Swatch – Barry M – Dusky Mauve (313)

Love Barry M!

When I first started swatching, I was most excited about China Glaze, but so far, the one brand that has given the best results (and the price, too) is Barry M.
I was a little surprised when I realised this, because it really has a reputation as a cheaper brand. But it has never stained, been too gloopy or liquid or chipped. Each shade has a little ‘twist’ that makes it unique – be it a shimmer, glossiness or creme effect – and these are perfectly suited to the particular colour, too! Also, all the shades I have tried (so far) have been great for water marbling.

This time, I’ve gone for Barry M‘s Dusky Mauve :

Mauve isn’t one of those basic colours that I learned at school like red, orange or green. It’s more of a hybrid of grey, beige and purple, and this had been captured perfectly in this polish.

This one has a lovely (discreet) purple shimmer, which shows up more in the bottle than on the nail. As is often the case, it dried slightly darker than it is in the bottle :

It’s very glossy & two coats is enough. There are a few imperfections, I hasten to add that cat hairs are to blame!

It’s got a great formula – neither thick nor thin – despite me having left it outside one hot afternoon! Drying time is about average.

In other news, a blog-name change will be coming soon… Details to follow!

Swatch – China Glaze – Bare If You Dare (562/70621)

When I was thinking about getting this colour, I found it really hard to work it out – it seems like every photo of it is a different shade! Sometimes it was bright orange, sometimes a nude. This its my take on it :

This is a shade somewhere between apricot and warm orange with a golden shimmer to it. I love China Glaze, but this one was quite hard to work. It dries in average time, but it’s a hot day today. I guess that didn’t help the application.

The first layer is very patchy, with or without base coat, and since it’s a pale shade, maybe it’s not surprising that I needed 3 coats :

I still feel like it’s a bit patchy, but that might be due to the high-shine finish, reflecting light strangely.

The golden shimmer is spectacular in the sun, and I really feel that this is a great summer shade – it changes from the seasonal corals whilst keeping a warm glow. It also looks great next to a tan, but would suit pale skin tones too.

Definitely a keeper!