Barry M Matte Nail Polish - Summer Collection Swatches

Greetings All!

Today I have a bit of an exciting post. As soon as I saw these polishes, I knew I had to have them! Bright Summer colours, and of course I can never resist a matte finish. I loved their first matte collection, so I ordered these from Boots (they aren't available in shops until next month).

I'll start with a bit of general waffle, to save repeating myself. These all had a very good formula - all but the first one were perfect in two coats. They don't dry quite as quickly as some suede./matte polishes, which is a good thing! Some matte polishes can end up very 'draggy' because they dry so fast, but these give you a chance to get a coat on. They do dry faster than other Barry M polishes though.

There has been a little bit of debate as to just how matte these polishes are (and just how many levels of matte there are!). I can confirm that these definitely do have a matte finish, not quite 'full on' matte, but nearly. To give you a better idea, I have done a comparison of each shade with both shiny and matte topcoat (Seche Vite and Models Own, respectively), so you can see exactly how matte they are.

 left-right: Waikiki, Miami, Malibu, Rhossili, Cancun, and Copa Cobana

This is a picture heavy post, so I'll get straight on with the swatches, and give my thought at the end.



Waikiki. This is the only one I needed three coats for. Bright yellow green.

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

Miami, two coats (as are all the rest). A sun-kissed pink.

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

Malibu (I keep thinking of it as 'Maliblue'). A very bright, swimming pool blue. This one is a very eye-catching, bright Summer colour (think nearly neon).

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

Rhossili. A magenta/purple shade. I think this one looks especially good with the finish. Although they aren't even very similar, this reminds me of Crush, my favourite from the previous Matte collection. They're both quite 'berry-esque'.

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

Cancun. This is described as turquoise, but I would personally say it's teal, as it's a bit deeper, darker and greener than my perception of turquoise. However the teal/turquoise line is notoriously blurry, so each to their own! This was also a nightmare to photograph, it came out a bit more blue than it really is.

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

Finally, Copa Cabana, a fiery coral red. I usually stay well away from anything coral, but this was surprisingly gorgeous, again especially with the matte finish.

Matte topcoat on my pinkie, and shiny topcoat on my index finger

So there you go! I think the topcoat comparison makes it clear that these are matte polishes. They are made a bit less shiny with matte topcoat, but I do like the finish. Matte topcoat means that all my matte manicures have the same finish, so it's nice to have something slightly different with just a bit of sheen.

They're all lovely bright, Summery colours, and the finish does seem to make them especially eye-catching and punchy. I suspect they'd also look great with a tan, but that isn't something you'll see on my hands!

My personal favourites are Malibu, Rhossili and Copa Cobana (which I'm still surprised about!).

This collection is available at Boots.com now, and they are available in Superdrug stores from June 4th and Boots stores from June 11th.