NEW Barry M Gelly Colours!

Barry M have released 6 new Gelly colours for Autumn 2015. They're out now - 4 new dark shades, and 2 glitters exclusive to Superdrug. I have been wanting a black Gelly for ages now, so I was really excited to hear about these. I managed to pick them all up on Friday. 

Left to right, here are  Black Cherry, Black Currant, Sparkling Ruby, Sparkling Amethyst, Black Grape and Black Pistachio. 

First up, the four standard Gelly colours. These are all very dark colours that are almost black - one red, one purple, one blue and one green. The big difference with these is the new brush - it's a wider, flat brush with a curved edge. I know a lot of bloggers are loving the new brush. However, I am not a fan, I'm sorry to say! My nails are quite narrow, so I don't like wide brushes. I find it hard to not get polish on my cuticles, and these ones are particularly awkward to clean up.

First up, here is Black Pistachio. This is a black with a tinge of dark racing green. 

As you can see, it's a very very dark green. In many normal lights, at arm's length, this is pretty close to black. 

I found this hard to photograph and capture the green-ness of the colour. It does look a bit more green than this, I promise.

My issue is about the clean up! Ewww.

 

Black Cherry is a dark dark red Gelly, and probably the least black of the 4 colours. 

Again, a lovely formula but rather stainy round the edges, and tricky to clean up. If this had the normal Barry M brush, I'd love it. 

All these swatches are one coat, with topcoat.  The formula is really nice, and dries glossy and opaque. I just find the brush hard work.

Next is Black Currant, the purple one, and perhaps the most black of the 4. 

 Same good formula, same glossy finish. 

I'm wondering how other bloggers have managed to get swatches that clearly look green or red or purple! Mine all look black, with a tiny tiny hint of colour at the edges if you look hard!

Black Currant wasn't as stainy as the others, which surprised me, as it was the most opaque and pigmented.

Last of the 4 main range colours is Black Grape, the blue one. 

Again, the same opaque, pigmented formula. And again, I wish the brush wasn't wide and flat. 

It's been quite frustrating looking at my swatch photos in thumbnail and trying to work out which is which!

I mean - look!

On the plus side - these do work for stamping! They show their colour a bit more clearly then too, so I'm looking forward to using them in stamping designs. 

On to the two limited editions for Superdrug, Sparkling Ruby and Sparkling Amethyst. These aren't strictly speaking glitters, they're more gelly with tiny microsparkle particles. 

 This is Sparkling Amethyst, the purple one.

This is two thin coats - the second one was only really a touch up - with topcoat for extra shine. 

I like the blurriness here, it shows you the sparkle!

Sparkling Ruby is the red one.

Again, the same formula as the others (very nice) and the same brush (not my taste). Two thin coats again, with topcoat.

Amethyst and Ruby aren't as sparkly as I was hoping for, but they are very nice indeed, and I think will get considerable use from me over the autumn and winter. I just wish they had thinner brushes!