BarryM Sunset Daylight Curing Polish

Being an absolute sucker for a gimmick of any sort, I had to buy the new Daylight Curing polish from BarryM to see if it was any good. There were five shades available in the Boots I was in and I was tempted by the navy blue and a classic red but I went for Like A Nude instead, a creamy matte shade. Regardless of the shade of polish you opt for, you'll need a bottle of the Daylight Curing topcoat. This is a clear topcoat that uses "natural daylight curing to create long lasting hi gloss nails". So it's designed to replace your trip to the nail bar and it's a cost effective way of getting shellac in your own home. But does it work?!

Recommended use is to paint a thin coat of your nail paint (it has to be from the Sunset range, regular polish won't work apparently) and allow to dry. Then apply a second thin coat. I found this part tricky enough and I think that may have been my own fault for applying a base coat- it doesn't say not to on the instructions and I always do to protect my nails but I think it made the application a bit harder. The brush definitely dragged a little bit, which it probably wouldn't have otherwise. My advice would be to go without if you can, although that may be harder with the darker polishes where you'll risk staining the nail bed.

When the nail paint is dry, you apply a thin coat of the Sunset topcoat (again, it has to be this, other topcoats won't work). Your nails are then supposed to cure naturally in daylight. The topcoat itself applied smoothly, like any normal topcoat really. Overall it probably took longer to dry than an average nail polish but I ended up applying some of the coats too thickly so once again, that may have been user error. 

Of course, I cleaned up around the nail, after the photos were taken. Best. Blogger. Ever.

I think they look very pretty, that nude is a gorgeous shade and would be perfect for work, an interview or a wedding. I didn't have anywhere to wear it to but enjoyed looking like a lady nonetheless!

Longevity wise, it definitely lasted longer than a regular nail polish. 

Unlike Shellac though, there's no way you'd get a full two weeks out of this without chipping. I got to day 2-3 before minor chips appeared and by day 5 each finger had at least a small chip, while some were definitely the worse for wear. Observe:

It's hard to tell from that photo but there are actually chips on every nail, not just the more obvious middle finger. Because it's less obvious that they're there though, it means you could get away with it for a bit longer if you could get over that middle nail, which I personally couldn't. Five days was definitely the limit for me for the daylight curing. 

My final verdict is; these polishes are ideal for a weekend away or an event like a wedding but they don't have the same longevity as a salon professional polish, like shellac and if you're expecting that then you'll be disappointed. However, they are only €7.49 (Boots have a buy one, get one half price on them at the moment too) and they do last a bit longer than a regular pharmacy brand polish would, for the same price so for that I think they're worth giving a try. I know I'll be trying out another shade from the range fairly soon!

Thoughts? Is this too gimmicky for you? Would you rather just get a professional job rather than faff around yourself or does the bargain price lure you too much?!

To the comments!

XX