Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Polish in Coconut

Morning all!

I have fully been raiding Barry M's shelves recently, I love their range and the Gelly Hi Shine polishes just get better and better!

My latest purchase (1 of 3, naturally I cannot pick up just one) is the Coconut polish.






This one has already been raved about by many a blogger so I'm just adding in my appreciation to the mix. I really liked Lychee (post here) but sometimes with my super pale skin tone it did look a bit too toffee-ish, so this colour is the perfect option in those times. It's an off white colour on the nails and so obviously a lot lighter than my own skin colour making it appear to be darker than it actually is, kind of like a free tan if you like!

So how does it apply?

Much like the others the brush is thinner than I'd like, its so much easier to cover the nail when the brush is wider - minimal effort necessary! I put two coats on to get the effect in the images below, some look like they might have been better if another coat had been applied but nevertheless this lasted a full week with a top coat on top and only chipped on day 6.

It definitely looks a little darker in the bottle than on the nails but I still like it. It's definitely a summer one and I'll be using this on toes too to make my tan look a little darker!

What do you think of the Gelly Hi Shine range? Do you have a favourite?

I bought two others from the range that I'll be posting about soon!

L xxx

Spring Series: Hand and Nails!

Afternoon!

We're back again with another post for our Spring Series.

We've already covered Body Care and Fitness and you can read those here and here.

This week's post is dedicated to hands and nails, so if you're a bit of a manicure lover then this post is for you!

I used to be reeeeeeeeally bad at applying hand cream.

As I'm a contact lens wearer I'm always wary of using any kind of cream or soaps on my hands that may interfere when I put my lenses in, so have always avoided them like the plague.

(By this I don't mean that I never washed my hands, just avoided the thick scented ones that tend to stay on your skin!)

After realising that actually it takes 2 seconds to put my lenses in and I don't take them our for a few hours, I changed my tune and now working in a freezing cold lab I slather the stuff on!

I favour products that are organic and natural as I'm sure M does too so my favourite hand creams are from Crabtree and Evelyn, Dr Organic and L'Occitane.

All smell reeeeeeeeaally natural and sink straight into your skin.

As I'm new to the hand cream crew I cannot be dealing with waiting for it to sink in, unless it's when I'm getting into bed.

I also feel I should mention Soap and Glory's Hand Food as it is very popular and I also love the smell of that, but I don't feel like it is as good as it could be and obviously natural and organic wins out for me!

As for nails I am a firm believer in using a traditional 4 way block to file, shape, buff and shine my way to natural nails.

I have currently been using Model's Own and it's been great, love the bright neon colours too and the price is perfect at around £3.

As for nail colours for Spring....I'm a firm believer in nudes, pastels, metallics and pretty patterns.

You cannot go wrong if you pick any of the shades from the following pictures.

These are all of my favourite shades for Spring and I will making my way through each of them over the next few weeks!

As nail art is still so popular I can also see myself attempting M's Rose NOTD that she did a few days ago, or even a Spring version of my own layered polish pattern.

What are your favourite hand and nail tips? What's your favourite Spring colours?

L xxx

As with L I never used to apply hand cream as much as I should have. After realising how badly hands can age I thought it was time I took care of them. I also work in a laboratory so I have to wash my hands a lot and I find the soap very drying. As with L at first I loved Soap and Glory hand food but the more hand creams I've tried the less I like it and I think there are better out there for a better price. My favourite is an Avon Planet Spa one, in African Shea Butter. I adore the scent and it's a nice thick cream that moisturises without leaving hands feeling coated.



As I wear a lot of false nails now I don't tend to my natural nails as much as I should. To see what false nails I use and the tool I can't be without you can see it in my Rose NOTD linked above. I'll be doing a how I use the cuticle trimmer post this week.



I love using dotting tools and my striping tape to create different types of nail art. I'm not the type of girl who wears a plain colour much. I also favour the accent nail. For spring I think nude nails with a bright pink signature nail is a perfect look. Spring is also a great time to get out the pastel shades again.  Here are some of my favourite colours that I tend to gravitate towards for spring time!



Here is some spring inspired nails we did last year.



What's your favourite colour for spring?

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Barry M 304 Mint Green

We all know pastels come around every year for Spring and Summer but I love how they look.

Today's NOTD is not a new colour but a good one for the warmer weather that isn't too girlie.

I am talking about Barry M's 304 Mint Green colour:

These photos are a little messier than I thought they were so apologies for that, I was in a rush at the time!

I do love pastels for spring and summer, but the pinks and yellows can sometimes, for me anyway, be a little too girly so I love that the green provides a perfect alternative.

As for this particular nail polish, the consistency wasn't too great if I'm honest.

I love Barry M nail polishes but this one was a bit streaky, and the quality doesn't always seem consistent between colours.

I used 3 coats for these photos which is more than the average 2 in other colours from Barry M, but as I don't own many pastel colours I'm not sure if this is the norm?

I like the results anyway, perfect for beaches, barbecues, nights out, shopping trips and anything else you can think of!

I can't wait for the warmer weather when you can sit on a beach!

What do you think of pastels? Do you prefer pinks and warmer colours or something like green or blue?

L xxx