*NEW* Barry M: Autumn/Winter Gelly's

Peekaboo lovely folks!

You may have been thinking that I had dropped off the face of the earth again here on the blog but if you follow me on social media you'll probably have seen that I landed myself in the hospital after a routine cardiology appointment last week! I'm back at home with some medication now and have an operation booked for a few weeks time but I'll fill you in on all of that in another post, for now it's my Barry M retail therapy I want to share...

...It's a veritable Autumnal feast for the eyes!

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This is Sparkling Ruby a stunningly rich yet bright red which shimmers with light red, orange and gold tones. Reminds me of Dorothy's ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz! I used two coats with a topcoat.

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Next up is the second of the two glittery gellys Sparkling Amethyst, the most beautiful purple polish I have come across in some time! This deep purple shimmers with pink, magenta and gold with the occasional hint of blue. LOVE! Two coats with topcoat.

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Now for the first of the midnight gellys Black Cherry, it's a deep burgundy red very much like a red wine. A classic. Two coats with topcoat here too.

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Here we have Black Currant the deepest of dark purples, so much so it could pass for black at a glance but it's very definitely purple when the light catches it. Two coats with topcoat.

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Time for a new colour palette now with this deeeeeeeeep bluuuuuuuue Black Grape. It's a real inky colour but wasn't a stainer and I just love it! Again, two coats with topcoat.

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Last and quite frankly least is Black Pistachio which is a dark, dark foresty green. Like British racing green... In the dark haha! I amosy didn't buy it but felt bad leaving it behind when I took all the others from the shelf, and I love pistachios. Final two coats with topcoat.

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I picked these up in Superdrug this morning when I had to fill a prescription, it may have been why I chose to fill it in that particular pharmacy but ya know, once a polish addict always a polish addict! The two sparklies are Limited Edition Exclusives to Superdrug and you can nab a free mascara for a £7 Bazza spend too.

The formulas were great across the board here and the wide brushes were also present. I can't remember if that was the case in the Spring/Summer Gelly's now?! The midnight quartet were sheer and quite brightly coloured on the first coat (applied much like the OPI sheer tints or similar) but they were a little streaky to not go with the second coat which transformed them into dark, vampy and I guess 'midnight' tones. The glittery numbers are to die for, they play with the light in ways which remind me why I love polish soooo much! An evening well spent :)

Rebecca x

Inspired By: Olympia Beauty Show

Hello, hello!

Apologies for being absent this past week, I've really been at a total loss as to what I want to do on my nails, it's almost that I have sooooo many polishes and sooooo many arty bits and bobs that I'm now spoilt for choice! I'm also being pulled in the direction of different, more 'lifestyle' blog posts that I am eager to write and I'm struggling as to whether to add them to this blog or start another?! Then do I keep this or include the odd nails there?!!! Hmmmm #bloggerproblems.

Anyways, earlier in the week I did manage to get a bit of nail art on my nubbs after being inspired by the new Olympia Beauty Show invitations which I received in my Scratch Magazine.

Now, I made a bit of a pigs ear of this one using the tracing paper technique so hang tight. 

Started out by painting all but the index & pinky fingers with two coats of Blueberry dotted in Huckleberry and topcoated. I painted the index & pink fingers in Lychee. Then I drew out the facial parts of the design on tracing paper with nail guides underneath to get my sizing right. I used black markers, a white nail art pen and the Barry M polishes to paint the details on to the tracing paper. Next I cut out the paper and did a fresh second coat of Lychee, pressing the tracing paper parts into the wet flesh coloured paint and holding there. Once dry and secure I added the polka dot design around the nose & mouth on the pinky, and painted the area to the right of the face on the index finger in Passionfruit. I touched up and added little details with the black pens before topcoating.

All of that jiggery-pokery just because no matter how many times I tried I couldn't get the sizing right when drawing the design directly on to my nails from the invitation I had?! I was at the end of my tether and somehow (in my slightly addled mind) thought this would be easier than persevering... Wrong! LOL. Anyhow, the end result is still pretty much the same, but nowhere near as polished as I would like it to be - pardon the pun.

I can't say I'll be using this technique again anytime soon but I can say I may well take myself along to the show this year, I've always wanted to check it out! Would be a great blog post and window shopping opportunity if nothing else :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Rebecca x

Monday Meme: Do You Even Have Nails?

Hi there peeps!

It has been sooooo long since my last Monday Meme and my old series of them still get such frequent views on a Monday that I thought why not bring the odd one back? Variety is the spice of life after all, and I for one love seeing the odd meme that brings a simple smile to the face. This one is a little bit different in that it's more of a caption cartoon than a meme but frankly - it does the same job and looks even better! Liz Climo is a comic artist & simpsons animator who I follow on social media and she shares the most delightful little pieces of work such as this...

I can totally sympathise with sharky here today; I broke a nail constructing a packing box at work this morning and had to file them all down to near-nubs when I came home. It didn't stop me cooking up a new mani to share with you in the next couple of days though, "sometimes you just have to treat yourself".

If you would like to have you day brightened by Liz you can follow her on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and if you have kiddy-winks, be sure to check out her Rory the Dinosaur books!

Rebecca x

*NEW* Barry M: Sunset Daylight Curing Swatches

Hello there beauties!

I picked up some beauties of my own in Boots on my way home from work this afternoon - the new Barry M Sunset shades, and what elegant autumnal colours they are! I love these polishes because of the high shine and super-tough finish, put that together with these must-have seasonal tones and I was caught hook, line and sinker when I saw they were being released today.

Chic, chic, chic!....

First up is Do You Pink I'm Sexy? It's a super soft, delicate shade of pink which is as you can imagine is quite sheer. I used three coats plus topcoat here and it left a hint of a brightened white free edge underneath which I really liked. It's like a french mani in one polish!

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Next here is Other Side of the 'Shroom, a soft minky brown which is a favourite neutral of mine and I adore it's fun name. This is two coats plus topcoat.

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Now for Vengence is Wine which is a rich ummm, wine red haha... I must confess I thought it was a funny brown colour in the shop and almost didn't buy it, until I saw wine in the name and then I thought "ah, gotta be done now whatever it looks like"... And thank heavens I did because it's lovely! Two coats plus topcoat again here.

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Last up tonight is the gorgeous Plum on Baby, the deepest of dark purples which is another favourite colour of mine, this time for my toes - can't beat dark pedi's and I think purple and blue are best. This again was two coats plus topcoat.

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So that's a wrap folks! What delightful editions to my vast Bazza collection, formula was spot on and like the Speedy Quick Dry polishes, have the wide flat brushes which make application a dream. I'm just waiting to see if some new Gelly's are going to pop up in the next week or so now?! 

Rebecca x