Cherry Blossom Inspired Nails

Spring is just around the corner (thank goodness!), so I decided that I would show you how to do a spring style mani. So here it is, a quick and easy Cherry Blossom design.

By Lucy Bunce

Review - Barry M, The Royal Textured Glitter Collection

Make up brand Barry M has always been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to nail polish. Constantly releasing new and exciting products way before, and for a fraction of the price, of other brands, they are definitely a nail polish addict’s best friend.

And one of these newest products is their ‘The Royal Textured Glitter Collection’ (not to be confused with their textured nail polish). Available in five shades (Pink Princess, Gold Majesty, Nude Duchess, White Lady and Purple Countess) the brands website (www.barrym.com) describes these products as ‘… will make you feel like a glittering, glistening Princess’ that ‘…will get your nails noticed in an instant.’ And my goodness they were not lying.

This is an amazing statement nail polish. When I first saw pictures of what it looked like on the nails, I was sure that it must have been applied over a coloured base coat, like you would have to with a normal glitter polish. But you don’t, as unlike other glitter products, this consists of thousands of teeny, tiny particles that work together to create a solid glitter colour. One coat will give you enough coverage to look good, but with two coats it gives and amazing solid, coloured glitter look.

What Pink Princess looks like with two coats 

What’s better is that, as with most Barry M products, the formula of this is amazing; it goes on smoothly without smudging, as it isn’t too thick. It also dries really quickly, so if you are after a super fast, statement polish this is definitely for you. I have Pink Princess and White Lady, and they are the epitome of girly, feminine chic, and would be perfect for a wedding or party, especially as it is quite hard wearing and takes a lot of wear and tear to chip.

As with any polish, it has its’ downsides. As the name suggests it is a textured polish, so it has a rough gritty texture, which can still be felt even under a topcoat. I don’t have a problem with textured polish, but I know some people do, and if you don’t like polish that feels gritty, then this definitely isn’t for you.

The only real downside that I found with this product was when I tried to remove it. It was a long process that took me 20 minutes to do, so it certainly can’t be removed in a hurry. Also, if you try to use a cotton pad with polish remover on, you are just going to snag the pad and end up with cotton covered fingers. The best thing to do is buy some nail polish remover pads, and hold it on each nail for about thirty seconds before beginning to remove. Just make sure you have a few pads, as you will probably go through about three or four.

This is the only downside I found with this product, but trust me it’s not that bad, because once this polish is on, you are never going to want to remove it.