Barry M Velvet matt nail polish: Silent cove blue

Taylor Tries Her Best

Jul 22

There is just something about having my nails painted that makes me feel like a Real Woman. I just feel a bit more put together and polished...no pun intended. Since going vegan though my nails grow so quickly that I find getting my nails done professionally is a waste, because within two weeks my nails will have grown and I'll have the odd naked bit of nail at the bottom that always looks unsightly. But doing my own nails is always a nice treat, and in the interest of self care I have been trying out new nail colours to play with every few months or so.

Now I am a fan of Barry M products so thought I would be good with one of their nail ranges. I was very intrigued by the 'matt' finish: Surely nail polish is called nail polish because it looks like polish on your nails? So it makes your nails shiny? So I was intrigued to see how matt the colour would actually come out and how it would actually look on real nails. I have only ever seen matt colours used on acrylic nails, so I felt like a little experiment.

Right off the bat, this nail polish stinks of chemicals. It is easily the strongest smelling nail polish I have ever used so trust me when I say no t to get too close to the bottle or your nails while you're painting them. I think I gave myself a contact high from looking too closely at the bottle! I also found the smell lingered for a while, even after you put the lid back on the bottle, so that was a bit tough especially with the weather as hot as it is in the UK right now. Thankfully though that smell doesn't linger on your hands once the paint is dry, nor do your nails stink for the entire time you have them painted.

Now the brush is more oval shaped than other nail polish brushes I have used before and while it was easier to use (in the sense that I could do two strokes and my nail was painted) it was slightly hard to judge how close to the sides I was getting, hence for my rather shoddy painting - especially on my right hand! I feel a smaller brush is better for the precision it can give you, but I also appreciate the wider brush for super quick application.

So the paint actually goes onto your nail wet and shiny like every other nail polish out there. But as it dries it gets that matt finish. I also have to say that it does dry very quickly - maybe 10 seconds after I applied the paint it was already a solid matt colour. Now once fully dry (roughly 10-15 minutes after second coat has been applied) it does have a really nice, dark finish to it. There is the very slight reflection off of it but I don't think that can be helped - it definitely doesn't shine like other nail polishes but it does have a very soft hint of shine. I am not sure if that makes it 'not real matt' but personally I don't mind.

As with all Barry M products the nail polish was very affordable. Seeing as most nail polish bottles will last me at least a year (if not multiple years) £3 a bottle is a very good bargain. But also for £3 I guess you do get what you pay for, in that it will not be a 100% perfect product: the smell is a big downside to this product when using it and the colour may not be super matt. But for £3, I can't really expect a miracle product.