Barry M Spring 2014 Aquarium Collection: Review and Swatches

Hey everyone! Today I have another gorgeous Barry M collection to show you. This one has been out for a couple of weeks, but that of course does not make it any less gorgeous! The collection consists of four duo-chromes and two glitter toppers, which, as you'll see below, I chose to pair with Huckleberry and Rosehip from the latest Gelly Hi Shine collection, and you can see my swatches of that here. I own very few, if any, duochromes, so I'm no expert in their application, but my lovely friend Allie from Brit Nails suggested that I try applying them over black for maximum effect, so I've decided to show you both with and without black.

First up is Arabian*, which is a truly gorgeous polish, although it does remind me of beetles (in a nice way). This was 2 coats alone on the ring and pointer finger and 1 coat over black on the others. For a duo-chrome it was surprisingly not streaky too which is good, there are some streak marks as you can see, but they're quite limited and with careful application could be avoided. This was without topcoat

Next up is Caspian*, and whilst this is my least favourite colour of the collection, it's still a gorgeous polish. As I've mentioned before, browns don't sit too well with my skin tone, but I'm sure for someone with a bit more of a tan this could look great. This was 2 coats alone, and 1 coat over black, on the same fingers as with Arabian.

Next up is Mediterranean*, which I was looking forward to most from the collection. Unfortunately, I found the application of this one much harder to manage, with 2 coats on its own and over black. Although, from talking to other bloggers it seems like this was only a problem for me, so maybe I was just having a bad day! I was again impressed by how little it streaked though, and once I'd sorted out the application it is a really really gorgeous and unique polish. This was without topcoat

Next is Mermaid*. I'm not usually a fan of shard glitters, but I ended up being incredibly pleasantly surprised by this and Treasure Chest, and both of them are my firm favourites from this collection. This was 1 coat over Barry M - Huckleberry. I did need a bit of placement but that's usually the case with glitters like this. And this was without topcoat

Next is Pacific* which is probably my favourite duo-chrome from the collection (we all know my love of blues!). This was 2 coats alone, and 1 coat over black, on the same fingers as mentioned above. And this was without topcoat

And finally is Treasure Chest*, which (as mentioned above) is one of my two favourites from the collection: the shard glitters. This was 1 coat over Barry M - Rose Hip. Again, some placement was needed but it could have been worse. This was without topcoat

Overall, I'm really impressed, as usual, with the whole collection. Barry M have lived up to the mark once again, and whilst I was slightly annoyed at Mediterranean's application, I found my disappointment was covered by my love of the shard glitters. 

You can find these polishes on the Barry M website, in Superdrug or in Boots now for £3.99

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Alice