Favourite Nail Polish: August 2012!

There's something about a freshly polished mani-pedi that gives you that extra boost to your outfit and makes you feel all dolled up. This month I have been switching between two of my new summer faves.

 If you follow me on twitter, you may have seen me tweet about my new find from Barry M. 'Blue Moon' is a very pretty powdery baby blue, which has me constantly looking down at my nails (I am actually wearing it as I write this post!). I am a big fan of the Barry M nail paints anyway and own quite a few, they are so affordable and have a gorgeous range of colours, and this is no exception. It is very similar to Essie's 'Borrowed and Blue' although prehaps a tiny bit darker. The wear of these nails paints isn't always the best, but I have actually been quite impressed with this one. Two coats and a top coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri and it has stayed chip free for a few days now. 

My other fave has been Essie's 'Risky Business', a bright- brrright reddish orange, which looks amazing on both finger and toe nails. This is such a statement colour and really pops against the skin. Admittedly, this is sheer and does take a few coats to get that 'colour in the bottle'  shade, but it is so worth it, and as these polishes dry so quickly, its really no bother to me. Beautiful for a night out or summery day, (and looks amazing with gold or tan flip flops!) this has been on my nails a lot this month. 

What has been your favourite nail polish recently? Do you like to perfectly match or clash your fingers and toes? 

Barry M Nail Paints

Left-Right // Mint Green// Cyan Blue// Peach Melba

Left-Right  // Pink Silver Glitter// Silver Glitter // Black Multi Glitter


I have been routing through my nail polish collection recently and trying to use some of the high street buys that can sometimes be forgotten about in favour for the more expensive brands. In doing this, I have rediscovered my love for Barry M Nail Paints and have been wearing them a lot over the past month or so. 

I love how affordable they are (£2.99 for a 10ml bottle) and the huuge range of colours in the collection, from brights to pastels, in different textures and styles such as glitter and magnetic. 

I have six firm favourite colours from Barry M which I wanted to share with you!

Mint Green- I love pastels for this time of year, and this is a perfect green to brighten up any outfit. This is actually one of the only greens I will wear on my nails.

Cyan Blue- A bright sky blue which looks lovely with a tan. This colour works beautifully along side the 'Silver Glitter'.


Peach Melba- A very popular peach colour which has been one of my favourite pastels for over a year now. This looks so lovely with a tan and is perfect for day and night!

Silver Glitter- A clear polish with dozens of small flecks of glitter running through it. This has been my 'go to' glitter polish since last Christmas! I love it and think it has the perfect amount of glitter for either a full silver nail, or a glitter finish over another colour. I also love doing a scattered effect with this polish.

Pink Silver Glitter- The pink version of the 'Silver Glitter' polish. A clear varnish full of pink, silver and light purple glitter flecks. 

Black Multi Glitter- (Can you tell I love glitters!?) A glossy black polish with lots of multi coloured flecks of glitter running through it. I love this colour for a night out and a bold statement on the nail. 

These polishes are so pretty and are great quality for only £2.99!

You can pick up Barry M in most Boots or Superdrug's.

Which Barry M polishes do you love?

Superdrug Haul!

Recently I went into Superdrug as I had seen on the website they had a 3for2 and some other offers on which I wanted to take advantage of! I ended up picking up a few bits that I wanted to share with you.


To start with, I picked up a couple of skin products from the Superdrug Tea Tree line. I like to keep my skin care routine fairly simple as I have sensitive skin and as they were only £2.99 each I thought why not! I picked up the foaming face wash and the cleanser and toner. I have used these a few times now and really like the results. I have mentioned in a previous post I have been having trouble with some blemishes on my chin, and these seem to really be clearing it up already! They remove makeup and any excess oil well without stinging or drying out my skin. It just proves that sometimes, cheap and simple can be just as effective as more expensive products. 

Next I picked up 2 of the Garnier Summerbody Moisturising Lotion Sun Kissed Look, as I had heard beauty guru Swalkermakeup raving about this product and it was on offer for half price! Making it £3.55 for a 400ml bottle, barg! I have used this every day since and love it. It builds a streak free, natural tan while keeping the skin moisturised. I love the natural glow it gives and it is perfect for brightening up the skin on a daily basis, but for nights out I think I will still turn to a self tanner such as St Moriz for a deeper tan, especially on my legs. 

