PeacherMarble // Peach Watermarble Nail Art Design

More peach nails! I originally wanted to do this will 4 shades; the nails inc plus the DND duo however, the DND shades would just not spread in the water properly. I tried bottled water, warm water, cold water, hot water, ad infinitum...this look took a while. I want to know the secrets of watermarbling successfully. 99% of the time it just seems to be "pray and hope for the best". 

This look isn't awful though and I quite enjoyed wearing it to work for the day. It reminds me the orange chupa chup lollies. I hate how dry my nails and skin are starting to look. I'm moisturising more than usual and applying nail oil every 5 seconds but it's just not enough.

Polishes/Tools used:-

- Essence Shine Last & Go // Wild White Ways (white)

- Nails Inc // Peach Tease (light peach), Hot Fuzz (dark peach)

- Revlon Colorstay Envy // Diamond Top Coat

Spacrylic // Pink & Blue Space Nails using Paints

Not my favourite space nails but it's not awful so I decided to give it a post. I've been some more experimenting with acrylic gouache paints and I really love how the colours bleed together when some water is added. It works better when used on top of a matte top coat but I couldn't be bothered.

This is how it originally started off but I wanted the edges to be a little darker like the index finger, so I added some more blue. As well as sparkles...all space nails need sparkles.

I could've gone a bit darker but I didn't want to end up ruining it with my terrible painting skills. I then topped it off with a glossy top coat and was a little upset when it smeared the paint :(

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // 
- Mavala // 213 Pure Diamond (scattered holo)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc , 49 Cyan , 50 Magenta
- Primark // Fast Dry Top Coat

SWATCHES: Daisy DND // 618 Peach Buff & 419 Havin' Cabbler

It's official; I think peach is my favourite colour of polish this year. I'm just more than slightly obsessed with it. I've also been wanting to get into gel and what a more perfect way than buying a duo gel/regular polish set for £9.71. I've never used anything from the Daisy brand before either so it's nice to explore a new brand! Just a pre-face though, the swatches are of the regular polish, not the gel. I currently don't have any gel top coat and it looks dull without it. I tried a regular top coat but it just makes the gel look lumpy.

Jeez louise though. The fumes from the gel wipe cleanser is insane. I completely forgot that gel stays tacky even after it's cured and was like "my lamp that I bought for £3 off eBay doesn't work!1!!"...I had just forgotten to wipe the sticky coat off. Good thing I had some gel cleanser lying around.

618 Peach Buff // Light Pink Creme

I love this shade.The pink pastel undertone is everything to me; it's just adorable. I would wear this all day, everyday. It also has the perfect polish consistency; not too runny, not too thick and combined with the brush, it was a breeze to apply. I'm wearing two coats.

The gel shade was easy to build up in thin coats and also had a slightly thicker consistency.

 419 Havin' Cabbler // Neon Peach Creme

What is a "Havin' Cabbler"? Originally, I misread it as "Havin' a Cobbler" like a peach cobbler but then I read it again and was like

I tried googling a cabbler (which sounds like to cross between a cobbler and a cabbage) and only managed to find this:

I don't think the process of breaking up flat masses to be wrought into iron is what DND had in mind when naming this polish. Name aside, this is another shade I love. It truly is the year of Peach for me. This is a perfect summer shade. I can just imagine the instagram photo now of these nails, my iced Caramel Macchiato and my rings that I bought off wish, posing in front of the wheel of my 15 year old Hyundai.

This is one of those miracle shades though that instantly make you look more tan. It dries with a bit of a silk finish and needs two coats. If you apply one thick blob though you can get away with one coat. The matching gel shade was much thicker and difficult to apply thin coats. It also had a weird smell, but then again, all gel polish smells weird to me.

