Barry M - Orange Fizz + Purple Pop

[Note: This is an older mani which I felt like blogging.]

Another half collection that I own from Barry M is two of the Lolly Gloss polishes. What is it with me and only getting two from a collection? Lol anyway, I think these colours go so well together. This colour combo was inspired by a painting my parents have had all my life, which I can't find on Google Images for the life of me...

Barry M "Orange Pop" is an orange-leaning red, sheer polish. "Purple Pop" is a plum purple, sheer polish.

Barry M "Orange Fizz" and "Purple Pop"

The Lolly Gloss polishes are meant solely for nail art such as smush manis (above) or jelly sandwiches, I believe. I know other sheer polishes exist like this, but these are my first. And I love them! They apply easy as pie for whatever look you want, dry fast, and come off just as easily. Despite being sheer, they're wonderfully pigmented. They're both so squishy and delicious, just looking at my nails makes me crave jelly beans, or fizzy Haribo. Or maybe I'm just hungry. At any rate, this is a collection I definitely want to see more out of in future. They're just amazing!

I think it's time. Time for the first... 5 star polishes!

★★★★★

Barry M - Copper Mine + Gold Digger

[Note: This is an older mani which I felt like blogging.]

Because I'm a bit busy at the moment and my Cindy hand is just getting too ugly for my eyes, I'm going to be a lazy butt and re-upload old manis from my Instagram. I have a good memory in general so these reviews will be fair! 

Barry M "Copper Mine" is a copper, glittery metallic polish. "Gold Digger" is a neutral gold, glittery metallic polish.

2 Coats Barry M "Copper Mine" and  "Gold Digger"

I didn't know which of these to wear first at the time of buying them, so I did the only thing I can do in this situation and ombred that mother. Sponge, sponge, sponge. And lo, these polishes sponge well!

"Copper Mine" is closer to a one coater, but the thickness of the consistency made it a little patchy (only a tiny bit), so two posts were better for ensuring complete consistency. "Gold Digger" is a lot thinner so definitely needs the doubling up. Still b-e-a-utiful though! Until it comes to removing it, when both of these beauties become beasts... Like really, you need to scrub these off. But that's to be expected with this consistency.

Out of the two colours, I thought I'd love "Copper Mine" more, because I love copper and have never been into golds. But "Gold Digger" changed my feelings for gold. Because it's not too yellow, I don't feel it looked ugly with my skin. It looked so bright, I was really surprised! 

There are two others in the Molten Metal collection, and judging by these two, I'll love them both also. Off to the shops!

★★★★✰

Barry M - Cancun

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

We've been on a glossy, shiny journey this last week. What better way to start a new adventure than to go to the exact opposite of the Gelly polishes: the Barry M "Matte" collection! ... Of which I only have one lol. So, this is going to be a short look into the world of matte.

Barry M "Cancun" is a bright teal, matte polish.

1 Coat Barry M "Cancun"

Side note: All of the mattes are named after places, IIRC. And I'm a sucker for travel.

This is only one coat but it could do with two, honestly. I swear IRL the white line is not as visible as it is in the pic lol, bad lighting. A white base would also work wonders to bring this gorgeous colour to new levels of holiness. 

It goes on and comes off smoothly as you'd expect, bar staining for this particular colour. I'm just not sure about the matte finish. It's not as... Matte as I'd expect, which is odd. "Cancun" doesn't stand up to much wear either, and chips within the first few hours for me. The matte also wears down to a smoother finish lol. But I am still definitely gunning for more of the Barry M Mattes.

★★★✰✰

Barry M - Blueberry

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

We end our journey through the Gellies with my second favourite, and perhaps the most stunning colour over all. Look in wonder and marvel at this luscious creation.

Barry M "Blueberry" is a cornflour blue, glossy creme polish.

2 Coats Barry M "Blueberry"

Omg.

I haven't found another blue that so perfectly matches my skin tone. Regardless of that, "Blueberry" is so eye catching! If anyone else is wearing it, I know straight away that it's "Blueberry" just by how bright and how unique the colour is (to me anyway). No wonder my friends keep borrowing it!

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, and a good formula. "Blueberry" is a two-coater polish. The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. "Blueberry" has also been used by a few people who don't know how to keep polishes well, so it's a bit thicker than the others. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

I could wear this colour forever...

★★★★✰

Barry M - Mango

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

Second to last of the Gellies now, so we'll have more variety soon. Though I do so love swatching all of these beauties that go on so smoothly and cleanly. Here's another one that's sort of so-so.

Barry M "Mango" is a yellow-leaning orange, glossy creme polish.

2 Coats Barry M "Mango"

I like that this was called "Mango" rather than the obvious choice of Orange. Then again I wish it were slightly more true to the colour of mangoes, because this is just a standard orange colour. As with "Lychee", the yellow undertones don't suit my skin tone. The most use I get out of "Mango" is at Halloween, in all honesty. Which is odd considering oranges can be quite tropical. 

