Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Dragon Fruit

I didn't actually mean to swatch all the new Gelly Hi-Shines one after the other but laziness got the better of me and they were what was close to hand when I was hunting for something to throw on last night, so today I have Dragon Fruit to show you.  You've already seen Greenberry, Papaya and Lychee over the last week or so.

 

 

Dragon Fruit applied very nicely, as all the polishes in the Gelly line do, these pictures are 3 coats as I felt it still looked a little streaky with just two.

 

The colour is a sugary Barbie pink with a hidden shimmer, in most lights the shimmer is very hidden and Dragon Fruit just looks like a flat colour.

 

You can almost see the shimmer peeking through in the photo below, it's really not very apparent in real life though which is a bit of a shame as it would be a pretty addition to the Gelly line.

 

Overall Dragon Fruit would not be on my must have list colour wise, it isn't anything new or different but it does apply nicely and it's subtle effect when stamping could come in handy.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Greenberry

I was looking for something quick to stick on my nails last night and Greenberry was still sitting on top of my Helmer from when I tried stamping with it the other day so I though I would give it a go on it's own and see how it looked.

 

 

It reminds me of one of my favourite Kiko colours, 389.  Greenberry is a very similar sort of shade a bright mint turquoise green, very pretty!  These pictures are two coats.

 

I really like how this polish looks on the nail, although it's definitely a dupe of my Kiko I'm quite happy to have both as Greenberry stamps nicely which makes it a good addition to my collection.

 

 

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Papaya

Another of the new Gelly Hi-Shine polishes today, this time the peachy coral shade, Papaya.

 

 

It's another lovely, juicy gelly shade  These pictures are 2 coats with top coat but you could easily skip the top coat as the finish is so nice and shiny anyway.

 

Papaya is quite a hard colour to capture, in person it's a bright, verging on neon coral sort of shade but in certain lights it definitely leans peach and almost orange depending on the lighting conditions.

 

While it's not a particularly stand out or unusual shade it is pretty and the fact that it goes on beautifully, and opaquely, in just two coats definitely earns it brownie points.

 

 



China Glaze - When Stars Collide

I have the second of my Hologlam picks for you today (I already showed Strap on your Moonboots previously), When Stars Collide, this one is a gorgeous deep maroon sort of shade.

 

It's not a really in your face, vivid holo effect like the OMG collection but it is super pretty!  These pictures are all 3 coats.

 

 

Under bright indoor lighting you can really see the holographic effect in action.

 

Unfortunately I can't comment on how good it looks under direct sunlight as it's Glasgow, it's February and sunlight is in short supply.

 

 

 In low light it takes on a lovely silvery hint, I assume from all those holographic particles that are crammed in there.

What I really love about this polish is that it's also so pretty when the holographic effect isn't so obvious, it's a lovely warm plum shade which is really given some depth by the holographic particles even when they aren't out in full force.

 

 

When I first put this on I immediately though that my mum would adore it, she's not one for very bold colours but this is such a classic shade that's it's wearable by anyone but it also has a little extra depth and edge added by the gorgeous holographic effect.

No7 Violetta

Two coats of No7 Violetta today.  In outdoor light it looks quite purple and you can see why it would be called Violetta.

 

 

Indoors it takes on a much darker grape colour.

More Stamping with Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint

As you may remember I was REALLY impressed with the way the previous set of Barry M Gelly Hi Shine polishes stamped.  So I picked up the 4 new shades as soon as I could to try them out too, and here are the results!

 

As I thought these colours are not quite so effective for stamping with but there are still a couple of gems as you can see from the pictures to follow.  Excuse the messy top coat application, I didn't realise how scrappy it looked around the cuticles until I took the pictures!

 

 

The colours are Papaya, Greenberry, Dragon Fruit and Lychee.  Papaya, a soft peachy coral shade worked nicely and I can see myself using it a lot, the same goes for the turquoise mint green of Greenberry.  They should be lovely shades for some Easter inspired stamping.

 

 

Dragon Fruit is a very pale pink and as such it doesn't show up too well, although I do think both it and Lychee, the nude, would be pretty nice for a more subtle stamp as long as you used them over light colours.

 

So two out of four are good stamping additions, although I think even they will work better over lighter colours of base polish.  Overall not as exciting as the first group that were released but not too bad and I can forgive Lychee for not stamping so well since I adore the colour on it's own.

 

Have you tried any stamping manicures with the new gelly hi-shines yet?

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Lychee

I couldn't resist trying out one of the new Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polishes I got the other day and the obvious choice for me was Lychee.  The palest, nude shade of the collection. 

 

 

It's a beautiful soft caramel-y nude sort of shade, almost like a cream but not quite.

