Review: Barry M Textured Nails

The textured nail polishes have been out for a while and as I really like them I thought I would do a review. I haven't been able to capture them on my nails (you'll see why later) but welcome the wheel! 

I first got the blue and yellow one from Barry M as the mint was sold out and the pink looked a bit plain for me. I quickly fell in love with these as they are super quick if you're in a hurry to do your nails. It takes two coats but they dry very quick for Barry M. I then found a mint to add to my collection which always gets me tons of compliments when I wear it. Its my favourite by a clear mile. 

 l-r Barry M in Sequin Nail Effects White, Textured Nail Effects in Atlantic Road, Station Road and Ridley Road all £3.99 each  

 There is one negative about these polishes that can't be helped - they attract dirt like a magnet! After a few days mine have collected dirt in the crevices and being pastels it really shows. I could correct this with a top coat but it would most likely remove the textured effect. This for me is the ultimate quick fix as I never have my nails bare so if I am short for time I will wear this for a few days until I have the time to do something more time consuming.

 Although this isn't part of the textured effect range the polish itself is the same textured sandy effect. I loved how pretty this polish was to wear but it is so rough! I was worried I'd scratch myself or my boyfriend pretty bad so I would not recommend this if you are a Mummy! Again this doesn't last very long before it wears down the nail and gets dirty although it wasn't so noticeable amongst the glitter. I think the textured effect acts almost like sand paper and starts to wear down from the tip of the nail as days pass.

Sequin Effects are great for a party or special event but not cut out for everyday or at least a working lifestyle. It was also a nightmare to remove but I had anticipated that!
What do you think of the new Barry M effects? Do I need Kingsland Road to complete my collection?

Blue Ombré

I'm dying to ombré my hair as its not been overdone in my town. Yet. However there's still so much red dye hanging on I fear it'll look odd so for now have found an alternative which I'm including in my January Favourites post. For the meantime I gave ombré nails a whirl. I was really happy with the outcome and had quite a few comments and compliments on them. The oddest but sweetest compliment coming from a dear old lady in a shopping centre toilets who asked me to work the sensor taps for her. We went along all the sinks until we got one to work so she had plenty of time to admire my nails. I think she thought it was all the same polish however!

 I used my Barry M blues l-r // 291 Cobalt Blue // 294 Cyan Blue // 295 Turquoise // 306 Blueberry Ice Cream // 317 Blue Moon 

The flash has made the blues on fingers 3 and 4 look similar if not the same, but number 3 is a greeny blue whereas number 4 is a pastel blue. I actually thought the Turquoise was a bit out of place tone wise but never mind. You could always do finger 5 as white. It's made me wonder about green, pink and yellow ombré nails. Please link me if you have tried ombré nails as I'd love to see alternative versions.
What do you think?

Gold Sparkle

I finally took the plunge and got a Barry M magnetic polish. I hadn't faired too well with the 17 ones but I can say I'm really impressed with these ones. I disliked the 17 ones because it was a one coat polish which even with a top coat just chipped so quickly.
The Barry M polishes are already better because you can use more than one coat. The instructions say to do two but one nail I did three because it was being stubborn with the magnet. I had coveted the polish used for the ad campaign for the magnetic polishes and happy days its this one!
My boyfriend was amazed at the results and said the magnet forces the polish to part which makes the effect, which makes sense. This one is quite sparkly and a really pretty bronze colour, with a lighter golden colour which appears under the magnet.

 Barry M 344 Gold Sparkle magnetic polish £4.99

 I used the magnet on the first and second coats, which it only says to do it on the second coat but still worked fine. I used a top coat too and my nails are only now wearing down after five days of wear which isn't bad for Barry M! This is so quick and easy with impressive results that its perfect when you don't have much time.
I really like the look of the blue magnetic one with the union jack type pattern so that might pop up soon.
What do you think?

