Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints

The original £2.99 Barry M Nail Paints are one of my favourite drugstore nail polish formulas, but I personally don’t like their Gelly Hi-Shine Polishes or their Speedy Polishes even though everybody else seems to love them. Whenever I criticise the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paints, I find that those that love them can get a little defensive but products work differently for different people and I’ve tried eight of the Gelly shades and all eight have been disappointing sadly. When I saw that Barry M had launched their new Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints range, I was worried I wouldn’t like them as they look so similar shade wise to the Gelly’s, but I decided to order six shades whilst Superdrug had their 3 for 2 offer on, as I had £20 of Superdrug points on my card to use so figured I wouldn’t be gutted if I didn’t like them, as I didn’t spend my cash on them. 

I chose six shades from the Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints Collection, but there are nine in total to choose from and they retail for £4.99 each although the collection has quite a few beige shades which I find little strange. The Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints are described as being an entirely new and innovative nail paint formulation, which contains an unique, caring blend of coconut water and coconut oil to gently hydrate and nourish the nails whilst delivering a glossy, smooth gel-like manicure.

The formula is supposedly enriched with anti-oxidizing properties, with the strengthening benefits of patented Hexanal and Vitamins B & C, nails will be repaired and replenished, resulting in a brighter, healthier looking, long lasting finish. Barry M’s directions are;

How to Apply…
1. Paint a thin layer of colour and allow to touch dry. (No base coat is required as the healthy nutrients will infuse, hydrate and protect the nail).
2. Paint a second thin layer of colour and allow to touch dry.
3. Coconut Infusion provides a bright, gel-like glossy finish. If desired, add a topcoat!

Skinny Dip – Surfboard – Aloha

Skinny Dip is a pale beige toned nude which has the best formula of all six polishes (I wish all the other shades had this formula as it’s such an amazing shade formula wise), as it’s smooth and opaque in two coats with no streaks or patchiness.

Surfboard is one of the poorest shades, and it took me three generous coats to get full opacity and the formula is a lot thicker than the other shades and I’ve found that it flooded my cuticles more than the other shades too. It’s a really pretty pastel lilac, but it does look a little streaky once dried. This shade peeled off in one big flake on two nails within 16 hours of application (no base coat or top cost used).

Aloha is the other best formula alongside Skinny Dip, and is a bright fuchsia pink. I got full opacity in two thin coats with Aloha and no streaks whatsoever. This is the best shade for longevity too, with no peeling or chips.

Flamingo – Bikini – Laguna

Flamingo is a little strange as in the bottle it looks like a pastel coral, but on the nails it’s a bolder orange which is nice but I’d much rather have the pastel coral shade I thought I was buying. The formula is OK in that it isn’t streaky but it does need three thin coats and not the two Barry M claims.

Bikini is a gorgeous jade, but it’s streaky so it does take some patience to apply. The formula of Bikini is almost identical to the Gelly’s, and is much thicker than the other shades I purchased.

Laguna was the shade I was most looking forward to but frustratingly enough it’s disappointing. The formula is quite thin so it applies with streaks, and patchiness and the swatch above is with three coats so if you want complete opacity you’ll need four coats which is annoying.

Overall I feel like the Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints are a mixed bag with shades that are hits and misses. The best shades are Skinnydip, Aloha and Flamingo but Surfboard, Bikini and Laguna were all disappointing.

I have tried the polishes with and without a base coat to see if it improves the formula, as Barry M claims you don’t need one but I personally think a base coat does improve application and it certainly helps with longevity and stops the polish from peeling off the nails. When I wore Laguna without a basecoat I got around 20 hours wear before chipping, but with a basecoat I got 3 days with Skinnydip before chipping so I’d recommend a basecoat when using these polishes.

One thing I will just say is that I love the glossiness of the Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Paints – all six shades are super glossy, and I don’t feel like you need a topcoat for shine, but perhaps a long wearing topcoat would improve the longevity.

I’ve seen so many rave reviews on these polishes but I wasn’t blown away in all honesty, but they’re certainly not as bad as the Gelly polishes are for me so it’s not a complete disappointment but I haven’t noticed any difference for having the ‘coconut infusion’ – no coconut scent, or improvement to my nails so it feels a little gimmicky to me – please don’t hate me, I’m just being honest.

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