Choi's nails: July 2014

Matte base with jagged glitter tips

When there's a clean matte base on your nails that calls for some nail art. I've seen some good matte glitter combinations here and there but I've not gone as far as trying it myself.

The base as I had talked about in my Barry M matte collection post is Expresso, a matte black and the red glitter is Deborah lippman's red ruby slippers (I think?!) It's the only DL polish I have but it's name is sort of a blur to me now.

For the spiky tips you'll need some sellotape or as some people call it, scotch tape and start snipping away until you're happy with the spiky edges.

It turned out a little different from what I expected. I guess if I had opted for something more shimmery I'd get that wow factor. The DL polish isn't bad but it just didn't shine well enough here.

Out of curiosity I painted over my ring finger nail with top coat for comparison purposes, it definitely made the glitter shine but it weren't as cool as the matte version for me.

Have you tried any matte polishes yet? Which ones are on your recommended list?

Thursday, July 31, 2014
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Barry M Matte collection: Swatches

Barry M

Here's a bunch of swatches from Barry M's matte collection.

From L-R: Expresso, Crush. Caramel, Vanilla, Mocha

From L-R: Expresso, Crush. Caramel, Vanilla, Mocha

The first is Expresso, a matte black. The first coat was a little thin and streaky but it's good with two coats. No top coat.
Considering there was none of that fast dry top coat involved it dried quite fast, the top layer. Give it a bit more time and it'll dry fully without the dents on the pinkie nail.

Barry M's Crush, a berry wine. First coat went on thin and a little sheer; with the help of a thicker coat it became opaque on the second. Two coats here, no top coat.

Camarel, a nude beige. This one has normal consistency like the first two with the streaky first and good second coat to finish off. Unfortunately this shade was a close match to my skin tone so it just wasn't looking right.

Vanilla, greyish purple. Whether it's the formula, application or drying time it's very similar to the others and as mentioned before easily dented too.

The last is Barry M's Mocha, a brown. Mocha's first coat was close to being opaque so I'm guessing one thick coat would be good enough.

Overall I'd say these are good basic matte shades to keep in your collection that is unless you're looking for a more wider range of matte shades that's where I'd say a matte top coat would be more worthy. These are not bad though.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014
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Barry M's Crush with triangles here and there

Barry M

The base of this manicure is Barry M’s Crush which is a berry wine shade from their matte collection. The whole set came to my attention whilst shopping so I sweeped the 5 colours off the shelf only to realise later that a matte top coat might be better in the sense that it can transform all polishes into a matte shade.

After trying out this polish I felt the need to start experimenting. It’s what happens when you see too many girls with great matte designs that it felt like a must to do something with it. Anything. And so I finished it with crooked triangles drawn on with just a toothpick.

The pink foil shade used for the triangles is Color club’s foil me once. Had I done hearts instead of triangles it might’ve looked much better and I think I would’ve liked it more.