I've made no secret of the fact that I love glossy nail polish, and if it's not glossy enough I almost always top off my manicures with Seche Vite, but sometimes a polish is so perfect on its own that no top coat is needed. Barry M Silk collection is one of the few that I don't feel the need to make shiny, just look how gorgeous Meadow is without top coat.
Meadow is a beautiful mint green polish that contains tiny flecks of shimmer that are almost invisible to the naked eye, but show up somewhat on camera. The entire Silk collection dries to an almost matte finish, they're actually pretty unique as they're not quite matte but not satin either, they fall perfectly in the middle, hence the name 'Silk'.
I've been wearing this polish on and off for a year now and it still applies as smoothly as it did the first time I opened the bottle, something which I very rarely experience with any brand other than Barry M. The dry time is really good, by the time I'd painted my last nail my first one was touch dry, but you'll still need to be careful for a while so you don't dent or smudge them.
I was curious to see how Meadow would look with a glossy top coat, so on my second day of wear I applied Seche Vite, and I have to say that although I really like it glossy, I think I prefer its natural finish, although the shimmer was more visible with top coat.
On my ring finger I applied two coats of Zoya's Cosmo from the Pixie Dust collection, which I only bought last week but instantly became one of my favourite silver glitters. I really couldn't capture it's true beauty in one photo, so above is a macro shot too. Cosmo dries to a matte finish, but I prefer glitters with a shiny finish so I applied a coat of Seche Vite. I think if you're going to make this as smooth as possible you'll need a self-levelling top coat like SV, it really is quite gritty on its own.
I absolutely love this mani, I think the mint and silver look gorgeous together and the mixture of matte and shiny makes it different to what I'd usually wear on my nails. This is a combination I'll be happy to leave on for as long as it stays chip free, which has been three days so far.
Barry M Silk Nail Paint in Meadow is available from Superdrug stores nation wide and online for £3.99 and Zoya Pixie Dust in Cosmo is available online for £7.95 (rrp £10.50).
What do you think of this manicure? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
