Review : BarryM 'Gelly' nail paint

I have been a fan of BarryM nail polish from a young age due to its vast collection of colours at an affordable price. However, there was always one thing that seemed to disappoint me - not just with BarryM but also with many other brands - and that was how my nail varnish always seemed to chip after one day of wear. I have got to admit that the chipping seemed increase more after a busy day of hands-on work, but I can't just walk around avoiding chores just to make sure my nails stay in perfect condition.

During one of my holiday preparation shopping trips, I found myself wandering the aisles in Superdrug where I was delighted to find that BarryM had a newish line of nail polishes. These polishes happen to be their hi-shine gelly range, which are produced to provide an -

"Extra glossy finish in just one coat. Highly-pigmented, chip resistant formula- Gives a glossy, gel-like finish with a single coat.".

Because of this description, I was sure that this would be a cure to my past disappointment with nail varnish. But boy was I wrong.

Each one of the varnishes I brought went against their description and chipped just like the rest of my varnish collection. It was fair to say that I was gutted. And what made these nail varnishes even worse was that each colour did need more than one coating. I suppose multiple coatings are quite a normal occurrence with nail varnish, but why advertise that your nail polishes will only need to be used for a single coat when clearly they need at least two? However, after coating all nails appropriately I suppose I should say that they did seem to look pretty glossy and shiny. At least that's one thing they advertised right!

Overall, seeing that these Gelly nail varnishes are £3.99 (£1 more than the normal BarryM polishes), I would advise you save your one pound and try and find a similar colour in the normal range of BarryM, as you would only be paying that pound extra for a slightly shinier coat.

Altogether I brought four different colours:

• Prickly Pea - This varnish is simply just un-wearable with one coat. It is such a thin paint that it needs at least three coats. However, the colour is pretty for this summer weather.
• Watermelon - This varnish looks good in the bottle, but on nails it is such a dark colour. It does need more than one coat, but unfortunately after applying a second coat the colour actually looked off-black.
• Lychee - This is my favourite colour of all four selected, but I did find it to be a bit thick when applying to my nails.
• Blood Orange - This colour had the best results. I have got to admit that you could get away with just using one coat with this specific colour, but I would rather be on the safe side and use two. This also had a good consistency so I was able to apply this easily and quickly to the nail.

BarryM website - www.barrym.com

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Review : Eos lipbalm

The first buy for my holiday was this tangerine flavoured lip balm. Lets face it, every girl (and sometimes boys) cannot live without a soothing lip balm to protect their lips whilst relaxing in the sun rays. Normally I would just grab the trusted ol' Vaseline, but this time I wanted something different, something summery! And this little ball of balm has all the factors to be filed under that category.

Firstly, it's shape. This Eos lip balm's most appealing quality is down to its shape. By being a sphere, it is definitely something that I have not seen before, and I have to say this Eos company is definitely onto something good. Not only does the sphere allow the balm to be easily applied to the lips, it also stops your fingers from getting messy - which is something I always found to be Vaseline's downfall.

Secondly, the flavour of tangerines is pretty strong and I always find myself craving a fruit salad after each sniff. I have got to admit though, this specific Eos does also have a mild medicated smell added to it due to the medical elements mixed into the balm. But once the balm has hit your lips the chemical smell completely disappears and all you are left with is the smell and taste of fruitiness. Delicious!

The balm itself unfortunately is no miracle. It pretty much does the job of every other lip balm in my vast collection, which is to just keep the lips hydrated and smooth. So I have got to admit, if you are to buy this then you will be buying it just for its designer look and smell, and I say this because in the UK this lip balm does not come cheap. Well, not as cheap as our one pound Vaseline anyway, seeing that I bought this tangerine lip balm for £6.99 off amazon. However, there is a reason behind this price tag, which is simply down to the fact that it is not available in shops in the UK (yet can be found on some british website stores). Instead Eos originates from America where it is sold at a better price of $3.29 (roughly £2.20). So if you are looking for a fruity and summery lip balm then I would recommend this one. Yet, if you were on more of a budget I say stick to your Vaseline pot, or maybe even try other brands like Body Shop or Carmex.

Advantages:

• Easy to apply, without getting messy.
• Actually smells and tastes like tangerines.
• Looks very fashionable.
• After introducing this to friends, they seemed keen to buy one themselves.
• Comes in six other fruity flavours.
• Organic.

Disadvantages:

• Hard to get hold of in the UK.
• There is a mild smell of chemicals in the sphere - however, it did not put me off.
• Can be pretty expensive for a lip balm.
• The lid seemed to come loose when placed in handbag.

Eos Website: www.evolutionofsmooth.com
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Aloha!

Since booking my luxurious holiday to Cyprus a couple of months ago, I have found myself continuously googling reviews for health and beauty products that will help myself to survive the blistering heat whilst still being able to maintain a half decent look. However, there have been a few times where I failed to find any results that I had wanted. This is where I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to try and have a go at this reviewing malarkey myself, by trying to help others that may have also reached a dead end. I can't promise my writing to be of a five star standard, but I can promise my true opinion... which is surely the main factor, right?

To reflect my idea of this blog being based on holidays, I have decided to keep this blog fun and bright for you all to enjoy. I will mostly be posting blogs and reviews, but every now and then expect music selections, cocktail recipes, or summer clothing just to keep the vibes of summer alive.

Anyway, I do have plenty of products in line to add to this blog already, so please keep checking back for more.

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