Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops – Review

I feel like I haven’t done a review for the longest time, but apparently I only did one last week which was my Lime Crime Plushies review (which you can read here). How on earth did I forget that I wrote that review last week?! Either I’m beginning to show my age or it’s just showing how quickly the days are flying by!

Anyway, I’ve wanted to review the Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops for the longest time, but as of yet I just haven’t managed to. I’ve thought about adding this to my favourites since September but to be honest with you, it hasn’t been a favourite product.

Personally when I read and write reviews I don’t want to always see them be positive and, “OH MY GOD THIS PRODUCT IS AMAZING AND YOU NEED TO GO BUY IT. Oh and P.S. my affiliate link is down below.” No, no and no again.

I like to read and write reviews that are realistic and honest. I like to think I’m honest when it comes down to reviews, even when I’m sent and gifted items to review and talk about. I was in two minds whether or not to review the unicorn primer drops as I didn’t quite know how I felt about them, to be honest.

So I’m going to be honest throughout this review, no fakery or BS here. 😛

I picked up the unicorn primer drops about a month ago now and have been using them almost daily. I heard about this thanks to Instagram and Facebook and everyone was talking about how it reminded them of the Farsali unicorn essence and in all fairness, it’s pretty much a duplicate of the unicorn essence.

I’ve been after a primer for a while now, as sometimes I do like to have them to try and help mattify my skin. I used to use one from The Body Shop last year, which I loved but as I managed to get hold of it when it was on offer I haven’t picked it up again since.

I actually forgot about the Barry M unicorn primer drops until I ventured into Boots in September and decided to pick it up to try. I mean why not eh?

Prep skin for the ultimate makeup application with this innovative oil-free elixir. Packed with superfruits such as acai berry, goji berry, watermelon and tamarind, this hybrid-serum brightens, detoxifies, hydrates and smooths the skin for the perfect primer and skin care treatment.

Use under makeup to prime skin or on its own to hydrate, brighten and protect from free radical damage. Taken from barrym.com

I remember watching some YouTube videos where people were testing this and reviewing it and in all honestly, most of the videos I watched weren’t praising this product. One girl said how the product caused her make up to feel tacky and sticky and another commented on how it didn’t seem to improve her make up much.

As I don’t wear make up, I didn’t think it would affect me in this sense and if anything I hoped it might help my translucent powder last longer!

It’s been over a month now since I first bought it and I finally feel like I’m ready to review it.

My thoughts on this primer have chopped and changed over the past month for so many reasons. I started using it whilst the weather was still warm and recently as the weather has cooled down, I feel like I’ve really began to see how it works, if that makes sense.

The primer comes in this purple square bottle with a pipette at the top. You get 15ml of product in this bottle which I think is a decent amount. I find that a full pipette is too much for my skin and only find that I need a small amount for it to cover my face and neck. This primer is also VEGAN! Although I’m not vegetarian nor vegan, I do love when brands bring out products that are vegan. I think it’s only fair for everyone to be able to use and enjoy the same products, so I was really pleased when I read that the primer drops were vegan.

A lot of people online have been complaining about the pipette not working for them and how due to the thickness of the primer, it causes the pipette not to work. I’ve not had this issues personally and if anything I LOVE the pipette! Whenever I go to use this product the pipette is always full of product and ready for me to use.

People have also complained about the packaging and how it just doesn’t look “special” enough for them. I never give a shit about the packaging with products nine times out of ten, but I do get what they’re saying. It’s very simple and to the point and I’m surprised that Barry M didn’t try and do more with it really. I would have liked the bottle to be see through so I can see how much product you have left. Maybe Barry M will make new packaging eventually if they bring out a whole line of primers, who knows!

I pop 5 little drops on my face, one on each cheek, my nose, my chin and my forehead. I find this is the perfect amount for my face. The primer itself isn’t thin nor thick in consistency but I find that when it’s warm it’s really thin. I love the consistency of this primer as I find it’s easy to use.

The colour of the product is so magical (as you can probably guess by the name!) and it’s a gorgeous bubblegum pink colour, with shimmer running throughout. It’s so pretty and if you’re a magpie for shiny things like I am, then you’ll love this!

One thing I remember about the reviews on YouTube that I watched was how this smells, “So good I could eat it!” I didn’t personally get this, yes it smells really sweet but I wouldn’t say it’s good enough to eat. It does contain a lot of fruits such as acai berry, goji berry, watermelon and tamarind which are all superfruits and are said to help keep skin looking beautiful.

