Nubar Parisian Collection Summer 2009

Nubar's new Parisian collection is a set of sheers, pinks and french manicure shades.


Champs-Elysees Pink. A warm, pale pink. This has a very soft peachy tone to it, I'd call this in between baby pink and pastel peach. This looks like a creme, but if you look really closely you'll see that it has a faint amount of soft shimmer. This is three coats.

Cineaqua Shimmer. A metallic coral-pink. This is a very shiny and reflective shade of warm pink. When applying this one you should be mindful of the frosty metallic formula to avoid brushstrokes as much as possible. The brushstrokes fade slightly when the polish is completely dried. Three coats.


Eiffel Tower Sparkle. Sheer crystalline pink shimmer. My favorite of the collection! It's so pretty and sparkly, it starts out sheer and builds opacity with each layer. This reminds me strongly of OPI Princess Rule!. Three coats.

Hotel Baby Pink. Pastel pink creme. This one is a very mod-60's looking pale pink creme. It really stands out despite being soft and pale. Three coats.

La Siene Shimmer. A sheer warm pink with strong blue flash. This is a really cool color. The blue flash is really nice and it's great for layering. It looks really nice over neon pink as well as on top of these sheers. I've been trying out a few different layering combinations for this one. Three coats.

Louvre Nude. Sheer nude-pink jelly creme. This really does have a jelly-like texture. It is transparent and milky. This can easily be worn with one or two coats because it's not the least bit streaky. This is four coats.

Notre Dame Nude. Milky nude-pink creme. This one is similar to Hôtel Baby Pink in finish but it's a slightly cooler shade of pink. Very hard to describe. It also has that 60's-retro look to it. Three coats.

Parc Floral Pink. Sheer petal pink creme. This one almost has a jelly finish to it, but it's a little more milky than Louvre Nude. This shade of pink is particularly delicate- almost white but pink enough to blend with your natural skintone. Another very sheer polish that isn't streaky. Four coats.

Since this is designed to be a french manicure collection, I did a little layering with the two shimmer shades to give some examples of what you can achieve with these shades.

The base for layering here is the Revlon Charlotte nail from the Naturally Chic line.

Eiffel Tower Sparkle (one coat) over a french manicure.

La Seine Shimmer (one coat) over a french manicure.

As you can see, these are all very soft, natural, feminine shades of pink and peach. They would make great colors for the traditional french manicure, or they can be worn alone either as sheers or with more coats for full coverage.

Siobhan at The Nailphile did a great post about this which includes some great pictures of La Seine Shimmer and Eiffel Tower Sparkle layered over the other shades in this collection

The formula on these was very good. Smooth and thin, non-streaky and quick drying. I had no issues applying them aside from the brushstrokes on Cineaqua Shimmer, but that's more due to the finish than the formula. I normally have a problem with sheers and milky pinks being extremely streaky, but these didn't have that problem. Very cool.

Not the most exciting collection I've ever seen, but if you're into sheers and pinks, you may really enjoy these, especially if you've had issues with streaky sheers in the past.

This collection is available now at ByNubar.com. As a bonus, until May 15th, Nubar is including their Foundation base coat and Diamont Shine topcoat free in every order of $50 or more. This entire collection is priced at $49.95 if you buy them all together, five cents short of the free gifts with purchase... Kind of odd, but maybe they'll include it anyway since it's so close.

Another French Manicure Kit from Nailene

This second french manicure kit from Nailene is a little more adventurous. It includes the standard bright white tip polish, but also a sheer pink shimmer with strong green duochrome.

Like the first kit that I reviewed, this comes with everything you need to complete your look. Base and tip polish, sealant top coat and 42 tip guides.

Since tip guides were included with the kit, I used them for these looks.

Here's one coat of white with one coat of the pink and green shimmer polish on top. Wow, my nails are stained... Oops!


Here's the same, but with two coats of the pink and green shimmer polish instead of one. Two coats gives you a lot more coverage. That's good, that way you can't see how bad my stained nails look!

Since the base polish has more tint to it than your traditional sheer nude french manicure color, it discolors the white tips. If you prefer a bright white tip, apply the white tip polish last. This is what it will look like:

Can you see all the pretty green shimmer? This polish seems like it would be great for layering. I think it would look pretty cool over a hot pink or coral, and it would be amazing over black.