Life Of The Party

I bought Models Own Champagne in the 100,00 Facebook Likes sale and took a gamble as I wasn't sure I'd like it. I've always found this type of shade to look horrific on me, they suit other people, but make my nails look cheap and I've found previous formulas to be streaky, chip immediately and wear down on the tips within a few days. I think the quality of Models Own is outstanding for the price tag and decided for £2.50 to give it a try. It looked pretty when it arrived and when I was picking a colour last week I went for this. 

Its a true Champagne colour and gives a foil like finish. I couldn't stop looking at my nails, such a high shine, shimmery, amazing finish. This is absolutely perfect for this time of year. Its simple but eye catching too. If I had a bright or centre of attention outfit this would be ideal without taking the outfit focus away. I'm still a complete glitter obsessive but it can be time consuming to layer up glitter (hence my lack of glittery notds of late) and this was the best stop gap until I make time to go all glittery again. 

This would be a great gift for a lady who tends to wear nail polish for occasions. Its so quick to apply and like all Models Own dries fast. For some odd reason I've been thinking about the type of colour I'd wear for my wedding day, as you do. I never used to think about getting married but now I'm 24 its something I very much hope will happen. I asked my boyfriend and he said I would want you to do something nice on them. I said I couldn't do my usual colourful, different nail different colour, crazy crackle and glitter nails but I would go simple. After all I want my dress to be the focal point and everything else to accentuate it. This is definitely a colour I would consider, if you're interested.  

I have so many Christmas blog ideas but with just a week and a bit to go I might not get them all up. I have so much to do this next week as one of my boyfriends present is taking so much time and I'm making bracelets for friends (not even started those yet!). 

Definitely going to post my nails as I'm in full festive flow. My boyfriend searched for inspiration with me tonight on Google and he picked polka dot nails. Last time I tried them my left hand was so unsteady it looked awful! Lucky me he helped me and they look great so I'll post them in the next few days. Hopefully you'll have a steadier hand than me for your opposite hand or someone to help. I also bought some Christmas fimo for my nails which I was originally doing tonight but its so fiddly!

I may or may not have gone Christmas shopping today and ended up with a large majority of gifts to myself...Merry Christmas to me!

Everything will be on my Sunday Summary...

ps. blog post title is inspired by the weeknd, if I wasn't such a lucky lady with my boyfriend I would most certainly be booking a ticket to LA to find this beautiful man with a heavenly, silky, sexy voice 

pps. you can tell I'm not blogging as much because I'm rambling like mad, apologies 

Green Dream

I wanted Models Own Jade Stone for so long and it just always faded into the background among the other bright, pretty, glittery shades on the stand in my Boots. I eventually got one in a triple pack from TK Maxx for £7.99 which was a bargain. I was in a rush last week and picked this out to wear. I intended to put glitter on the top too but never got time. 

Models Own Jade Stone

I have fallen in love with this shade. I'm not a green fan but this is a really pretty pastel. I love the length of my nails here and think the colour really compliments my pale skin. 

I only need a baby blue, Toy Story sky pastel blue to complete my pastel collection. 

Baby, You're A Firework

I picked up Topshop's Firework nail polish on Sunday on a shopping trip with my boyfriend. It looks like it should belong in the Models Own Wonderland Collection...in the bottle it looks like holographic glitter suspended within a lilac polish but it brushes out much more opaque than I expected. This however doesn't take away how pretty this polish is. I only used Firework on my third fingers as I thought it would be more solid. I was too tired to do the rest, plus I'm hoping the glitter isn't a nightmare to remove!

Models Own Beth's Blue & Topshop Nails in Firework (one coat, over the top of Beth's Blue)

I've loved this combination as Beth's Blue is such an unusual colour and I do love a pastel nail. Soon I'll be in darker winter colours or the occasional bright for a party. I'm even considering red! 

