Nail Art - my failed attempt of overlapping stripes with a fan brush

Hi there. For the first time in a few months I was in the mood for doing a bit of nail art. I was watching a couple of cheesy, mindless films on Netflix and remembered a video I had watched last summer which showed a technique of making stripes on nails with the use of a fan brush. I picked some colours up (I am obsessed with the Barry M Gelly) and had a go myself.

Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly Nail Polish Review - Blueberry

This is the 2^nd polish that I bought from the Barry M Gelly range. It is a lovely periwinkle blue which is super cute for summer. I have recently bought a few blue varnishes (and a few navy dresses?!) of varying shades because the China blue and toile trend is huge this summer. This is a perfect colour to fit this trend.

Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly Nail Polish in Blueberry - a beautiful periwinkle blue

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish – Grapefruit review

 I love a good nail varnish. At the moment I am loving high shine, ultra glossy varnishes that are easy
and quick to apply but look even just a little bit like an expensive manicure (that I obviously can’t
afford. I’ve eaten pasta and cheese for dinner the past 3 days in a row). In Superdrug’s 3 for 2 offer I
picked up 3 of these Barry M nail varnishes that are apparently meant to give an ultra glossy finish.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish: Grapefruit - definitely a pinky coral

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish: Grapefruit

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish: Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a very pinky coral. It is perfect for summer – as are the majority of the Gelly collection. It is bright and pigmented and just an overall beautiful colour. Colour wise – you can’t fault it.

These polishes are supposed to be one coaters apparently. I used two – the first coat was very streaky. However, if you use two thick coats you get a nice, thick effect that actually looks a little bit plumped. I want to try it out with my Nails Inc. Plumping Top Coat and see if that improves it more so.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish: Grapefruit - without flash

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail varnish: Grapefruit - with flash

The staying power is reasonable. I’ve had it on for 2 days and it has had very minimal chipping without a top coat.  By that, I mean it hasn’t chipped enough for me to start picking it off further and feel the need to remove it. It says you don’t need to add a top coat but that might help with longevity – but I’d personally use an ultra-shine top coat as to not ruin the shine of the polish itself.

Overall, it’s a lovely polish in a lovely colour that applies reasonably well. I have a lot of Barry M nail varnishes and recently, I have been ignoring them and been buying more expensive brands such as Revlon and Nails Inc. However, it seems that my Barry M varnishes are lasting longer than the more expensive counter parts. Who’d have thought?

Have you used these new Gelly varnishes? What are your thoughts? What are your favourite colours from the collection? Let me know!

Rachael xoxo

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick Review – Shocking Coral (910)

When I first saw this colour advertised, I became obsessed. I do tend to wear the odd bright lipstick and I could not help but desperately pine for this. Fortunately, Superdrug have a 3 for 2 offer so I picked it up as part of that.

I have never tried Maybelline lipsticks. I know my flatmate depends on them (she likes ‘Hollywood Red’) so the quality could not be that bad. However, at £7.19 each I would expect them to be long lasting.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick: Shocking Coral - the packaging doesn't really match the lipstick.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick: Shocking coral - the packaging doesn't really match but it's still pretty cute.

The packaging is cute. The cap is see through and, in my mind, does not represent the colour of the lipstick. It doesn’t really make it easy to find if you have a few of the colour sensational lipsticks. However, as far as packaging goes it’s nice.

The lipstick is incredibly pigmented. It is possible to apply it lightly but it looks fantastic if you apply it fully. I am just in love with the colour. It is definitely a coral – pinky orange. I find coral colours are quite flattering on many skin tones but you need to be brave to try out this colour. I’ll explain.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick: Shocking Coral - vivid? More like neon!

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick: Shocking Coral - Highly pigmented and glossy (yet not very sticky. Hooray!)

 Okay, these lipsticks are called ‘vivid’. I personally would call them ‘neon’. When I first applied it, I almost screamed. It was so bright. My friend actually thought I had used a glow stick for a lipstick. However, the more you wear it, the more you get used to it and now I am wearing it most days – even in this awful weather. I’m just a ray of sunshine in this beautiful weather.

The lipstick is relatively long wearing. It will last a good few hours. However, you do need to reapply if you eat/drink anything. Your lips start to appear orange and you can tell that the lipstick has definitely worn off. It doesn’t look awful, but if you are like me and have to have perfectly applied lipstick at all times you might want to give it a quick touch up.

I wouldn’t call this lipstick overly moisturising. Sure, my lips don’t feel dry when I’m wearing it but they don’t feel overly moisturised/nourished either. I guess it’s nice to not finish the day with overly dry lips.

Overall, this is a gorgeous lipstick that is highly pigmented, incredibly bright and perfect for summer. It is creamy and glides on smoothly and easily to give a lovely colour that looks almost exactly the way it does in the tube. Sure, it’s a tad expensive for a student but it is a beautiful colour that is perfect for summer. Just pair with some mascara and you’re done! I’m very tempted to add blue eyeliner and see how that looks – although I think I might feel like a scary doll.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick: Shocking Coral - the lipstick is a very similar colour to my nail varnish (my life now feels more put together) Barry M Gelly in Grapefruit.

Have you tried any of the Colour Sensational Vivid lipsticks? What are your opinions on the colours? Let me know!

Rachael xoxo