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, and a good formula. "Mango" is a two-coater polish, and more often than not comes out quite patchy. The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

★★★✰✰

Barry M - Sparkling Ruby

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

We have a Christmas special Gelly this time in celebration of four months 'til Christmas, the only Gelly I have that isn't named after a fruit. It's a shame but I'll get over it, somehow...

Barry M "Sparkling Ruby" is a sparkling red, glossy polish.

1 Coat Barry M "Sparkling Ruby"

It still really bothers me that it's not named after a fruit or food... Holly Berry, maybe? Cranberry? Though the name does perfectly sum up the colour. This glittery finish is unique for the usually creme Gelly polishes, but it is fittingly festive. Another difference is the newer Barry M brush, which is wider and makes applying quicker. 

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, which is amplified in the darker colours, and a good formula. The darker Gellies are also one-coater polishes, which is great! The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

★★★★✰

Barry M - Huckleberry

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

Still going strong with the Barry M Gellies up on this blog, and we're kind of going from good to bad and then back to good. It's the turn of the bad again. I mean, not bad-bad, but not good for me either. I'm rambling, sorry.

Barry M "Huckleberry" is a pale icy blue, glossy creme polish.

2 Coats Barry M "Huckleberry"

Huckleberry Finn, amiright?

I have a looot of blue polishes in my collection, but this has to be the palest. And I don't like it. Somehow it clashes with my skin tone and just looks- I don't know to describe it, but I just don't like how pale it is. Same with "Lychee", this is my own fault for picking it and being fussy, and no picking on Barry M! But it's still a pitfall for me.

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, still noticeable in the paler colours, and a good formula. The paler Gellies are also two-coater polishes. "Huckleberry" never seems to go on opaque for me though, as you can see from the patches. The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

On a side note, can anyone recommend an icy blue that I might like? Lol.

★★★✰✰

Barry M - Chai

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

One day, I went on an adventure in search of a grey polish, which is strangely rare in these parts. Silvers aplenty but greys fewer and farther between. And yet, on shelf I saw a grey. The perfect grey. "Chai".

... Anyway.

Barry M "Watermelon" is a grey, glossy creme polish.

1 Coat Barry M "Chai"

As you'd probably guessed, "Chai" is my only true grey polish and I love it. It's very pigmented and bold. You'd think grey would be dull on nails, but the glossiness makes this one fresh colour. Perhaps because it's kind of in-style too, particularly in Autumn. The name is just so autumnal too: I love drinking spiced chai in the colder months. 

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, which is amplified in the darker colours, and a good formula. The darker Gellies are also one-coater polishes, which is great! The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

Now I'm off to make myself a hot cup of tea!

★★★★✰

Barry M - Lychee

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

As with my last post, I'm sticking with reviewing the Barry M Gellies from now on. But we're going from my very favourite to my least favourite colour I own. Here we go...

Barry M "Lychee" is a yellow-leaning nude, glossy creme polish.

2 Coats Barry M "Lychee"

Before we go on, I love the fact that this collection has a fruit theme!

Okay, so, first to the colour again, and this is the major fail with this polish. This is definitely subjective, by the way, and no fault of Barry M. But as a personal preference, yellow-leaning nudes aren't for me because they don't suit my red undertones. "Lychee" also tends to really make my fingers look super red. Again, not Barry M's fault but my own for picking it out! 

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, still noticeable in the paler colours, and a good formula. Lychee is thicker than "Watermelon", which in this case is good beccause it's easier to control. The paler Gellies are generally two-coater polishes. The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

It's not my favourite nude by a long shot, but it sure is shiny.

★★★✰✰

Barry M - Watermlon

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

So far, my swatches have been random and kind of disjointed, so for the next few posts I'll be reviewing by brand. We'll start with my favourite, Barry M, and my favourite collection by them, the Gelly Hi-Shine collection. And what better place to start than with my favourite Gelly polish, and favourite polish over all - "Watermelon"!

Barry M "Watermelon" is a blue-leaning deep green, glossy creme polish.

1 Coat Barry M "Watermelon"

Firstly, the colour. Just look at it! This shade is my absolute favourite, and I can say without a doubt that it was this polish which made me fall in love with doing my nails. When I'm wearing "Watermelon", I can never stop looking at my nails. It's just... Ugh! Beware of staining though, obviously, the pigmentation in this is out of this world. And if your hands are shaky (or you're painting on your weak hand, cough cough) be very careful to not go outside the lines. Cleanup is not easy!

