Barry M Textured Nail Effects Nail Paint

I am a massive lover of nail polishes in general but one of my absolute favourite brands in Barry M. I have barely ever been disappointed with a nail colour from this brand and love to try the new things they come out with. Something I wasn’t so sure of though was the Barry M Textured Nail Effects but luckily my flatmate Kate bought all four shades available so obviously, I gave them a go.

This range consists of four different colours, each named after famous places where Barry Mero began his career. Colours available are all in pastels for a spring/ summer look and are pink, yellow, green and blue. This product is available in Boots and Superdrug (often with offers on) or the Barry M website and they have a RRP of £3.99.

Each nail polish in this range comes in the signature Barry M glass bottle which is rectangular in shape. The glass bottle is see through so you are able to see the colour clearly inside. The bottom of the bottle states the shade and colour of the nail polish inside while the back of the bottle gives instructions for use. The black lid twists out to reveal the applicator brush. The lid also has a speckled effect to it and a white band stating this is a textured product so you know that you are not buying a normal nail polish. As the bottles from Barry M are rectangular, I find that they line up much better on a shelf than round bottles which is something I really like about the brand.

Unlike regular nail polishes, this one gives a textured effect which is why I was unsure about it to begin with. I like my nails looking smooth and well-manicured so I didn’t quite know what I was going to think of the effect once on my nails. Barry M describe this nail polish as giving a ‘grainy, matte formula creates a unique textured effect for a grunge-chic look.’

Upon pulling on the brush with nail polish on the end, you can immediately see that this is not a smooth polish. The brush provided is quite thin but to cover my nails, it generally only takes three strokes to cover a nail. For the first coat, I was surprised at how bad the colour looked. I decided to give each colour a try all at once so this review covers each colour in the range. The colour was extremely weak and thin looking but there was quite a lot of texture on my nail although quite spread out. The only way I can think to describe the texture is to compare it to sandpaper, but the smoothest kind you can buy.  

Not being happy with only one coat, I applied a second, hoping that it wouldn’t take more than this. Luckily, two coats really does the trick and the results are great. The colour looks much bright and thicker after a second coat and the texture was also covering my nail more. After the polish was dry, I ran my fingers over my nails to try to decide what I thought of the texture. I actually really liked it and I wasn’t expecting to at all. The texture is quite rough but I think it gives it an industrial feel to nails and it is also really different. Once I had put a top coat on my nails, the texture wasn’t quite as rough so if you don’t like it to begin with, try a top coat to see if it makes a difference for you.

I was also surprised at how long this nail polish lasted. Due to working with a keyboard, the tips of my nails tend to chip easily and quickly but this lasted a whole week before there was any chipping at all. The textured effect does make this nail polish slightly harder to remove than a regular polish, much like anything with glitter in it. I find that a nail polish remover with acetone is the best thing for this kind of product. With this, you won’t end up scrubbing your nails for ages in order to remove it all.

I absolutely love this nail polish and I wasn’t expecting to at all. Now I just need to get some for myself!