 

These pictures show 3 coats and as you can see it seems to change colour depending on the light, sometimes it's very cool and almost like putty and other times it has a warmer caramel camel sort of shade.

 

The polish applies nicely and, as with all the Gelly Hi-Shine polishes, the finish is a nice juicy looking gel type.  I still use top coat with these polishes but they do look totally wearable and shiny even without.

 

I really love this polish, for all I am a fan of glitter and bling and bright colours I don't think you can beat a really good nude and for me Lychee is a really good nude.

 

It's subtle without being boring and the fact that it seems to shift colours slightly in different lights meant I kept wanting to take photos of it all day, as you can tell from the (already highly edited) collection I've included with this post. :)

NEW Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Polishes

I couldn't resist picking these up when they appeared in Superdrug the other day, especially becasue they were on special offer 2 for £6 (they're £3.99 each).  I've posted previously about how much I love the other Gelly Hi-Shines for stamping so I am really hoping these ones will be similar.

 

This batch are paler colours which might mean they aren't so suitable for stamping, I'll report back as soon as I've tested them out.  Now on to the polish!

 

 

There are 4 new colours; Dragon Fruit, a pale pink with a very slight hidden shimmer to it, Lychee, a soft beige nude shade, Greenberry, a bright aqua turquoise colour and Papaya which is a bright peachy coral with a very slightly neon hint to it, all very spring suitable shades.

 

Of the bunch I am initially most drawn to Lychee, I love a good nude and this one looks like it could be lovely on so I think it'll be the first to be tested as a full manicure, I can't imagine this one is going to be much cop for stamping with being so pale.

 

I'm going to try stamping with these as soon as possible so check back for a report on whether they live up to the initial selection in that sense.

China Glaze - Hologlam - Strap on your Moonboots

 

Today I have one of the new China Glaze Hologlam polishes to show you, I mentioned the two I bought previously here, this post features the blue one; Strap on your Moonboots.

 

 

I really like this polish, although it's not a very holographic look like the OMG collection it is pretty and you can definitely see the holographic element of the polish, especially under fluorescent lighting.

 

What I also like is that even in dull natural lighting the polish is a great colour, it's a sort of steely silvery blue, reminiscent of denim.

 

So even when the full holographic goodness isn't showing it's still a really nice colour to wear.

 

In bright light the polish looks like a royal blue holo, very pretty!

 

Due to it being February in Scotland I can't comment on how it looks in direct sunlight, we haven't had direct sunlight up here for about 6 months! ;)  But if the look under artificial lights is anything to go by I think this one might be a winner in the real sunshine!

OPI - Not Like The Movies

 Today's polish is Not Like The Movies, part of OPI's Katy Perry collection.

 

 

It's quite an unusual duochrome polish, the colour shifts from a pale silvery lilac through to a sort of light army green, in addition the whole thing is shot through with little bits of silver glitter.

 

Very pretty and quite different in different lights, in the photo above you can see it develops a sort of pewter tone under very bright lights.

 

I really like this polish, it's not terribly in your face and out there but it's interesting enough to be a little unusual and different from a basic flat cream.

China Glaze - Running in Circles

The second polish I chose from the Cirque du Soleil collection by China Glaze today, Running in Circles.

 

 

I LOVE this polish, it's a perfect green glitter, these pictures show three coats but two would definitely have been adequate.

 

In some lights the polish looks like it's just green but in other lights there are golden yellow flecks which change to colour of the polish slightly and make it seem almost duochrome under some lights.

 

It's got a lovely foily glitter finish and would be perfect for Christmas manicures, not that I'll be able to hold off until December to wear it again.

 

It applied beautifully and has really excellent coverage from a glitter, it's definitely going straight on my favourites list. <3 p="">

Kringle Again

I posted about Kringle a little while back and I was so impressed with their speedy delivery and fantastic scents that I couldn't resist putting in another order when they had their wax potpourri on special offer.  This time I added a couple of fragrances I had tried previously; fresh mint and vanilla mint and a selection of new scents to try.

 

 

The new scents are plum, french lavender, baker's vanilla, cortland apple, raspberry jam, maple sugar, vanilla lavender, mango and creme brulee.

 

 

 

 

So far I have tried Mango which is a gorgeous strong fruity scent, it's quite one dimensional in that it does really just smell like mango but it's lovely and fresh and the wax potpourri has a great throw which really filled the whole room.

 

 

The other scent I have tried is Creme Brulee, this one is fantastic and I will definitely be ordering it again, it's a soft sweet caramel scent which is so warm and comforting.  I absolutely love it!

 

 

So all in all another successful haul from Kringle, now I just need to get on with using some of these and my Yankee collection up so I can buy more new scents to try. :D