All Gelly polishes have a beautifully glossy finish, which is amplified in the darker colours, and a good formula. Even after three years, "Watermelon" is still beautifully liquid to apply. The darker Gellies are also one-coater polishes, which is great! The formula is thin, so it dries quite fast, and self-levels perfectly. If there are any lumps at all, though, the liquidiness (word, lol) will get all squished and horrible looking. Gellies also do not last very long at all. It's sad because they're so beautiful, but for me they'll often be chipped by the end of the day.

The elusive 5-star polish was so close, and yet... Formula let "Watermelon" down. It's still my favourite polish regardless.

★★★★✰

Miss Sporty - It's Not My Name

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

It's late summer, so the British weather right now is swinging wildly from Mediterranean to Siberian all day long. I'm trying to keep it Med for at least another month, and what better way to do that than with my nails! Today, I went for the hottest polish in my baby collection.

Miss Sporty "It's Not My Name" is a sheer hot pink polish with a blue sheen.

3 coats Miss Sporty "It's Not My Name"

I just loooove hot-pink-blue-sheen polishes. I need more! My problem with them is that they're always sheer, though, so either require an undie or layers, layers, layers. I went with the latter approach of three thick coats, but four would have been better. A white or corresponding pink would make the colour really pop. The dry time is obviously impacted by this. 

Application is as smooth as it's glassy finish, except I have unique issues with nail polish. Namely, the fact that I have tiny baby nails. My pinkie nail is about half a centimetre wide! Therefore I find thick brushes, such as the one in "It's Not My Name", are too wide, and make a mess on me. For normal people, this won't be an issue though.

"That's Not My Name" has that real eye-catch factor though. It's so bright, and even looks good on my tiny nubs! Hot, hot, hot is right.

★★★✰✰

Barry M - Fashion Icon

[Note: I've had a major breakage on my swatch hand *cries internally. So until it grows back or I get some matching falsies, I'll be using my cindy hand. Sorry for the less than perfect lines and poor posing.]

The midweek blues have struck, my nail is broken, and my life is kind of stagnating right now. So to counter this, I needed the most beautiful nail polish in my collection right away. To the Barry M "Glitterati" collection!

Barry M "Fashion Icon" is a mixture of purple, blue, and holo glitter in a purple sheer suspension.

2 coats Barry M "Fashion Icon"

Ahh, now I feel instantly better. My broken nub nail isn't looking so shabby either. What a stunning polish! It's unusual to see holo of any kind in UK drugstores, making this an even more welcome lovely. I don't know why I don't own any of the others from this collection. Perhaps if I get hired soon, I'll go buy the rest. Yeah... 

This beauty is flawed, though. It might dry fast but it dries lumpy, obviously for a glitter. It ain't easy to take off either, and as you can probably tell, could do with a base coat. Maybe white, maybe purple, whatever will bring out this stunning beauty!

★★★★✰

I wonder if I will ever find a 5★ polish...

Mani Swap with The_Polished_Girl

I love a good mani swap! Mostly because it helps me to flex my artistic skills, which are sorely lacking atm, and forces me to stick to a deadline, which always brings the best outta me. So anyway, check out The_Polished_Girl on Instagram for her individual photo. She's using her take on my mani as her new display picture, aww! 

Her recreation if of my lace nails from a few months ago, using Wah! London "The Blue Room" and Barry M "White", with that strong ass basecoat of course. Hers is much neater than mine and looks better on her longer nails, I love it! 

Here's an individual shot of my interpretation:

It's neither the best photo nor the best mani I've ever done, which I'm sad about but not too sad. Practice is practice! I used: QUO by Orly "Mega Orange", over NYC "Pure Air". Because I didn't have an exact metallic orange like that, I decided to combine colours and think these two work really well together! Then the black is just Sharpie, which I love to use for nail art but is also why it came out quite dotty. I still haven't mastered the perfect straight line either...

Self criticism is my jam, by the way. Anyway, hope you're all having a nice day!

Models Own - Chrome Rose

Today, I needed a non-creme polish as a base for some stamping I'll be doing for tomorrow, and thought that this would be a great opportunity to review one of my least favourite polishes. Even though Models Own is my joint favourite brand, I really can't go easy on this *cries forever. And seemingly, a lot of others have had issues with the entire Colour Chrome collection. The idea was good but the execution? Well...

Models Own "Chrome Rose" is a pink-gold metallic polish.

2 coats Models Own "Chrome Rose"

So, where do I begin? My main problem with "Chrome Rose" is the consistency. On first sweep, this polish is off silver. Then the colour pigment mixes in and slowly, more colour comes out, creating an ombre of silver to... Whatever colour this is. It ain't rose gold lol. Adding layers to even the colour out makes it streaky too.

There are saving graces, though. If the colour comes out well first time, this is a one coater! And a fast drier too. The chrome finish makes it a little tough to remove, but it's strong and doesn't chip fast. So it's like an ugly strong-man polish. The Quasimodo of my collection! I'm too funny.

