*PR samples

Hello lovelies,

I'm again a bit late with this collection as it takes a while to get to me but I hope you'll still enjoy my swatches :)

Zoya Awaken Collection and the Monet glitter topper are the main releases for Spring 2014 and are available right now. The collection consists of four shimmer, two creme shades and a special glitter topper.

Brooklyn - pale gold shimmer. It looks like I still haven't found my holy grail of gold polishes. Brooklyn was a bit sheer so I had to apply two thick coats and the finish was streaky. I really had to pay attention to brushstrokes to get nice finish. Otherwise the formula itself was nice-flowing and fast-drying.

Dillon - pale mint green shimmer. Dillon is a very nice spring colour with good formula and I've applied two thicker coats. It applied easily but the finish was little bit streaky so I had to paint carefully.

Rebel - light blue shimmer. Lovely blue that looks pretty in the sun as well as in the shade. It applied well and dried fast. I needed two coats for good coverage and the finish wasn't very streaky with this one.

Hudson - light lilac purple shimmer. Lovely, lovely purple that reminds me of lilacs, wild violets and spring! It applied nicely and two coats were enough for full coverage. The finish wasn't streaky so that was very nice.

Dot - candy floss pink creme. What would be a spring collection without pink, right? Dot is a lovely colour but unfortunately the formula wasn't brilliant. It was quite sheer and I needed three thicker coats for full coverage. The polish dried average and glossy.

Cole - peachy orange creme. Cole was my least favourite shade at first sight but after I tried on all the other polishes I fell in love with it! I never go for peachy/orange shades but this one looked so gorgeous! Cole was also on the sheer side so three coats were needed for full coverage. It applied well and dried nice and glossy.

Monet - iridescent hex glitters in a light pink base. The glitter is very pretty and changes colour based on an angle and colour base so it is very versatile. The pink tinted base is not opaque at all so you can layer Monet over almost any colour. It stands out most over dark colours but I have used just Awaken polishes here. The formula was thick and quite hard to work with so I had to add nail polish thinner.

The Awaken collection has a very spring colour palette full of pastel shades and shimmers. I must admit, this collection didn't appeal to me very much. I did however fell in love with Cole. The formulas varied quite a lot so I described each shade separately.

Zoya polishes are available at zoya.com (US) and at tnbl.co.uk (UK)

Have a lovely day! Lucie x

*PR samples

*PR samples

Hello lovelies,

I'm very excited to start reviewing Barry M polishes and show you a bit more from British market. Today I have review and swatches of the new Exotic Summer Gelly Nail Paints which have been recently introduced. This new release consists of 7 new Gelly shades but despite the name 'Gelly', they are well-pigmented and do not have jelly formula. Instead, they are creme shades with high-gloss finish. Let's have a look...

Coconut - Ivory white with beige undertones. Coconut is great multi-tasker so whether you want to wear it by itself or with some nail art over it, it's a brilliant shade. The formula was good to apply but slightly less pigmentation so I applied two thicker coats for full coverage. it dried fast and glossy.

Elderberry - pale grey-ish blue creme. It is not a shade I would pick out of a rack but it will be great for winter season. Elderberry is also a bit sheerer so I needed two thicker coats. The formula was easy to work with, fast drying and glossy.

Almond - pale mauve creme leaning towards taupe shades. Interesting colour..I'm not sure it should in summer collection but for those preferring 'nude' or office-friendly colours it will be lovely. It applied nicely and two coats were nicely opaque. Drying time was fast as the other shades.

Olive - pale olive green creme. It is only my personal opinion but for me, this colour is downright ugly lol! BUT when I've done some awesome nail art over it I loved it! Two coats were fully opaque and it had nice formula.

Pink Punch - vivid hot pink creme. Now we're talking summer! I love this shade and it had really great formula. Two regular coats were fully opaque, it dried fast and glossy and it applied very nicely. Love it!

Damson - bright cobalt blue creme. Damson is gorgeous colour with again, great formula. It is well-pigmented and I've applied two thin coats. It went on well and dried fast and glossy. Don't miss the 'Mermaid Glitter Manicure' I've done with this shade!

Kiwi - vivid jade green creme. Last of the brights in this collection is a cute green. I needed two regular coats for full coverage. The application was easy and Kiwi dried fast and glossy.

I'm well-pleased about this collection as it has not only brights but kind of more neutral and pastel shades. The only one I wasn't over the moon was Olive. The last three bright shades (Damson, Pink Punch and Kiwi) seemed to have better pigmentation than the pale shades. But they all had easy-to-apply formula and fast drying time. They dry glossy so theoretically you wouldn't need topcoat but I would still recommend it so your manicure lasts longer.

This collection is available now in Superdrug, Boots and on Barry M website at £3.99 each

Have a nice day! Lucie x

*PR samples