Lacquer or Leave Her!: Barry M

Showing posts with label Barry M. Show all posts

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Before & After: O Christmas Tree

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it! And if you don't, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season filled with family and joy surrounding whatever holidays you celebrate.

Today I have a quick before and after for you to celebrate the day. I started with a base of Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday over Barry M Gold Foil:

Sassy Pants Polish Luster Of Midday over Barry M Gold Foil

Then I stamped the stick tree image from Messy Mansion plate MM82XL, using Messy Mansion Forest:

Messy Mansion MM82XL

Finally, I applied a Christmas Tree nail charm from Born Pretty Store:

Born Pretty Store charm + Messy Mansion MM82XL over Sassy Pants Luster Of Midday (over Barry M Gold Foil)

What do you think? I love this look, I think it has a serene feel to it. I also really love the nail charm, how it has the rhinestones in it, and the edges are rounded to it's not as likely to catch and pull on things. That said, there are two things to note about the charm. One, it sits fairly high up from the nail, so I'd suggest attaching it with nail glue (I sometimes attach smaller rhinestones and such with topcoat, but that's not gonna hold here). Also, despite the somewhat rounded edges, the star on the top of the tree will still catch on things if you're not careful--for example, if you're wearing tights, definitely take care this is covered, or apply it after you've dressed for your holiday event. That said, for a special occasion, I think this is a cool look without too much fuss.

You can find the charms on Born Pretty Store's site, and you can use my code for 10% off your order: MCL91. And don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram!

Merry Christmas,
M.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Review: Winstonia Beach, Please plate (plus sample manis!)

(Press samples and affiliate links** ahead!)

Hello!

Today is the first of a four-post series I'm going to do about several new Winstonia plates. I have a video showing and testing all four plates here:

Today we're going to take a look at the new Beach, Please plate (and yes, the name does crack me up every single time I see it). As the name suggest, the plate has a beach/pool theme:

Winstonia Beach, Please!

This plate has plenty of flexibility: several areas big enough for full nail images, and lots of little elements to mix and match. You can build your own scene, make a collage, stick with one image, or just pull out some texture. It has everything you need for beach, pool, or tropical manis: tons of possibilities here for one small plate. :)

Let's talk size. The plates themselves are just under 3 inches wide and 3 1/4 inches long:

Since the elements are all different sizes, I took these shots to help you see how big they are:

Winstonia Beach, Please!

So how do they stamp? Well, here's my test swatch:

But, I think what you really want to see are some manis with the plate, am I right?! I'm completely obsessed with this pineapple on this plate with his rockin' sunglasses, mostly because he reminds me of a character in a show from my childhood ("Mais, les ananas ne parlent pas!"), so I had to do something with him:

Les ananas: Winstonia Beach, Please! + Zoya Cam + Messy Mansion stamping polishes

For this mani, I started with a base of Zoya Cam, then stamped with Messy Mansion Petal. For my decal, I used Messy Mansion Forest for the fronds on the pineapple, Soft Gold for the rest of the outline, Banana Bender to fill in the pineapple, and Petal to fill in the sunglasses. I'm pretty sure he wears them at night.

For the second mani, I had to do something with the hibiscus flowers, because you know me and tropical flowers:

Tropical flowers: Winstonia Beach, Please! + Zoya Ness, Brynn, and Live

For this mani, I started with a base of Zoya Ness, and stamped with Barry M Almond. Then I used my clear stamper to overlap slightly a couple of the flowers with Zoya Brynn and Zoya Liv. This is what I love about the clear stamper--a manicure like this that would have been a huge pain in the tushie before is a breeze now. :)

You can find this and many other adorable plates in the Winstonia shop; use my code MICH10 for 10% off of your order. You can also find them on Amazon if that's more convenient for you.

And make sure to follow Winstonia on Facebook and Instagram to keep up on news, updates, and sales!

Happy stamping!
M.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Review: UberChic Beauty Mandala Love mini plate

(Press samples and affiliate links** ahead!)

