Barry M
Budget“British high-street colour since 1982.”
By Viktoria @vioda.makeup · Published · Updated
Barry M is a budget makeup brand from the United Kingdom, founded in 1982 by Barry Mero. It's best known for its Dazzle Dust loose pigments, Crackle Effect nail paint and Bold high-pigment colour at high-street prices.
Barry Mero started selling nail polish from a stall in his mother's garden, moved to a shop in London's Ridley Road Market and founded Barry M in 1982. The pitch has not changed much since: bold, high-pigment colour at prices a teenager can afford. Dazzle Dust, the brand's loose pigment pots, became a British institution, and the Crackle Effect nail paint was a genuine mid-2010s viral moment that the big brands scrambled to copy.
The company is still family-run — Dean and Maxine Mero lead it after Barry's death in 2014 — and operates a 45,000 sq ft production and warehouse site in Mill Hill. It removed all animal by-products in 2021 to go fully cruelty-free and vegan-friendly, and remains a fixture in Boots, Superdrug and Tesco. For anyone shopping the UK high street, it is one of the reliable places to find a saturated colour that a more cautious drugstore brand would not put out.
Popular Products
What Barry M is bought for. The ones we've found dupes for link through to the comparison.
- Dazzle Dust
- Crackle Effect Nail Paint
- Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint
- Genie Colour-Changing Lip Paint
- Matte Me Up Lip Kit
Known For
Brand Philosophy
Colour should be loud and cheap enough to experiment with — the fun of makeup shouldn't be gated behind a counter price.