I love nail polish, so I knew I would be wanting to pick something out whilst in Superdrug. I headed to the Barry M stand as I was looking for a pastel colour and love the ones in their collection. Although to my suprise, I ended up with a black glittery polish, something that I don't have in my collection as I am always going for bright colours. The shade is 'Black Multi Glitter' and I have just done another post with a nail of the day using this polish!

I also picked up a backup of my favourite top coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. I love this top coat, it makes painting your nails so easy as they dry so quickly!


The last bits I picked up are makeup products. I got a new Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shade Medium, as mine was getting a bit old and tatty. Whilst there I saw that they had a loose powder which I also grabbed, as I had been looking for a sheer loose powder to set my makeup with and as it was only £2.99 I figured it wouldn't harm to give it a go, and so far, I do like it. Its sheer on the skin and doesn't leave you feeling like you are wearing a mask. I got the shade 1 Barely There, and dust a light coating over my t-zone after applying my base makeup. It does however say it contains sunscreen, so I am not sure how well it would transfer in photographs.

I then got a couple of bits from Maybelline. Firstly, a mascara. I love the Maybelline mascara range and have owned 3 or 4 different ones in the past, but I do find they often transfer underneath my eyes, so I decided to try one of the waterproof ones. I decided on The Falsies Volum' Express Waterproof in Black. I have been wearing it everyday since to test it out and love it. It makes my eyelashes long and voluminous and stays put all day, with nothing transferring atall. The only downside to this product is because it is waterproof, it can be difficult to get off without a good eye makeup remover or cleanser, leaving you scrubbing at your eyes which is never good! Though I have found if I soak a cotton wool pad in my No7 Eye Makeup Remover, and hold it on my eye for about 30 seconds, it does make it a lot easier to come off.


Next from Maybelline, I got a Color Tattoo which I have heard so much hype about in the beauty community. I have been after one of these for a while but every time I went into my local Boots they were sold out despite being released for a while now. I got the shade Permanent Taupe, a matte taupe grey/brown colour. I have been using this as an eyeshadow base and love its staying power. It doesn't crease, stays put all day and gives your eyeshadow an extra pop. I will definitely be picking up some more of these.

Finally I stopped at the MUA stand. I own a few of their products already and think they are great quality for how cheap they are. I got this eyeshadow trio in the shade 'Innocence', which contains three shimmer tones, perfect for a smokey eye. I love the colours, they almost have a duo chrome finish to them and become different shades in different lights which looks gorgeous on the eye. It is a perfect little set to take out in your handbag or for travelling with as it has a base colour, a highlight, and a darker colour. I do wish this included a matte shade, as all three shimmery colours could become a bit over powering! This was £2.50 for three highly pigmented eyeshadows which is great value. 

Another long post (i'm sorry!) but I wanted to make sure I included all my thoughts on the products! Maybe I could do a post or makeup tutorial using MUA products? Or a drugstore makeup challenge?

NOTD: Bold Black

I have always liked the idea of black nail polish, but often feel my skin tone is too pale to pull it off. Whilst roaming around Superdrug the other day, I spotted 'black multi glitter' from Barry M. It looked so sparkly and pretty so I threw it in my basket straight away. I painted my nails with it as soon as I got home and love the effect. It is a deep black with multicoloured glittered running through it and although it does look quite strong in the bottle, the glitter is surprisingly subtle. I think this colour is great for a dark day time nail as it is not overpowering. I was going out with some friends so decided to add a coat of Barry M's 'silver glitter' to jazz it up a little which I love! Here's the finished nail:

How would you style black nail polish? 

NOTD: Sparkles

I love glitter polishes and wanted to try out having complete glitter nails, rather than my trade mark of having just one accent nail painted with glitter polish. Searching through my collection, I decided on a silver glitter as I am really into lighter colours on the nails for summer.

This is the look I came up with. I used two coats of Barry M's 'silver glitter', on top of a white base coat to make the sparkles really stand out! I love these nails, they are so sparkly and girly, great for a night out!


This polish is a limited addition, but is still available to buy on the Boots website for £3.99.


Here are some other gorgeous silver glitter polishes for different budgets you could use to achieve this look;


Miss Sporty - Transformers Sparkle Touch £1.99
Models Own- Glitter Juicy Jules £5.00
Essie - Set In Stones £12.99

NOTD: Girls Night Out

Tonight, I am going on a girly night out with my friends and nothing completes an outfit like a glittery nail polish. The dress I'm wearing is a coral pink colour, so I complimented this with Leighton Denny's 'Babydoll' on all of my nails, then Barry M 'Silver Glitter' as an accent on my ring finger. I think this is a really girly look, and perfect for a night out :)