★★✰✰✰

All About That Basecoat

[Hate the song, js.]

Today feels like a naked kinda day, but I'm never truly naked, so I decided, why not review all of my basecoats! Of course, I don't have very many with my small collection but I'm finding a lot of fun in reviewing haha. 

I have a lot of crappy top and base coats from Primark and such, which obviously don't need reviewing here because they're all the same!

Now first, my favourite basecoat, Barry M "Birthday Suit":

[2 coats. Index finger is tea-bagged lol, forgive the lumps.]

Barry M have four (that I know of) polishes in their Nailcare collection, three of which I have here haha. This pretty polish both "strengthens and conditions" nails, so it has health benefits, but unlike the others, it could be argued that this isn't just a basecoat. It could even be its own mani, with two or three thick coats. So does it still count...? Yes. For me anyway haha. The colour and semi-matte finish are gorgeous, it certainly covers any staining. I just love it! And as with all Barry M products, cruelty free too.

Now onto the rest, in no particular order:

• Barry M "Super Mani": another polish from that ^ collection. This polish has a whole list of benefits: argan oil; vitamin E; keratin; growth and strength protection; and a purple tint to counteract yellow staining. This is the one I use most, more so than "Birthday Suit", because it encourages me to cover up more.
• O.P.I. "Lay Down That Base": this little cutie came in a pair with O.P.I. "Push And Shove", because it is the ultimate ridge smoother. My nails aren't ridged, though... Even so, it doesn't shine unnaturally like other bases, but still gives a smooth look. It's the most naked of these basecoats, and I love it for its weightless, effortless feel.
• Sally Hansen "Hard As Nails": an old but tough nail hardening base. I don't use nail hardeners often to avoid brittle breakages, but when I feel too flexible, this is the strongest, toughest base coat I own.
• Barry M "Iron Mani": mostly got this for the name and for the purpose of having more basecoats haha. Plus Ironman is one of my favourites. This one has less health benefits than "Super Mani", as it just strengthens and smooths, and it's not as strong-feeling as the SH polish. But a base is a base is a base.

Soon I should do a topcoat review!

ILNP - Mega

With my polish collection list complete, I feel like I should get going with swatching everything so that I have some nice pictures too. Today is a grey, boring day, so I felt like brightening it up with some super sexy holo!

ILNP "Mega (L+S)" is a scattered and linear silver holo.

3 coats ILNP "Mega (S)"

Accent: 2 coats "My Private Rainbow (L+S)" over Barry M "Black"

Sadly I don't have a macro lens so I can't get a good close up of this. Maybe if the sun comes out later, I'll get a comparison shot of the holo shift under sunlight. The holo is quite linear despite this being the Scattered version, but maybe I don't know the difference haha. It applied nicely, and could have been good enough in two coats if I wasn't being picky. One coat might be good as a thick holo topper. Perhaps in future I'll use this over a silver base. Overall this is a gorgeous holo polish, and well deserved of its great reputation. I just need to see more rainbows before I fall harder in love.

★★★★✰

Side note: I decided to give "My Private Rainbow" another chance by putting it over a black base. This is only two coats and, obviously, it's already much more noticeable. I'm still just waiting for the sun!

ILNP - My Private Rainbow

My first blog post is a swatch! Haha just one simple swatch for now, of a polish that is about to change my life. This is the first time I've worn ILNP, so it's a special moment for me.

ILNP "My Private Rainbow" is a scattered holo top coat.

3 coats "My Private Rainbow (L+S)" from the Holiday 2015 Collection
over Leighton Denny "Rosey Posey".

I chose this polish for its holo payoff and... It let me down a bit. I know it will definitely look a lot better over a darker colour, but I was really excited for a holographic nude. No amount of sunlight makes it do the magic rainbow shift; I hear no unicorns crying with joy. But that's okay. I'm not giving up on the holo dream yet!

Aside from the looks, the application and removal was a dream, despite three thick coats. The more I look at it, the more I actually like this subtle holo. It's like I'm still a half in the closet holosexual... 

I love obligatory and subjective ratings, so here's my score for "My Private Rainbow (L+S)":

★★★★✰

Hello World!

This has been a long time coming...

Hi! I'm Miss Knight, another nail lover! I've been on Instagram for over two years, so I thought it was finally time to make myself a blog. Blogger is still so confusing to me, bear with me! Obviously I won't upload all of my manis ever, but if you're interested in having a look then here you go! 

This blog will not solely be about nails, and may also include some other cosmetics, because I'm a big beauty lover!

Before we start, here are some of my personal favourite/best nails to date:

If I can figure out how, I'll put a tab of some lists including my favourite brands, techniques, and my polishes. This will also be a great excuse to swatch all of my polishes again and document them! So for now, fellow beauty lovers, peace~.