Hello!

UberChic Beauty recently came out with a new mini plate, Mandala Love...As the name suggests, the focus is henna-style mandala designs, but with a twist--instead of just one mandala, she deconstructed the different parts of the mandala so you have different sizes and configurations of the repeating elements.

Here's the video I made reviewing the plate:

Let's take a closer look:

UberChic Beauty Mandala Love mini plate

The beauty here is the different combinations of the same basic elements, so you can mix and match to your heart's content. Want a mani that focuses on the leaf element? You can do that, and still get a variety of images for each nail. Want to hightlight the flower? No problem. And so on.

The full nail images are the same size as on the full plates; here's a look:

But hey, how well does it stamp? Pretty darn flawlessly:

Absolutely beautiful. :)

For my sample mani, I wanted to do something to celebrate the pretty flower element. I started with a base of Barry M Cotton, and then stamped with Messy Mansion Soft Gold. I made two decals also with Soft Gold, and also with Messy Mansion Carbon and Sally Hansen Rapid Red:

UberChic Beauty Mandala Love stamped with Messy Mansion Soft Gold, Carbon, and Sally Hansen Rapid Red

What do you think? I am sooo in love with this look--it's elegant, it has a punch of color, and it has an awesome cloisonne feel to it. I don't want to take it off, please don't make me!!!

You can find this plate in the UberChic Beauty Store, and don't forget to follow them on Instagram and Facebook for updates and ideas.

Happy stamping!
M.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Before & After: Frenzy Polish Seafoam + UberChic Beauty Little Bitty Icons

(Press sample)

Hello!

I've been showing you all of the new UberChic Beauty mini plates, and today we're gonna take a look at the Little Bitty Icons plate...

This plate is included in my video of four of the plates, here:

Let's take a closer look...This plate was really difficult to photograph because the images are so small, suddenly the camera starts seeing surface scratches that I couldn't even see with the naked eye, so I'm going to start you off with UCB's professional shot:

And here are my far more tragic shots:

The original concept for the plate was for lil' nail fanatics who wanted their nails to look all pretty and grown up. But it quickly became apparent that this plate is also good for adults who have small nails, or who just want little accents here an there (like on the edges of a French manicure). I also think these are great for little collages or for building scenes.

On with the sample manicure! I mention in the video that one thing that jumped out at me is how many cool beach-themed images there are on this plate, so I had to do a little stylized beach mani for you.

I started with Frenzy Polish Seafoam, which is a gorgeous minty-seafoamy-golden textured glitter that really does make me think of the foamy ocean water on the sand of a beach; this is two coats without topcoat, excellent formula:

Frenzy Polish Seafoam

I did a quick gradient with Zoya Godiva (another textured glitter) on the tips, then stamped the images with Barry M Cotton:

Beach menagerie with Frenzy Polish Seafoam + UberChic Beauty Little Bitty Icons

If that isn't a fun, cute mani for your day at the beach, I don't know what is--and the best part is your little one's nail can match yours with no hassle over size.

You can find this plate in UberChic Beauty's store, and don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram!

Happy stamping,
M.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Before & After: Spellbound Nails Late Bloomer + UberChic Beauty 6-03 (or, soft sammich)

(Press sample)

Hello!

I love a good stamping sandwich, and the recent spring collection from Spellbound Nails just calls out for them!

For this one I started with Spellbound Nails Late Bloomer, a soft orange jelly with gold flecklets:

Spellbound Nails Late Bloomer

As I put on layers of luscious squishy jelly, I stamped with the dandelion-like images from UberChic Beauty 6-03 with Barry M Cotton:

UberChic Beauty 6-03

I alternated the images so that the smallest were on the index and pinky, and were under the most layers of polish; I put the biggest flower on my ring and thumb on the very top of the polish, and the middle-sized flower under one coat of polish on my middle finger. Here's how it turned out:

Spellbound Nails Late Bloomer + UberChic Beauty 6-03

And check this out! Late Bloomer is a glow-in-the-dark polish--look at how this mani looked in the dark:

Spellbound Nails Late Bloomer + UberChic Beauty 6-03

How cool is that?!?!?!

