Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polish, my review

Today, let’s talk about nail polish shall we? It’s been far too long! And great news, the brand I want to introduce is a bargain!

For once, I didn’t find these nail polishes online (my favorite hunting ground) but in my good old local Boots. I’m talking about the British makeup brand Barry M!

I’m not really a fan of their make-up range, too Barbie/ pink/ glitter everywhere for my taste but their nail polish is gems in bottles!
An incredible selection of colors, a lot of different formulas: quick dry, mats, glitters, gels effects, there’s something for everyone!

And it’s not very surprising when you learn about the brand history: the nail polishes are clearly the star range in Barry M.

Barry M is a 100% British brand, created in the early 80s by a former cosmetics seller. From the start, the founder Barry Mero (yes it’s not Barry Manilow wink focused on nails by offering over 70 different shades. It was the reign of bright colors during these early years, so the brand was really trendy at that time! wink
The concept of the brand Barry M is to provide a very wide range of colored products but at a (very) low  price (around $6 for a nail polish).

Barry M nail polishes are available in several different formulas and my favorites are the Gelly Hi Shine, with a very glossy gel effect.

I’m a big fan of this ultra glossy effect, but if in addition:
– Each color is more beautiful than the last,
– the price is ridiculous ($6)
– there is currently a great offer: 1 purchased = 1 free
– and I was in the store with the undisputed queen of Nail Art of Dubai herself aka Dorra from the blog Didoline’s Nails ,
you can therefore easily understand that this haul of 14 Gelly Hi Shine nail polishes was almost inevitable…

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polishes, presentation:

• Colors:

I struggled to choose (yes OK, I didn’t really choose, let’s face it) because the colors in this range are all very pretty! The colors are on trend, IMO: superb pastels, muted neons, deep dark colors…
They mostly have a creamy texture. No glitters, no special effects, just pure color.

Here are my picks (1st photo from left to right):

– Rose Hip: a sublime pastel pink, very delicate. I love this kind of color, even if this one is particularly annoying to apply! If you can achieve thin layers, you will be OK but it was complicated for me… But it’s really worth it, the color is great!

– Coconut: a creamy white/ very chic beige, the kind of color that reveals the slightest hand tanning.

– Lychee: a lovely nude, very easy to wear as it’s rather fair.

– Almond: a light taupe, classic and perfect.

– Chai: an elegant gray. It’s a color that I love in winter, I think it goes with everything and it’s very classy.

– Huckleberry: one of my favorites. I almost let it pass because I thought I had it already (in fact what I have is Blue Berry, which has nothing to do with it) but fortunately a photo on Dorra’s Instagram made me realize that I’d forgotten a gem. I love it!!! It’s a perfect and sublime blue gray, like a blue glacier. I’m obsessed with this color and every time I wore it, I got lots of compliments (OK, I have worn it only once in fact) (but I really had lots of compliments, I swear)

– Prickly Pear: not really another pastel purple, I would say this is a pimped pastel mauve. More intense than a simple light lilac, it’s very bright!

– Sugar Apple: a sublime pastel mint green, a refreshing and delicious mint cream.

Second photo from left to right: (a very summery selection!)

– Papaya: I’m not usually a fan of orange because it clashes with my skin tone, but here it’s more like a very nice apricot color and it’s easy to wear, especially in summer. You can see it in my review on the Gel Coat by Dior.

– Grapefruit: a  bright pink coral that makes me think of one of my favorites from OPI, Strawberry Margarita. A really fun and feminine color!

– Pomegranante: this also is a crush. This is a red rose, very pomegranate effectively. This is a more complicated than a conventional red color, and pink side gives it a lot of pep!

– Guava: the perfect summery turquoise! It is a deep turquoise, almost blue duck, I love wearing whenever I have a micro tan because it really brings out. And it is a top color for the feet too!

– Green Berry: an almost neon mint. This one is also great for tanned hands. This is a super fresh and yummy color, like mint ice cream!

– Blue Berry: a sublime blue lavender! It reminds me of one of my favorite polish of all time, Essie Bikini So Teeny. It’s a perfect color for sunny days also because it’s ultra luminous.

• Formula:

These are 3-free (without toluene, formaldehyde-free and without BPD). These are not the safest nail polishes, but it’s still okay.

• Texture:

It’s rather fluid for most Gelly nail polishes but some are slightly thicker than others. 2 layers are needed for a perfect result (even 3 for some pastels).
I had a little trouble with Rose Hip which tends to be a little streaky (I must confess that I applied very thick layers ahem) but it’s so beautiful, so I won’t hold it against little Rose Hip!

• Coverage:

I would say it’s average, but with two layers, it goes very well.
However some colors, including pastels, are prettier with 3 thin layers.

• Brush:

This is still one of those fine brushes that I don’t really love. I would say it’s a classic brush. I would have preferred a thicker brush like a “cat’s tongue” kind of brush, super easy to apply the varnish but hey, these fine ones are more “pro” and precise.

• Application:

So, because of  the brush, it’s not the easiest to apply… It’s still doable, but it’s not the fastest or the easiest to make a pretty lunula (especially for someone not so super talented like me).

• Drying time:

Rather fast. The time to apply it on one hand, it’s already almost dry on the other, and you don’t really need to wait between coats. Always great!

• Shine:

Very shiny! They are gel effect nail polishes so you can see this glossy effect even without top coat. But that doesn’t prevent me from applying my favorite top coat to prolong my manicure! wink

• Long lasting power:

It’s completely average, 3 or 4 days on me. But on certain colors, I managed to make them last one full week. It completely depends on the thickness of the layers. When the layer is thinner, it lasts (but I think this rule is valid for all nail polishes).

• Packaging:

The packaging is very traditional but I find it rather nice and elegant. But I would prefer if Boots didn’t ruin everything by sticking big price tags impossible to remove and which leave a sticky residue everywhere but hey, a girl can dream…

• Prix:

They are at about $6. A great value for money!!!

• Availability:

They are available at Boots (or Superdrug in the UK) and are also sold on the Barry M  website, which delivers almost everywhere.

Here are some swatches of the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polishes:

I’m sorry, I haven’t done swatches of all the shades because the truth is, I don’t really do swatches, I keep my manicure once I’ve done it because I am not great in nail polish application, so I want to enjoy it when it’s done, for as long as possible!!!
And I didn’t want to wait 14 weeks to show them all to you. wink

• Guava and Almond:

• Huckleberry and Pomegranate:

• Sugar Apple and Rose Hip:

Note the trick of the double color manicure to show you 2 colors in the same week! bigsmile
But they are perfect together, aren’t they?

In summary:

[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]

And you, have you already tried the Barry M nail polishes? Any favorites? If not, which are on your wish-list for your next weekend in London?

Photo credits: bonnie-garner.com.

Cet article est aussi disponible en français: Les vernis à ongles Barry M Gelly Hi Shine, mon avis