Barry M's New Coconut Enriched Nail Polish: To Hydrate & Get You In The Holiday Mood

After me having a little moan about how boring the nail varnish market had become, it seems I'm quickly having to eat my own words. There's a definite trend towards formulas that enrich the nail, rather than focusing on new colors and textures, that offers up a genuine benefit and reason for varnish addicts to continue parting with their cash. Already this year we've had Nails Inc's 'anti ageing' polish (full review here) that promises to help strengthen the nail and counteract the often overlooked signs of ageing, but now Barry M are attempting to cut their own piece of the pie with these new Coconut Infusion polishes. Available in nine shades (four nude and five colours,) the formula is enriched with both coconut oil and coconut water to gentle hydrate and nourish the nail, as well as Vitamins B & C to strengthen the nail over time. Disappointingly the polish doesn't smell of coconuts (although I wouldn't advise you to spent time sniffing to confirm that!) but it does provide a fabulous hit of colour that glides over the nail to leave a gel-like and heard-wearing finish.


Coconut oil is incredibly popular right now, as are the hydrating benefits coconut water brings, so it was only a matter of time before a beauty brand picked it up and injected the coconutty goodness into their products. I've no way to determine whether or not these added ingredients actually make a long-term difference to the nail, but if you're making a choice between a regular polish and one that brings potential hydration - it's a no-brainer. Interestingly Barry M advise that these polishes are to used without a base coat to ensure the maximum benefit (the ingredients will be able to penetrate deeper without an additional base coat,) meaning this is a super speedy way to keep your nails looking fab. With no base layer required, and the polish providing a true-to-bottle pigment in only one coat, you can pretty much apply and go; the varnish is even quick drying, leaving nails touch try in under a couple of minutes. That's my kind of polish.

Within the collection you have four very similar nude shades that aim to match the skintone of pretty much all complexions, as well as five spring-summery pastel tones that I'm sure you'll love. There's nothing groundbreaking here in terms of the colours in the collection, but they do form a great basis for taking you into the next season with ease and affordability. My personal favourites include the coral and lightest nude, but I could also be tempted by the minty green. I'm somewhat underwhelmed by the relatively old-fashioned bottle design and odd choice of font, but putting that aside these are really nice polishes that are a steal at under a fiver each. I just really hope they work out how to make them smell of coconut by the time they re-launch the collection in the coming months...

What do you think of these Coconut Infused polishes? Are you more likely to buy if there's a benefit for your nail long-term, or are you just tempted by pretty shades?