I named this post with the lyrics from Katy Perry's track Firework. Its almost 5th November so there'll be loads of Fireworks going off plus I'm feeling all loved up with my boyfriend. It's incredible to think we've been together almost a year and he has been such an amazing person to have in my life especially as my world had been ripped apart at the end of last year. He's done nothing but love me unconditionally, never question why I'm upset but just comfort me and support me and my family. I can't believe the strength and love my family have proved we have. It just goes to show love really does make the world go round and you can overcome anything fate may place in front of you. 

ps. I always get really emotional as the New Year approaches and the past year has been my best and worst, I shall attempt to control my gushiness ;) x

Titanium

I keep hearing David Guetta's track Titanium on the radio every morning. I'm not the biggest Guetta fan but he's good to dance to on a night out or getting ready. I LOVE the vocals on this track by Sia, she makes it for me. 

 models own black crackle and barry m nails paints - 307 lemon ice cream, 304 mint green, 308 berry ice cream

The boy suggested I do yellow nails with black crackle but it felt too boring for me, so I used lilac and green too. He did the lilac crackle and kept saying it didn't look good but it did! Crackle tends to differ naturally. 


I really wish Models Own did a white crackle as I really want one so may have to go for the Barry M version. Models Own have just launched their Kaleidoscope collection which looks nice. It has a purple which I will no doubt buy (because its purple) and a yellow. I really want a bright summer yellow so this might just be the one! I'm looking to place an order pronto. 

Em x

I Got The Remedy...

Although this post title is inspired by Professor Green's track Remedy, he has been cast aside for Drake. Almost had an absolute diva moment in HMV yesterday when I couldn't see Take Care anywhere, eventually spotted it lurking on the bottom shelf of the cd drop. I used to order all of my cds online but made a decision last spring to buy everything I could in person. I love the feel of shopping physically and with the high street struggling so much I would hate for it to disappear. Just doing my bit to help the economy :)


I think I may be becoming a little obsessed with health supplements. I have been trying to grow my hair for years but never get there or lose patience. My hair is fine and when it starts to get long it gets really dry and brittle on the ends. I had long hair during high school but when I left after Year 11 I got it styled by a hairdresser and it was a much shorter, layered style. I really regret it now as I can't seem to get it back to before. I decided to take a multi vitamin to see if it helped my hair growth. I originally wanted a supplement I read about from Holland & Barrett. However when I couldn't find it in the store and asked the girl she told me it was a weight loss product (looking me up and down disapprovingly). I don't want or need to lose weight so decided to leave it. During the summer I get really tired. I previously put it down to hayfever medicine but they're non drowsy nowadays and last summer I ended up at the doctors it had got so bad. I would feel drained constantly and would struggle to stay awake especially at certain times of the day. He was puzzled and put me through quite a few tests to determine the cause but they all came back negative. I don't eat any red meat or have much protein so my diet was probably lacking iron. I invested in some iron tablets and I would say they have helped. 


Then I read about a tablet for "hair skin and nails" so this morning I got off the bus a stop early and as I wasn't starting work til 9 popped to Wilkinsons. I wanted to see their prices and if they were too much I'd go to Sainsburys. I was also after some zinc and folic acid as I've seen good things about them. Wilkinsons had a 3 for 2 offer and they had all three items I was after! 
I wouldn't say my diet is lacking in the slightest but I think the first two supplements I took made a difference so I don't see why making sure I'm getting my full whack of everything I want in my system could be bad. I also want to keep my immune system as well as possible. I've suffered pretty bad with being ill in the last year due to stress and upset. 

l-r iron, skin, hair & nails, multi-vitamins, zinc, folic acid

I feel a little crazy getting my five pots out and lining all the tablets up! The hair skin and nails tablet is positively huge. I hate swallowing tablets anyway but it has to be the biggest thing I've ever had to swallow, and I've had some big medicine in my time! I'm also washing my hair every other day which must be helping too. My hair feels thicker and looks better for it. It is so hard sometimes to resist the urge to wash it but mostly I appreciate an extra half hour in bed before work. 

made some buns for our cake sale at work for pudsey :) they had jam in the middle, they went down a treat

I'll have to report back in a few months and see if my hair suddenly grows like Rapunzel ;) 
Hope you are all well 
Em x
p.s. is it just me that loves to say 'multi-vitamin' in an american accent? "mul-tie vite-a-min" :) 
p.p.s. i didn't only take 6 buns into work haha, i took several tubs, this tub was on the top so was the photographed one