

293 Grey
Flat dark grey, no shimmer - my favourite colour!

299 Racing Green
Deep green with shimmer.

Generally, I really enjoy Barry M polishes. They go on well, don't chip within the first two hours of wearing them and there's a huge colour selection. It's all anyone really wants from a nail polish!

Without a top coat - which I never wear - please feel free to recommend a good one, I've yet to find one - these polishes remain chip free for two days, then I'll start seeing the odd chip at the corners of my nails. By day four, I've got to get the nail polish remover out and repaint. I get bored of the same colour after a few days anyway!

With the exception of 115 Red Black which is slightly runnier, all the polishes in my collection have a thicker but not gloopy consistency which means that many times, I can get away with just one coat of polish if I'm in a rush.

I've read other reviews that say Barry M polishes stain their nails but I've never had this problem and I never wear a base coat. I'm rather sloppy with my nails. I don't push or clip my cuticles, I file in a sawing motion and I often peel or scratch my polish off! The one thing I do for my nails is use a lip scrub or a mixture of sugar and honey to exfoliate my cuticles instead of pushing and clipping them...then I apply hand cream. I can NOT be trusted with sharp tools!

I highly recommend these nail polishes. At £2.95 a pop, it's worth grabbing a handful of colours to try out!

Bags, Barry M & adorable kittens

It's been a long time since I've made a handbag purchase that hasn't left me jabbering on to John trying to justify it. It'll usually go something like this:

Me: "It's not like it's THAT expensive...but I don't know that I'll use it enough"

Him: "Then return it"

Me: "But it's sooooo pretty"

Him: "Then keep it"

Me: "I just don't think I NEED another bag...you know?"

Him: "mmmhmmm"

And 8 times out of 10, I'll return it. This doesn't just go for bags but clothes too. I don't usually regret returning things but every so often I feel a little pang....a little yearning for that thing I sent back. With this bag, I would feel that.

So I'm not returning it!

It's the Fiorelli Mackenzie Large Shopper.







AND I LOVE IT!

Although it's not real leather and faux leather can never replicate that beautiful buttery feeling...it's so soft. It really is a beautiful bag.

I'm not the biggest fan of the cheapo lining but it doesn't bother me too much. It cost £49. You get the standard pockets for your phone and a vanity pocket, then a divider with a zipped pocket plus an outer zipped compartment. It's perfect for me since I chuck half my life into my bag before I head out the door so at least now I can have an organised mess in my bag instead of a pile of crap buried under more crap. It's comfortable to carry, it's nude so it'll come in handy with the Spring/Summer trends and will go with just about anything. It's just an easy bag above anything else...and I'm a huge fan of easy fashion.

Another thing I'm loving at the moment are Barry M nail polishes. I have a few colours, but decided since it was sunny today, I'd put on a colour to match.



This is 136 Tangerine. Lovely bright pearly orange. I've acquired quite a few Barry M polishes recently so I'll have to do a review on them.

Also had to give this guy his deworming tablet today.



Always an eventful time. Even though he's only 9 months old and has been dewormed a grand total of 3 times...he knows...when the blanket comes out to wrap him up with he shoots out the bedroom and hides under the stairs. He hates it! Even when I wrap it in a little bit of chicken...nope. Eats the chicken, spits out the tablet. So I have to wrap him up so I don't put too much pressure on him holding him down...and poke it down his gob then massage his throat to make sure he swallows. Silly kitty. I dewormed my housemate's kitten too who was absolutely no trouble.

This is THE Tigger.



I love that picture!

We had another kitten named Arnie who really sadly died last November...Tigger is his brother.

He's so much like our Arnie and it makes me miss him so much more.



Party cat



Arnie and Reggie were the best of friends and he's really missing him even now.

I worry that when John and I move into a place of our own, Reggie will be lonely without Tigger so we've been in touch with several rescue centres to see if we can adopt another one or two. If anyone around London has a cat up the duff, let us know!

Barry M nail paint review coming up!

My Valentine's Day Eyes

I'm really undecided on whether or not I'll make a video for this - not sure the Youtube video making world is for me yet. I'd love to be able to get the guts up to do it! I just don't think I'm in any place to teach anyone anything!





Yeah, that's a mole on my eye. It's gross.

So this is the red smokey eye I'm wearing for Valentine's Day with John. I've been seeing a ton of cute gorgeous pinks - really light and flirty looks...but no sultry reds (as far as Valentine's tutorials on YT go). So I figured I'd try one out with the Sleek Sunset palette. ME Brown by Shu Uemura is also thrown on there. It's a beautiful metallic rust coloured shadow. Shu shadows are divine to work with. They blend well and the pigmentation is incredible. I'm really excited to pick up more when I head back to Hong Kong because as it stands I only have 4 colours and that makes me sad.

I started out with UDPP and put a light base of ME Brown over the lid, pulled it up to just past my crease and winged it out slightly. I lightly swept In Awe by MAC (a lovely black with gold pearl) into my crease and patted a bright red from the Sleek palette onto the centre of my lids. I used Young Thing by MAC as a highlight and dotted it on my inner corners to lift my eyes a little. After a few (hundred) coats of mascara and a slick of black liner and this is what I got. I'll probably finish the look with neutral lips and a light dusting of bronzer on my cheeks and temples.

In the past I've been afraid of wearing red on my eyes as it has made me look tired. The same story with pink. The way I make it work for me is to use shimmery or frosty shadows and to have a "barrier" of black or brown liner between the red and my waterline or lashline to stop that horrible tired look.