Barry M Nail Paints
 I’m always on the hunt for new polish brands to try and I love getting rec’s from readers and friends. So when my girl K from Pumps and Gloss recommended I check out Nail Paint by Barry M, I got to it.
Barry M is a UK based cosmetic brand with a diverse lineup of lacquers that were voted Best Inexpensive Nail Polish Range by InStyle UK. Check out my thoughts and swatches, after the jump! |
I was impressed so see that the cremes lacquers spread out evenly on the nail. You know how sometimes you put on a thick creme and you see like ridges from your brush strokes. Not necessarily streaks but just general unevenness? Well you’ll have none of that here.
Also, the three lacquers I tested were all nicely pigmented requiring only two coats. And they dry to a high gloss shine making a top coat practically unnecessary. I put Cobalt Blue through the five day wear test and it held up very well. No chipping. Just average tip wear when worn with CND Stickey and Seche Vite.
Note: I remember someone asking if I had abandoned Poshe for Seche Vite. I haven’t, I just have so many bottles of Seche Vite in the house, I can’t justify running out to replace my used up Poshe. It’s still a winner in my book.
Spring Green reminds me a lot of Pop Beauty Grass that I showed you a few weeks back. Only Spring Green isn’t neon. It’s vibrant but not loud.
Grey is the color of dark wet cement. Unlike some other grays I own that have a lot of brown or blue in their base, this one looks to be pretty pure. Me likey!
Cobalt Blue is just wow. Like seriously WOW!! It puts all my other royal/cobalt cremes to shame. It’s so vivid yet it’s dark enough to not be all in your face about it. I wasn’t as excited when I saw it in the bottle but on the nail… HOT DAMN! Can you tell I like? Just a bit.
Nail Paints by Barry M retail for £2.95 and can be purchased online directly from BarryM.com. I’m not gonna lie, shipping to the US isn’t cheap, £8, but if you plan to purchase a number of polishes it’s worth it.
So what are we thinking? Have you tried Barry M? What colors are your must haves?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
i love barry M!
i have those 3 nail varnishes you have shown + i have like 10 more. they are great, long lasting and theres so many colours! thanks so featuring them! xxxxxxxx
I adore Barry M! I have the grey you have there and a For Audrey-esque turquoise as well and they last so well. I’m kind of hoping that TopShop will carry them here in the States like they do in the UK.
Barry M also makes one of the best black lipsticks I’ve ever tried.
Hey lady, thanks for the shout out. I really love the Barry M. Asos.com also has Barry M nail paints, not as many as the Barry M site, but definitely good prices. The swatches look awesome!!!
Ah, I think I’ve finally found that grey I’ve been in the search for
Thanks for posting!
Bought the grey shade while I was in Scotland this summer. It is awesome! Houston, TX
Barry M has been my secret since the 80′s, now the cats out of the bag! Honestly though, I’m glad you featured them. They are the absolute best colours and wear like iron. I swear I have nearly all their matte colours I love them so much. I too, was quite disappointed that Top Shop Soho didn’t decide to carry the line. In addition to the nail varnish, their eye dusts come in the most amazing colours, and the whole line is very budget friendly. So wait until you have a few things to order, then the shipping doesn’t hurt too much.
Cheers!
Suzanne
About how different is that Grey from MAC’s “On the Prowl” (HK collection), and Rescue Beauty Lounge’s “Stormy?”
Barry M are brilliant! I 15 of ‘em, mostly cremes + a couple glitters and I love them all. The Turquoise and Cyan blue are gooorgeous for blue lovers out there, and their new colours for spring have a lovely Mint green which I NEED to get my hands on, aswell as a fuschia and bright purple, orange similar to OPI Brights Power and an acidy yellow. I reccommend them for any brights lovers out there!
Not sure Barry M is Big 3 free unfortunately. As someone from the UK, I think Big 3 chemicals are allowed here and the ingredients on the Barry M website include toulene and DBP.
God – I have about twenty Barry M polishes! They’re a lovely quality, very inexpensive consolation for the fact that we Brits find Orly, Nubar, Color Club and an awful lot besides very hard to find in this country! (The grey’s my favourite too!)
‘Mint Green’ is a perfect dupe for Mac’s Peppermint Patti!
There are few brands in Germany you could be interested in: Alessandro International and Artdeco. Not available online. Both pretend to be pro.
I have just bought a few Barry M polishes and they are sooo good! I wore Bright Pink for a week with no chips and for just under £3 thats amazing! I reccomend, Bright Pink, Shocking Pink and my fave ever Turquiose!
I agree with Cally – Mint Green is a dupe for Peppermint Patti
LOVE Barry M, not just the nail polishes!
Another Barry M fan here, I have about 8 polishes (some untried) but the ones I have are great. And the shimmer eyeshadows are great and I think are going to be great for frankenizing
Hey ya..
In your pics are you wearing a top coat on your nails.. if so what as they look so shiney and glossy x
NJ – thanks for the clarification. The bottles didn't list the ingredients and I thought I read that toluene & DBP had been banned in the UK but I must have been mistaken. I updated my post to reflect the correct ingredient list.
Vicky Street – I'm not wearing a top coat in those pics. That's just how the polish dries. Amazing, no?
Everyone else, thanks for the comments. I'm glad there are so many other Barry M fans out there. I'm really loving the brand. Hopefully they'll keep coming out with more unique shades.
Really no top coat crikey they look bootiful =) Im soo getting all the colours i have the mont green but not 100% keen on it im loving the blue shades so getting them first i thinks.. Ta x
How many coats of the barry m do you apply to get such a perfect finish?.. =)
Barry M also do a range of shatter: black, white, blue, pink. They’re great and only