Blue With Sparkles: Manicure Monday

Hello!

"this shade is super forgiving, and works all year round, despite the name on the bottle."

When comes a day off, comes a day to paint your nails. In the mist of February, with rain sometimes pouring like nobody's business, and other times you feeling so close to summer you can (literally) feel the sun on your skin, it's hard to decide what colour to wear on your nails. Fear not, this shade is super forgiving, and works all year round, despite the name on the bottle.

 I think naming the gel polish collection after a fruit is a trend, seeing as they also did it for the other blue shade I have from this line, see this post here. The formulation of the line is lovely, and 2 coats gives the ideal opaque finish.

Compared to the Rimmel Pro Polish's, the brush on this polish is a lot more narrow, and I'm a huge fan of the wide brushes. None-the-less, as you continue to paint your nails, the brush becomes wider and moves more freely, allowing better application.

Now it had been a while since I put on an accent nail, but having not had used this glitter topcoat in a while, I feel like it needed to go for a run. Having said that, the polish is beginning to get gloopy, yet, I'm sticking with it for now, and hopefully it still works for me next time! Who says that accent nail trend is going out of style?

As for the base and top coat, the No 7 ones, mentioned in this post, are the ones I used. My favourite thing about them is that they dry very quickly. I've always had that issue where I get prints, out of nowhere, on my nails before the polish dries - yet the No 7 top coat prevents this as they're dry before I have time to destroy them! Did I mention it's super quick drying? Well, it deserved to be said twice!

What's your in-between-seasons go to shade?

Manicure Monday: Pastels are Back - Ice Cream Purple

Hello!

What is THE biggest trend for Summer pretty much every year?

Yep it's Pastels. That means there are pastel bags, pastel clothes and.... inevitably pastel nails! 

Pastels are said to make one look tanner and more summer ready! The most popular pastels would probably be the pastel pinks and whites - you know what I mean if you read this post. 

I was going for a pastel pink but opted for a pastel PURPLE this time round and I love it! It's slightly different yet also in the same pastel family.

This particular shade is Barry M Nail Paint in Ice Cream Purple - I've always loved Barry M for their quality and for this shade I needed 2 coats for an opaque finish.

What's on your favourite Pastel shade?

Manicure Monday - the Brightest of Purples

Hello!

Happy Monday! I hope you're well and enjoying the Spring Weather (or Winter weather, depending where you are in the World)!
Considering that it is Spring in London, I wanted to pick a colour that would suit the season and my preferences! I love deeper colours and this one really was exactly what I wanted!

This Barry M shade caught my eye, and it turned out beautiful! 

I did put on quite a few coats as I like the colour to be opaque, yet one/two coats would have easily been enough!

I love the shade range that Barry M have, a lot of which I have acquired in my collection!
I love that the shade is perfect for this season and suits my preferences!

What's your favourite nail polish brand? 

New Years Manicure Monday!

Hello!

Again with time flying by way to fast right now, there are a matter of hours before New Years Eve now - that means it's time for a Manicure Monday!!

So, I have been LOVING taupe right now and wanted to paint my nails that shade last week, yet due to Christmas I couldn't bring myself to NOT paint my nails red! Therefore, this means that New Years is going to be taupe!

Now, if you're anything like me, then New Years Eve is nothing without a bit of glitter - hence calling for an accent nail!

These shades are:
 Barry M Mushroom and Barry M Amethyst

What shade did you go for for New Years?!
 Oh, and I hope you have a fun and safe day, and will have a post up in 2014! Gosh, that's seems way weird to say! Oh my goodness, that rhymed! :O

NOTD - Diamonds on the clouds...

Hello!

Itttt'ssss Monday - you know this calls for a Manicure Monday!
I love these posts as I love painting my nails. Okay, let's be honest here: I like it when my nails are painted - I don't like painting my nails. However, when they're painted, I feel better than when they're not painted - so painting them it is!

I felt like rocking a lighter shade as the last manicure I had were darker in colour and quite bold.

This time I went for a Champagne, nude base colour and a sparkly top coat. I used a couple of coats of both to make my nails look nicer.

I've received many compliments from people asking if they are gel nails!

The top coat is by Barry M, a jewelled glitter paint called 'Diamonds'. It's very subtle on this shade and twinkles in the light.

The nail look reminds me of snow and 'winter whites'.

I like painting them while watching something…. and that way I am patient enough to let them dry properly between coats! This makes them stay on longer, so I have to paint them less often - avoid chipping and still have painted nails… it's a win, win situation!

Oh, and Happy December!

What's the best time for you to paint your nails? 

NOTD - Barry M, Red Wine is Blood?

Hello!

I feel like it's been a long time since I've done a Nail of the Day post and what better day to do it than a couple of days prior to Halloween considering the colour of my nails this week! The last one I did was a sparkly one!

This is a Barry M nail paint in 'Red Whine' with a top coat of Rimmel Matte Top Coat - so basically it's a matte Burgundy colour. The pictures look very different to each other because some were taken in my bathroom as the lighting is always better in there when there's no daylight! BUT I find they look a little more matte in real life than the bathroom pictures.

I went on the Barry M website to make sure of the name of the polish and saw this. It's a legit Matte Burgundy shade, exactly like what I've got on! How weird! I didn't even know they existed!

I've got to admit the Rimmel Matte Top Coat is amazing! It makes it so I can get various looks from one nail paint, either matte or glossy! Oooh, and if you do have a matte top coat try it on glitter nail polish. It. Looks. Stunning.

 Oh, and it's Monday, so a Manicure Monday was totally due! Have a great week!

Nail of the Day: Summer, Christmas Blue?

Hello!
I'm back with a nail of the day post! Now that it's officially summer as of June 21st (Well, June 24th for me, which was my final exam and then the start of summer vacation!) I like to experiment with brighter colours that catch my eye when looking through my nail polish collection.

So, I was browsing through my collection and this colour caught my eye:

Maybe it was the bright lid that caught my attention or maybe the actual colour itself. It's a gorgeous blue colour with non-chunky glitter of gold and silver. It reminds me of the foil effect nail polishes too and I believe it was part of that line. This colour is a limited edition Barry M Nail Paint called 'Christmas Blue' (shade 247). What? Christmas Blue? You may be thinking that's silly of me to wear in the summer! However, to me, it looks more like a summery blue!

I guess it's a colour that could be used for both seasons but for me, it stood out for the summer, reminding me of the oceans and the glitter is just a fun touch! I don't really know, what do you think, is it more of a summer or winter colour?

*2 coats to achieve an opaque colour 

It is more of an icy blue, so I guess the idea of this being a winter shade comes from that, yet, for winter, I see myself wearing darker colours rather than light, so yes, in my opinion it's definitely more of a summer shade!

What do you think?

xoxo,
BerryBloomXO