I used this every morning after my moisturiser and then put on my translucent powder. I’ve not yet mixed the primer in with my moisturiser, although I am tempted to. It’s just fun to look like a beauty guru or Instagram beauty video where you apply those pink unicorn tears on your cheeks! 😛

After you’ve applied this primer it does feel tacky on the skin and although a lot of people complained about this on reviews, I’ve also seen a lot of people rave about this due to how it helps their make up stick to the skin etc. I get that and after hearing and thinking about it, it has helped with my powder sticking to my skin.

During the warmer days I didn’t feel like this worked for me as well as I hoped. It definitely makes my skin feel hydrated and even gives my skin a little bit of glow after applying, but I couldn’t say if I feel like my skin is brighter looking throughout the day.

I expected this primer to help my powder last longer throughout the day, but when it was warmer I felt so greasy, especially on my t zone. I don’t carry my face powder around with me anymore so I couldn’t top that up. However, as the weather has started to get cooler I’ve found that my powder is lasting longer and thus I don’t feel or leak greasy/oily. Now, whether this is down to the primer or not, I don’t know.

One of the things I really love about this primer is that it’s oil-free. As I’m combination skin I try to avoid using any products with oil in, so when I read this was oil-free I was pretty stoked about that. I also love how baby soft my skin feels since I’ve started to use it too! I use it after wearing face masks to give my skin an extra boost of TLC. I feel so pampered afterwards as well.

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos to see how other people use the primer and one person applies it all over their face, like I do before their make up BUT they also applied it to the lips! I never thought to do that to be honest with you, but it’s definitely something I’m going to try and start doing that in the morning, especially if I’m planning to wear lipstick.

After application. My hand definitely looks brighter in places!

Personally I do have mixed feelings on this primer as I don’t know if it’s actually done anything to my skin and I have to keep wondering if my skin is benefiting from using it? I do wonder if it’s help moisturise my skin more and given it an extra boost of something, as I remember with my old primer my skin felt and looked dry in patches, especially on my cheeks and around my mouth and chin. This has gone to be honest, so maybe all those superfruits has actually helped my skin the TLC it needed!

This has been out since August/September and for the 15ml bottle it costs £7.99. I think that’s quite expensive, but I am a cheap skate at the best of times! For how lovely and soft it’s made my skin look and feel, I do think it’s worth it though.

I wonder if I can’t see any difference in my skin because I don’t use make up, all I use is powder to help my skin look matte. At the time of writing this I am touching my face and looking for any signs of oil. It’s lunch time now and my skin looks as it did when I got ready this morning, which is amazing!

Maybe during the warmer months, this doesn’t work as well as it could but during the colder months this will be a game changer.

Right now, this isn’t a game changer for me and overall whilst I do like using it and feel like an Instagram beauty guru when I use it, I don’t know if I’ll repurchase it or not… I’d like to find a primer that helps my powder last longer AND helps my skin look matte for as long as possible.

If you really want to give a new primer a try, whether or not you wear a full face of make up then I recommend trying this! I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s a life changing product. It’s better than some primers I’ve used in the past BUT that’s due to its moisturising properties and maybe because it’s a gorgeous pink colour. 😛

Also if you are looking for a cheap duplicate of the Farsali Unicorn Essence then this is your best bet! Especially as that essence will set you back £20.00 for just 10ml of product. Ouch.

I’ve linked at the start of this post directly to the primer at the top of the blog post, but I’ll link the Superdrug and Boots so you can buy them from there if you wish to do so.

Overall these unicorn primer drops are definitely worth picking up to try, especially if there is a 3 for 2 offer on which both Superdrug and Boots have at the time of this post! They’re also worth picking up if you suffer with dry skin and want to help keep your make up lasting longer. I never had an issue with combination skin, which was great! Just don’t expect a life changing product as personally I don’t think it was that, sadly.

Otherwise I really hope you enjoyed this review today! Sorry that my blog has been quiet since last Friday but I just wanted a break from blog work this weekend. I had a new game to play with Dane, friends to see as well as LOTS of blog work!

I also apologise for how rambly this blog post reads/feels! I just wanted to get all thoughts and feelings out there, I hope you didn’t get too bored. 😛

Do you think you’ll give the Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops a go? Or have you already? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re all having a lovely week so far! Not long now and it’ll be Halloween.

Barry M Under The Sea Nail Paint in Butterflyfish and Jellyfish – Review

Urgh just a couple of days ago I had written half this blog post and popped out to see some people. Then come this afternoon I have come to continue with said post and it’s gone. It didn’t save and I have done everything I could possibly do to get it back, with zero luck. URRRRGH! So I am having to start again. Yuck.

