Hello lovelies,

Today I want to show you the latest Barry M release - the Coconut Infusion collection! It consists of 9 new creme shades in glossy finish.

Coconut Infusion collection boasts with new and innovative formulation with a blend of coconut water and coconut oil. This supposedly gently hydrates and nourishes nails.

Barry M also states: "Enriched with anti-oxidising properties and the strengthening benefits of Vitamins B & C, nails are repaired and replenished."

Those are pretty bold claims so let's have a look at the polishes...

This collection comes in the standard bottle with a bronze cap that looks like it will be unique element to this collection. The colours vary from selection of beige and brown to more fun shades like peach, pink, blue and green. Also brush is very nice - Barry M has used the flat tapered brush with rounded edge so it helps the application and with achieving clean line.

I've prepared a skittle swatch of each colour so you can see them on nails (no full swatches, sorry!)

All of the swatches above are of two coats and NO TOPCOAT! I was so pleasantly surprised that the polishes were well-pigmented and really dried quite glossy even without topcoat. The formula was very easy to apply and not thicker like some other gel-like polishes. I also didn't use base coat ("no base coat is required as the healthy nutrients will infuse, hydrate and protect the nail") and the polishes proved to be good ridge-fillers as well. I got smooth and glossy gel-like finish without streaks and bald spots and if I'd had applied topcoat they would look even better. But I wanted to show you guys that the formula is really good by itself. They all dried fast even without the topcoat.

Another thing I would like to point out is the smell/scent. It has weaker 'regular nail polish' smell and I can smell hints of sweet, possibly coconutty scent. It's hard to put my finger on it but there is definitely some change in smell.

And as a bonus, Barry M have sent me this adorable portable phone/gadget charger shaped like nail polish bottle! Apparently I just need to charge it and then take it with me and if I need to charge my phone I just connect it to this charger wherever I am. Something to take to a festival :)

This collection is great for nail art because of the high pigmentation and nice formula so I'm sure you'll see these again in one of my future nail art manis. I really hope Barry M will be adding more and more shades to this line although I'm not so sure about the no base coat recommendation if they'll introduce darker colours. Overall, this is probably the best Barry M line to date, even better than the Gelly.

The Coconut Infusion collection is available at Barry M website for £4.99 each and also in Boots and Superdrug.

What do you think? Have you tried this collection yet? What are your thoughts?

Have a lovely day! Lucie

*PR samples

What I was looking for was a strong holographic effect and a full rainbow - I think I got it :)

I started with a coat of regular base coat and Bundle Monster Gel Off, peelable gel base coat because I wanted to test if it really works with gel polish (more on it later in the post). Then I've preceeded with a thin coat of Color Club Foundation + Primer. I hear you ask - why did you use it when you've already applied the peelable base coat? I think that you should always apply the gel polish system's base and top coat because the product has been deveoped like that. The coloured gel polish works best in between base and top coat. The base coat acts as a protection for your natural nails and as a sticky layer for the colour to adhere to. Without it, the colour might not apply as smoothly, might not last as long etc.

Next step was the colour application. Normally I would just apply two coats of gel polish but I knew what nail art I wanted to do so I painted half of the nail with Eternal Beauty (lilac holo) and the other half with a coat of Cloud Nine (pink holo). I've used just the brush in the bottles, the line where the colours met didn't have to be perfect. Then I cured the first layer and applied second coat of colour in the same half and half way. Do not cure yet! Then I've used a small brush and applied a white Colour Club French Tip gel polish in the middle of the nail as a line between the two holo polishes. Next I've taken a regular pin and marbled the middle section of the nail in an 8 pattern. Then I've cured the nails again and applied the Color Club Seal + Shine Top Coat. The description might make it sound intricate but this was very simple to do so just try it! ;)

The gel polishes were easy to apply and I haven't had problems with curing or anything else. They were well-pigmented and opaque in two coats, especially the white French Tip gel polish (the nail polish version is my go-to white creme polish).

And the PACKAGING! The boxes that the gel polish duos come in are holographic and so are the gel polish bottles! My lamps don't show the holo effect but trust me, it's amazing, especially the boxes.

Now let's have a look how the Bundle Monster Gel Off peelable gel base coat worked. I've bought it back in November 2015 but didn't get to try it till earlier this year. I've followed the instructions and applied regular base coat and then the Gel Off base coat. I've peeled the gel polish off after about three days (I was so curious). It was a bit difficult to remove it because I had to find a place where it would lift up and I think I've done too good job of sealing all edges. After I managed to lift up a bit I started to lift up the gel polish around it. Unfortunately some places were stuck more than others and I've ended up with some nail damage. Sometimes the top layers of my nails peeled off with it and here you can see the final damage:

It is safe to say that I probably won't be using it again and I'll stick to the UNT Ready For Takeoff which works a treat (only for swatching though).

On the other hand I was very happy with the Color Club gel polish system because the holo effect was very strong and beautiful and opaque in two coats. If you'll be purchasing anything from Color Club UK, you can use my discount code STASH15 for 15% off (not affiliate).

So what do you think of the holo polishes? Have you tried Color Club gel polish or the Bundle Monster Gel Off base? What are your thoughts?

Have a lovely day! Lucie x

*PR sample