Also, these are set a part by the pretty pearl finish that all of these colors, save for one and the top coat, have in them. Some are more and some are less, so I'll try to specify in the reviews.
Baby Sprout - Pale yellow-green crene. This one is one of the two that I fell in love with as soon as I opened the package. Given past experience, I was a wee bit afraid that this one would make my hands look red and dirty, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. There's a bit of redness, but nothing that would deter me from wearing this. This color is so pretty. It's almost like a colored-white, if that makes sense. Like most pastels, it took 3 coats to reach opacity. Formula was a tad streaky at 1 and 2 coats, but that evened out nicely. The pearl in this one was pretty evident in the bottle, but more "hidden" on the nail.
Blue Hydrangea - Sky blue pearl. This one is hands-down gorgeous in the bottle. Unfortunately, on the nail, it really gave me a case of red-hands. Funny, because normally pale blues don't cause this (it's normally pale greens as mentioned above). The pearl on this one is very noticeable, and I'd say that this is the only one of the collection that I would classify as a true pearl, rather than a creme with pearl shimmer. It's not streaky, like a frost, so the finish is perfect. No formula issues and pic is 3 coats. It really is beautiful, though. Would look amazing with a tan.
Earthen - pale taupe creme. This one a spring/summer interpretation of a fall-ish "greige" creme. It's slightly murky and dirty, but it's so soft that it's definitely work-safe. The pearl on this one is definitely less than Blue Hydrangea, but it seems a bit more evident that Baby Sprout. No formula issues. Pic is 3 coats.
Honeysuckle - pink-coral creme. As soon as I saw the info for Pantone's 2011 Color of the Year, Honeysuckle, I've been trying to find it in nail polish form. I've seen several recommendations, CND Smoochie, Orly Butterflies, but nothing completely hit the nail on the head. This does. Yeah, it's just a coral creme, but it's so much more than that. It's a coral that doesn't lean too orange, so it looks really good on my pink skin. It also has a perfect application. I was able to reach complete opacity in 2 coats, and the formula practically glided on. Last week, I wore this as a full mani (with Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow on the tips) and I got so many compliments. Basically, this is my HG coral creme (something I've been searching for for years). Hands down... it's my favorite of the collection. This was the color without any pearl in the finish. (FYI, this is a tad pinker than my picture. It is very close to the Pantone color).
Pink Lily - pale, warm, baby pink creme. This one is pretty straightfoward. It's a pale pink creme that leans slightly warm (in the vein of OPI ElePhantastic Pink, though that one is MUCH darker... same family). It almost looks like the inside of a shell. Very pretty. The pearl on this one is about the same as Earthen. Pic is 3 coats. No app issues.
Purple Aster - Dusty, orchid purple creme. I love this one. It's not your standard pale purple. It's very dusty and looks like it contains a good amount of grey. Again, same amount of pearl as Earthen and Pink Lily. No app issues and this was only pastel to be opaque in 2 coats.
White Peony - soft white creme. This one is so pretty, though you really have to see it in person to fully appreciate it. It's definitely a soft white, but there's also a whisper of pink to this one that really captures the feeling of a white peony. I can almost smell them simply by looking at it (I adore peonies). I didn't have any real issues with application, but, as common with a white polish, this took 4 coats to reach opacity. The pearl in this one is pretty hidden, along the lines of Baby Sprout.
Yellow Primrose - baby chick yellow creme. I'm slowly starting to warm up to yellows and Yellow Primrose is a really pretty one. It didn't look like crap on me (which is my main reason from steering away from yellows), it actually looked pretty nice on my hands and the formula was good in general and great for a yellow polish. The pearl in this one was similar to Earthen. Pic is 3 coats.
This collection also includes a glittery top coat...
Dewdrop (pictured over Honeysuckle) - opal glitter in a clear base. This one reminded me of the Color Club glitters, only with smaller particles and a better formula (along the lines of the 2 glittery top coats from the Holiday collection, 2010 and Pixie Dust). This was a great top coat. Formula wasn't goopy or glumpy at all. This is 1 coat over the base color.
--
All in all, now that I've had a chance to review it, I really like it. The colors are just so peaceful and happy and serene, that I can't help but like them. I like polish that makes me smile. Simply in terms of wearability, Blue Hydrangea was a bit of a miss, but I still like the color quite a bit, and plan on trying it with nail art or a white crackle. On the flip side, Honeysuckle is amazing and it's definitely in my list of favorites.
Also, a review on Nubar polishes would be remiss if I didn't talk about one of my favorite things about the brand... the bottle cap. Seems so silly, I know, but application and ease of application are everything in the polish world. You can have the most amazing polish with a craptastic brush, and it just wouldn't be worth it. I absolutely adore the wand on Nubars. It has a perfect place to rest your index finger which allows you to be very precise in your application. It's almost like using a pencil. I love it.
And now the sale that I mentioned in my title... From now until 3/18, Nubar is offering this complete collection for $39.95 (the 8 in the case plus Dewdrop). As Nubars normally retail for $7.50 and this breaks down to $4.44 a polish... I think this is a fantastic deal.
These were sent to me for review
No comments:
Post a Comment