As many of you may have seen on my February wish list that I’ve been eyeing up the new Barry M nail paints for quite some time now, in fact every since they announced their new Under The Sea range back a month ago via a live Instagram video. I watched a couple of times in awe of the new nail paints and knew I needed them  in my life.

When they finally came out a couple of weeks ago at the end of January/start of February I picked up two shades that I had been lusting after.

I’ve been using this on and off since then and it’s definitely something I will wear loads when the spring and summer months hit us! Of course I had to share my love of these through a review.

I picked these up on an offer in Superdrug. If you spent £7 you would get a free Strobe Cream. WOOHOO! Even though I don’t wear highlighter I’ll definitely use this over liquid lipsticks to give them a pop! Otherwise these cost me £3.99 each, which for a nail paint is a really good price in my mind.

Under The Sea nail paint is a duo chrome nail polish that shifts in colour in the light. There are currently four shades to choose from, I picked up two of them.

Butterflyfish on the left and Jellyfish on the right.

Butterflyfish

Butterflyfish not in direct light

Butterflyfish in direct light

Jellyfish

Jellyfish not in direct light

Jellyfish in direct light

There’s Angelfish (a pearly pink shade which shifts to silver), Pinktail (a pink shade which shifts to orange), Butterflyfish (a blue shade which shifts to pink) and Jellyfish (a purple shade which shifts to green). The latter two are the shades I picked up.

Before I talk about the shades themselves and how the formula works, I want to quickly touch on the design of the bottle lids. Barry M aren’t really OTT when it comes to their packaging designs for their nail paints and that isn’t exactly a bad thing. Good looking products are always a must, especially if you keep them in your handbag and show them off when out and about. But who takes nail paints out with them? 😛

These however are aesthetically pleasing to look at when they’re in your nail polish collections! They have a white lid with metallic blue sea designs on them, which includes seaweed, starfish, seahorses and fish. Very cute! It also makes them easy to find when looking in your collection for these to dig out and use!

Now that I’ve briefly spoken about the design of the nail paints themselves, I’ll go into the formula and look of the polishes when worn!

One thing I love about the Molten Metals collection is how thick the brushes are for them all and this is the same when it comes to the Under The Sea nail paints too! It means you don’t need to keep applying loads of little coats with a thinner brush. Instead you only need one or two strokes of colour applied, which is great! I have small nails so this means I only need two or three max.

The pigmentation of this isn’t anything “amazing” but it definitely does the job of being a lovely iridescent polish, no matter how sheer! The colour shift still works with one and two coats as well, although I do prefer three coats to give it a stronger pigmentation to the colour.

Butterflyfish – one coat

Jellyfish – one coat

I find with this polish that you can get away with one dip into the bottle to get a good finish all over, but due to how sheer it is on the first coat I found I dipped into the bottle a couple of times, just to ensure I had enough on the brush to give an even coat all over the nail. I found throughout all coats of polish that I had to keep dipping into the bottle to make sure I had enough on the brush to get enough on the nail. This was a tad disappointing, but so worth it!

Butterflyfish – two coats

Jellyfish – two coats

With a second coat you really start to get a good colour payoff and pigmentation! As I said before however, I do prefer three coats of polish when it comes to these polishes. I just love a strong look to the nail, especially now I can wear nail polish alllllll the time. 😛

Butteflyfish – three coats

Butterflyfish – three coats

Butterflyfish – showing the pink duo chrome effect

Jellyfish – three coats

Jellyfish – three coats

Jellyfish – showing the green duo chrome

I’ve seen people posting on Instagram of them using these polishes over different coloured polishes including black, white and shades with the same base shade(s) as the polish in use. For example people used a light blue cream shade with Butterflyfish over the top. It looked gorgeous! I’ll definitely be giving this a go myself with a black polish underneath!

NOW with the chip test! I never use a base or a top coat and this is for a few reasons… 1. I don’t own one right now and 2. Every time I ever do or have my polish never dries and doesn’t look good after a while.

I wore both of these shades to work and after four days they started to chip. This wasn’t a bad amount of days really considering I type loads at work, write a lot and do bits and pieces around the office. I also found that cleaning the bathroom after applying these polishes lasted REALLY WELL! I was pleasantly surprised!

Overall what do I think of these nail paints then? Well, they’re bloody stunning and I love them so much! They’re definitely going to do well throughout spring and summer this year and this type of finish with nail paints and polishes is on the rise!