I love this mani--there's something so wispy and feminine about it. What about you, are you a fan of stamping sammiches?

Happy stamping,
M.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Before & After: Zoya Tulip + IG107 (Or, Golden Peach)

(Press sample; affiliate link)

Hello!

It's time for another soft, springy before & after!

I started with Zoya Tulip, a lovely soft peach creme:

Zoya Tulip

I was in the mood for something very Great Gatsby, very deco chic, very gilded and rich, so I pulled out It Girl Nail Art IG107:

It Girl Nail Art IG107

I stamped with Barry M Gold Foil, and this is how it came out:

Zoya Tulip + It Girl Nail Art IG107

This is flirty and feminine with a huge does of elegance and retro chic--if you're gonna do spring colors, this is the way!

What do you think?

Happy Stamping!
M.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

NOTD: Serious Steampunk!

(Polishes sent for review; affiliate links)

Hello!

Okay, so today I have a quick NOTD that's been getting pushed back for other things! I actually wore this with a steampunk outfit I wore for my Halloween costume! But anytime's the right time for steampunk if you ask me.

My manicure was inspired by the colors of my costume (you'll see part in the pictures), and by this plate from Messy Mansion (MM43):

Messy Mansion MM43

I started with a skittle of Zoya Charli, Zoya Desiree (both from the fall 2015 Focus collection, see my review here), and Zoya Toni. My stamping polishes were Barry M Silver Foil Effects and MoYou London Ginger Rust:

Steampunk madness with Messy Mansion MM43

Weren't those colors perfect for the costume?! And I love all the little geegaws on the plate, so much steampunk coolness to choose from. I want a little mechanical beetle-bird like that!

What do you think, hit or miss?

Happy Stamping,
M.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Review: Symetrika plate 04, 05, and 06 from Messy Mansion (plus, Celtic mani for St. Patrick's Day!)

(Press sample; affiliate links)

Hello!

If you liked my recent review of Symetrika 01, 02, and 03, get ready for more awesomeness from Messy Mansion: today I have three more of these gorgeous plates!

First up, my video review:

Now let's take a look at the still shots:

Symetrika 04 from Messy Mansion

So much awesomeness on this plate I don't know where to start--I love all the mandalas, especially the one with the big star, and I love the flower-ish pattern on the lower right that looks like it's made of cracked paint patina. Sigh...

Symetrika 05 from Messy Mansion

I love the geometrics on this one, and all of the texture on this plate! Take a dive into double-stamping with these as background images, or just use them on their own. Gorgeous.

Symetrika 06 from Messy Mansion

Celtic images?? How can you not love Celtic images this time of year! I've never seen a Celtic peacock before, and I can't believe I've been missing out all these years. I love the intricate birds and fishes, and the knot patterns are large enough to make them very versatile.

Hey! How big are them thar images?

The Celtic plate has a lot of varied sizes on it, so here's a look at that next to a ruler (for the other plates, check my size analysis here):

Symetrika 06 sizes

Hey! How do those plates stamp?!

I got great images from the plates--I had a little user error so I restamped those to show it was me and not the plates:

You have to have crisp lines with images like this, and these plates deliver.

Ready for my sample mani? With St. Patrick's day coming up, you know I had to do something with Symetrika 06 for this post...I started with Spellbound Nails Basilisk (part of her Harry Potter Book 2 collection, which I absolutely adore):

Spellbound Nails Basilisk

I wanted to pull out the colors from the glitter, so I stamped using Barry M Gold Foil Effects and Sally Hansen Rapid Red:

Celtic peacock pride

Can I say how much I love how that plaid came out? The clear stampers out there make this kind of manicure so easy now.

You can find all these plates (and many others!) in Messy Mansion's store, and don't forget to follow them on Facebook for updates!

Happy stamping!
M.