//Comparison

Once they arrived I immediately thought that they look exactly the same as one my favourite sets I've ever bought; the Kiss My Peach duo from Nails Inc. In the comparison photo below you can see that Peach Tease is more neutral than Peach Buff. The latter has a pink undertone. Hot Fuzz and Havin' Cabbler are the same shade to me but Havin' Cabbler is the neon version of Hot Fuzz if that makes sense. So not quite the same (thank god) but they will produce beautiful gradients...or watermarble...oh man so many ideas to try.

//Verdict

What a solid brand. It seems I got ripped off by Nail Polish Direct as I paid £9.71 per duo and on DND's UK website they're £8.50 each so I'll be getting some more from there in the future. Also, I'm super impressed with the brushes; they're that large curved brush that Ciaté use (incidentally my favourite). It allows you to do the three stroke technique really easy. You also get 18ml for what is essentially £4.25; bargain.

I found that both gel polishes cured easily in 60 seconds but they do have a super sticky finish which you can wipe off with some gel cleanser and lint-free wipes. Or, use the stickiness to your advantage and apply some shimmer powder/glitter.

I will definitely be purchasing some more in the future.

SWATCHES: Barry M Gelly Hi Shine // Candy Floss, Cotton & Black Forest

After purchasing the some of the new 2020 Gelly shades I noticed there was a 3 for 2 on and decided to get some more just because I forgot how great the formula is. So here are some more swatches from the mini haul!

Candy Floss // Cool Pastel Pink Crème

Release: January 2020

This wasn't what I thought it was going to be based off the photos online (but when does that pan out?) but I still like it. I thought it was going to be a soft but bright pink and in very bright light it actually looks off-white. But in normal daylight it's quite soft and delicate. perfect for those who don't like "in your face" pink shades. Due to this it does need 3 coats just to cover the streaks. I'm wearing two and it looks ok in the photos, but there is a couple of streaks up close. It's nice and glossy though and the formula is easy to work with.

Cotton // White Crème
Release: January 2015

This wonderful white shade is ever so slightly off-white and has more of a cool/blue tone when compared directly against other pure white shades. The best thing about this shade though is that it's almost a one coat wonder. I'm a little shocked at how opaque it is. The formula is probably the thickest I've encountered for a Gelly polish and is a little tricky to apply but if you float one big blob you can get away with one coat. I think this has become my favourite for ombre's though as you only need that initial coat and it dries within about 2 minutes. I'm wearing 2 coats in the swatch though.

Black Forest // Black Crème
Release: Winter 2016

Behold, for I have found, a one coat black that costs under a fiver. Seriously, this stuff is ready in just one coat. I never wear black by itself but use it for backgrounds and space nails and this polish is just fantastic. It isn't as shiny as the others but I can deal with that.

SWATCHES: Barry M Wildlife // Wild Mint, Rainforest Green & Tropical Pink

So many new collections; so little time. I think March may become a swatching month due to how many amazing polishes have been released lately. This wildlife collection contains 6 shades and was released in January with 20% of the net profits going to the David Shepard Wildlife Foundation. 

Wild Mint // Mint Creme

Holy hell, for a Gelly shade I am shocked at just how pigmented this is; it's practically a one coat wonder. That said, it isn't a shiny as a Gelly shade and performs more like a standard Nail Paint shade. That's not a bad thing but I prefer the Gelly shades to have more of a sheer formula that you need to build up for that super shiny, gel-look feel. It still a nice spring polish though and 2 coats dry quite quickly. I'd say it's extremely similar to Essie Mint Candy Apple if you're looking for a cheap dupe.

Rainforest Green // Lime Green Creme

I adore this shade, it's the one that caught my eye and made me check out the collection. I just have a thing for bright green shades (and weird olive/ugly green shades). This is a great spring green that isn't neon bright but still light enough to avoid being pastel. I wouldn't wear this on it's own as I feel it would stain the nails so badly. I only had it on for 20 minutes whilst swatching and the sides were ever so slightly stained. I'd prepare and use at least 3 base coats. This one isn't as pigmented as Wild Mint and needs a minimum of two coats.

