Lucy's Stash

Hello lovelies,

By now, you've all heard about the new Barry M Nail Art Pens and I haven't missed them either! I've ran into my local Superdrug store and picked up Black, Silver and White Nail Art Pens. I wasn't excited about the pink one very much so I skipped that one..

This manicure is simple and with the Nail Art Pen quite easy to do. I've applied two coats of Nicole By OPI Still Into Pink and when it was dry enough I started drawing. So let's have a look what I've done with it...

Lucy's Stash - Barry M Nail Art Pen Black over Nicole By OPI Still Into Pink

The Nail Art Pen is like a shorter highlighter pen and feels sturdy. The nib has small holes on the outside of it and the paint flows from there. When I've used it for the first time, I'd had to press on the nib quite a few times until the paint was pumped out. I'm saying paint because it is not nail polish as we know it. It is more watery so it flows easily and it cracks when it's dry. That was my only problem with it really. You can see the cracking in the first pictures without topcoat. Once you apply topcoat the cracks are not that visible.

Before you start painting you need to make sure the polish is dry enough otherwise you might ruin it. I've tried applying topcoat to make the drying time shorter but the paint does not adhere to the topcoat very well. It slips and tends to shrink (tested over Seche Vite).

Following pictures are with topcoat...

Overall, I'm loving it even though the black could be a bit more pigmented (sometimes I've had to dab more colour or go over twice). It is easy to work with and with a bit of practice you could paint quite thin lines. I will be definitely repurchasing if I use up this one and I truly hope Barry M will bring more shades and they will all be a permanent line. Stay tuned for more shades!

You can purchase Barry M Nail Art Pens at Superdrug stores/online for £4.99 each (there's currently 3 for 2 offer). Alternatively, they are available at barrym.co.uk

*Products provided for an honest review

Hello lovelies,

I've got here the whole SpaRitual Reflect Collection to review! This collection has been released earlier this year for the Summer 2013 season. At first glance the colour seem rather for Autumn/Fall rather than for Summer.

From SpaRitual press release: "Bask in the warmth of SpaRitual Summer 2013 collection, Reflect. Catch the radiant jewel-tones of late afternoon and the last shimmers of water and sky at sunset. Each of the SpaRitual Nail Lacquers – Reflect Collection is infused with Bamboo. This Bamboo is sustainably gathered from India and islands of the Pacific Ocean, Bamboo is known to absorb water and oil from the nail bed increasing the thickness of the nail for up to 35% stronger nails."

Lucy's Stash - SpaRitual Reflect Collection

Freedom - brownish purple with fuchsia and blue particles. The formula of the polish was quite thick so I've had to apply thicker coats to avoid patching. Two coats provided full coverage but dried rather average. The finish was satin so you will need layer of topcoat if you want a glossy finish. Removal of the polish was ok but the blue and fuchsia particles were causing problems, sticking to skin.

Inner Beauty - multichrome foil with colour ranging from brown-green to pink. The multichrome effect is much stronger in the bottle and does not translate on the nail very much. It applied well and dried fast. I'm wearing two coats.

Joy - beige creme with pale gold glass flecks. This colour doesn't stand out for me at all even though it quite matched my skin tone. The formula was good - it applied well and dried quite fast. I needed two thicker coats for full coverage.

Innocence - beige creme. This shade is pretty for office friendly or mannequin hands. The formula was on the thicker side and quite hard to work with. It dries fast which in some cases caused patching. I've had to apply thicker coats for nail polish to look nice.

Kindness -burnt orange creme with gold particles. I'd wear this nail polish in Autumn or around Halloween. The formula was very nice - it applied easily and the pigmentation is great. I'm wearing two regular coats but it was almost one coater. I've had some issues when removing the polish as the gold particles seemed to stick to my nail and skin, really hard to get rid off.

Positive Vibe - mustard yellow creme. Ummm...not a colour I would pick out of the rack and it is more suitable for Autumn I'd think. However the formula is very nice. It applied easily, two coats were enough for full coverage and they dried fast.

This collection was somehow disappointing. I would like to see totally different colours, more cheerful and bright. The formulas differed polish from polish which I'm not a big fan either. Some of the shades like Kindness, Freedom and Inner Beauty appealed to me much more than the rest.

I've seen some upcoming SpaRitual collections containing glitters and some bright colours so I'm very much looking forward to them!

You can get these wherever SpaRitual polishes are sold and at:
UK: SpaRitual UK website,
US: SpaRitual US website
....and at FeelUnique