Barry M Instant Nail Effects : Gold Foil 320

Good news, I found the battery charger for my camera at last! You no longer have to put up with the dreadful camera phone pictures I've been inflicting on you recently :D

In way of celebration, I decided to paint my nails with Barry M Instant Nail Effects, in Gold Foil 320.

This blingtastic gold foil paint is supposed to look something like a Minx nail wrap, and, well, it doesn't really. It's nowhere near as shiny as a wrap and instead of polished, mirror-like gold, it has an almost-but-not-quite matte, 'brushed metal' kind of finish that I guess you could describe as 'satin metallic'. If nail wraps are the shiny effect of cooking foil, then this polish is the less shiny reverse side. However, it's still utterly gorgeous!

This polish is VERY pigmented; I kid you not when I say it was opaque in one coat; though I actually used two because it made it look smoother and more wrap-like than it appeared at just one coat. As it's such a smooth foil effect, it does unfortunately show up every imperfection in your nails, though it isn't as obvious in real life as it is in these pictures (close up photography and macro can be so brutal!). Regardless, unless your nails are in really good shape, you're going to need a good base coat, preferably a ridge filling one. You're also going to need to apply this stuff with confident, even brush strokes, because like most metallic foils, it's prone to brush marks if you stop to faff around or go back over already wet areas - though again this is less obvious in real life and also improved by adding a second coat. The formula helps make this easier than it could have been, since it's not too runny and not too thick and applies nicely; the brush isn't a bad shape either. Drying time is pretty decent; one coat dries very quickly, two takes a little longer, but nothing arduous.

Close up, with flash. As you can see, when the light hits it, this polish gleams! It might not be full on polished metal Minx effect, but it's very definitely gold, and actually I love the semi-matte effect; it means that most of the time this polish is subtle, not too in your face, and just shines and catches the eye when you move your fingers. I wore this at work and wasn't even the least self conscious about having garish nails. Two days later and there's still no tip wear or chipping anywhere. I'm really impressed!

Oh, and for those of you that are into stamping nail art; I'm told that this polish is very good for stamping!