Jellyfish on the left, Butterflyfish on the right.

I can’t decide which of the two shades I love the most though to be honest! Out of the two I love the look of Jellyfish the most, but when wearing them I feel like I look at Butterflyfish more! I couldn’t tell you really to be honest. I think they’re both gorgeous in different ways! Butterflyfish seems more shimmery to me, whilst Jellyfish is more metallic looking. Either way, they’re both gorgeous! Fuck it, I can’t pick one!

If you do want to pick one up for yourself, you can find them on Barry M Cosmetics official website!

What do you think? Have you given the Under The Sea nail paints a go, or do you want to? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend!

Barry M Molten Metals Nail Paint in Holographic Nights – Review

Oh man I have fast turned into a holographic queen and years ago when I wanted holographic goodies they were never available, which sucked! It’s a nice change that now there’s a little more on the high street, both fashion and beauty.

Recently Barry M got onto the holographic nail craze that has been around forever in the Indie world. People have only just recently gotten into the craze…

Alongside the new shades they recently added to their Molten Metals collection, they included Holographic Nights, a silver holographic shade. People have gone crazy for it, including myself and I couldn’t wait to pick it up recently.

I heard of it coming out back in February but I completely forgot about it until last week when I was in Boots. I picked it up on their 2 for £7 offer with another Molten Metals polish. As soon as I got home I took off my previous nail polish and stuck this one on! I knew I had to review it a few days later, I haven’t fallen in love with a nail polish so much for quite a long time. I really hope you enjoy the review and find it helpful!

This isn’t the second holographic nail polish I have owned, the previous being by GOSH and is one that was limited edition at the time it was released. I’m going back years now and as bad as it sounds I still own it. It was a gorgeous polish and went on with one maybe two coats… But it peeled off hours later, which sucked! Since then I have wanted to get my hands on another holographic nail polish which wouldn’t do this. I haven’t 100% found it yet, but for a high street holographic polish this comes in pretty close.

First of all when I picked this up in Boots I thought I had picked up the silver shade in this collection. They look very alike and I’ve read on social media how loads of people have made this mistake and been disappointed. This was a surprise for me to be honest as you would think the rainbow of the holographic would be obvious, but alas it is not. It’s not very easy to see in the bottle unless in the right lighting. The same can also somewhat be said about when it’s on the nails too… But I’ll go into that in more detail.

One thing I love about the Molten Metals collection is how thick the brushes are for them all! It means you don’t need to keep applying loads of little coats with a thinner brush. Instead you only need one or two strokes of colour applied, which is great! I have small nails so this means I only need two or three max.

One coat

Two coats

Three coats

The pigmentation of the polish is amazing though to be honest and I found with 3 coats that I had a really good finish to my nails, which had that gorgeous holographic rainbow on show in the right light!

I found when applying this that you only need one generous dip into the bottle to get an even coverage on each nail. It’s not a thick formula and is pretty thin, but don’t let that fool you! This nail polish really does pack a punch. It also dries really quickly so applying those 3 coats went by really quickly!

I tried to apply it over a black nail polish at first to see if it showed off the rainbow colours better and if anything it made it worse, so applying straight to the nail was perfect.

I wore this for a week and during that week both me and Dane were working hard on the house and even went and visited some friends on their farm! Whilst I didn’t do any hard work the polish still lasted amazingly which I really happy about. This is without a base or a top coat by the way.

I also worried that this would be a bitch to remove due to the holographic side of it, but alas it was really easy to remove which I was really happy about!

I watch and read a lot of reviews on Indie brands and their holographic nail polishes and whilst Holographic Nights isn’t up to their standard it is absolutely amazing for a high street nail polish and it’s the first of it’s kind to do something so well! I know Boots Natural Collection used to have a holographic nail polish… (looks online to see if they still do…) I can’t actually work out if they do… Which is a shame!

Overall I love this nail polish so much and it’s definitely a shade people have been calling out for for quite some time now. It’s amazing that Barry M has opened the horizons for holographic shades. I really hope they see how much people want this and release more shades. I’d love to see a black holographic polish out next.

I just wish I could wear this for work now, it really sucks! I definitely already know I’ve found my nail polish for the whole year now, as well as for mine and Dane’s holiday. 😛

You can pick this up now in both Boots and Superdrug for £3.99 each, or 2 for £7 in Boots on the Molten Metals collection. If you’re really eager to get one do it quick as these sell out fast apparently.

Have you tried Holographic Nights yet? If so what did you think of it? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend so far.