Tropical Pink // Light Pink Creme

Oh my gosh...this turned out so much better than what I thought it was. From the bottle I was expecting a strong pink that maybe I wouldn't like that much, but it's actually a beautiful peach/pink and I'm obsessed with peach shades right now (I literally just bought 6 off NPD). It needs two coats to cover some streaks but it's so glossy and stunning; I can't stop staring at my hand. I actually can't believe this is only £3.99 and I just spent £9 on one OPI peach shade from their new collection.

// Verdict

There are three other shades in the collection but I already had enough purples and blues (you can never have enough pink though). I felt that to me, these were the most interesting shades. There is a bright orange as well but I already had too many similar oranges and I don't tend to wear them by themselves. I'd just use it in an ombre. If I had to recommend just one shade though it would be Tropical Pink; it's perfect.

Barry M Wildlife Collection

£3.99 each

Candy Leaves // Pink, Rose Gold & Green Leaf Nail Art Design

Well this came out of nowhere. I really wanted to do some free hand painting but I also really wanted to use the leaf designs on the Love Is...04 plate by MoYou and so this look was born. It's definitely inspired by the ever-amazing @lieve91 (I don't think I'll ever get her hand pose right) and I need the days to start warming up so I can transition to just palm leaf mani's all the time.

I invested in some higher quality acrylic gouache paints a few months ago after asking Lieve91 what kind of Liquitex paint she used. Unfortunately I can't afford Liquitex just yet, but I did see a set of acrylic gouache in TK Maxx for £20 and it seemed higher quality than what I usually buy. This was my first time using the different type of paint and I have to say I'm impressed. It is so much more pigmented than normal acrylic but it mixes with water like watercolour paints to give that beautiful ink-washed look. I have a feeling marble nails will be really easy with these paints.

The leaf designs though are just everything to me. I had a dream about wanting monstera leaves in this exact wire frame type design and then MoYou brought this plate out; it's like they read my mind.

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Barry M Gelly Hi Shine // Candy Floss (pink)
- H&M // Dawn Song (gold/pink glitter), Bijoux (Rose Gold Glitter)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 (Blanc), 42 (Emerald Green)
- Twinkled T // Glow Up (white)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Love Is...04

SWATCHES: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Iced Latte, Berry Sorbet, Pink Lemonade

It's March!!! 🎉🎊🎉🎊🎉And that means spring is finally right around the corner; oh god it's been so long since I felt the sweet sweet warmth of the sun. In other news, I was not spending money in Superdrug and did not buy more nail polish....

Pink Lemonade // Muted Pink Creme
Release Date: Spring/Summer 2016

Oh boy do I love this shade. It looks like more of a dusty dark pink in the bottle but on the nails it's just a true soft neutral pink. This is a perfect spring shade for floral mani's. It also dries quite quickly for the Gelly range. One coat isn't quite enough, but two does the trick and it dries nice and glossy.

Iced Latte // Vanilla Creme
Release Date: January 2020

This is a fantastic vanilla shade that isn't too yellow. This is the type of shade that will look good on any skintone. I can imagine this would make a nice coffee watermarble with a brown polish. This one definitely needs two coats as the first is quite streaky.

Berry Sorbet // Pale Blue Creme
Release Date: January 2020

Two coats is still a little streaky for this one as you can slightly see through the polish still but three coats isn't abhorrent for a gelly polish...in fact it's kind of the norm. I love this shade though; it's halfway between pastel blue and mint.

// Verdict

Well, I enjoyed these new spring shades so much I went out and bought 6 more Gelly polishes...They had a 3 for 2 on Feel Unique, don't judge me. This is my first time buying a Gelly shade in about 7 years and I'm not sure why I haven't bought more. They really do look like gel polish. I recently bought some gel and lamp (more on that in a post though) and these polishes have the exact same consistency as the gel ones. With the plumpy top coat on top, you can't go wrong.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine

£3.99 each