You can also add a little flair to it with Nailene's Bedazzle Nail Art Decals. I chose a swooshy one from the kit. I think it would also be pretty with one of the snowflake designs as well.



Overall, this is another great kit for people who love french manicures. It's not the same plain pink-and-white french because this one has a little duochrome green shimmer added to it. It's extremely easy to use and there's no confusion because everything you need is right in the kit. It's an inexpensive and easy way to achieve a french manicure look without having to go to a salon. I'm all for being able to do your nails at home!

This kit is available at any drugstore and can be found in the nail art section near the decals and artificial nails.

OPI Fairytale Bride: Soft Shades 2009

OPI's soft shades for this year are actually quite interesting. Instead of being plain pale cremes, each color has a soft base color with a contrasting flash of another color. They're not true duochromes- the flash is strong enough to be noticed but not so strong that it overpowers the soft base color.

There are only four polishes in this year's collection. They are:




At First Sight. A very pale and soft nude/neutral base with gold flash.




I Pink I Love You. A soft baby pink with blue flash.



Isn't It Romantic? A very pale pink with green flash.




Otherwise Engaged. A pinkish-white with purple flash.


All pictures are three coats of polish. All of the colors are very sheer, as you can tell by the visible nail line even with three coats of polish. Four coats would make them almost entirely opaque. These can easily be worn with only one coat because they are not the least bit streaky and add an interesting shimmering pearl effect to the nails due to the colored flash in each shade.

The formula on these was fantastic. I had no application issues. They were neither runny nor thick like three-free polishes tend to be. The drying time on these was quite a bit longer than other OPI polishes. I'm not sure if it's because I did three coats or if it's the polish itself, but even with Seche Vite I could dent these up to two hours later.

Overall, they're not too bad for soft shades. They're not streaky! Not that I'm happy about more sheer pinks being released, but at least these have the fascinating colored pearl flash and there's only four of them instead of six.


I wish OPI's next Soft Shades collection would be a set of sheer crystal shimmers like Hollywood Blonde and Up Front And Personal, but in soft shades of blue, purple, gold, silver and green. That's my dream soft shades collection!

OPI Princess Charming Collection

In my post about the Essie Bridal Collection I mentioned that there was a collection of sheer pinks and whites that I actually like. Here it is- the OPI Princess Charming Collection.

This collection is already a few years old, but it still holds the title of "Only collection of soft shades that I like." The difference is that these soft shades have personality. Observe:




Got A Date To-Knight! A light petal pink creme with a shiny, jelly-like texture. You know me- you know I never wear these colors! But I have actually worn this. Twice. Because I wanted to. There's just something about it that I like, I'm not quite sure what. It's just so... cute...?




I'm A Princess, You're Not! A sheer shimmery iridescent shade that flashes green, pink, silver and soft gold. It's sheer, yes, but it's a duochrome! If you haven't noticed, I use the term 'duochrome' loosely- there are often more than two colors present but I don't feel like counting how many. Would that make this a quadrachrome? See, that sounds weird. Anyway, this color is really pretty on its own, but it's also really cool over black.




My Daddy's The King! A soft, pearl-finish peach. One of the few peach polishes in my collection, actually. I can't believe how much I truly like this. The unique shade and the pearly finish make me love it. That, and it just looks so nice on me. (Wow, I sound like a total narcissist!)




Princesses Rule! A sheer pale pink shimmer. If you do not have this polish, run, do not walk, to the nearest nail polish store and get it! It's the pink version of OPI Hollywood Blonde... well, I guess Hollywood Blonde came out later so maybe Hollywood Blonde is the gold version of Princesses Rule!. Also looks hot over black. One of the things OPI does very well are these sheer crystal polishes. I always look forward to them. Some other examples besides Hollywood Blonde and Princesses Rule! are Up Front And Personal, Pink Before You Leap, Pink Ulta-Matum and That's All Bright With Me (just to name a few.)




Who Needs A Prince? A soft white jelly with red pearl. The red pearl in this shade gives the illusion that the polish is pink. At a distance it looks like shimmery pink, but up close you can clearly distinguish the white and red. So cool.





Your Royal Shyness. Very delicate light pink with a pearl finish. This is a very pale pink. This is the only one in the collection I'm not completely crazy about. It's pretty, yes, but it's so delicate! Delicate colors just aren't my thing. I love the pearl finish- it's not frosty and it's not shimmery, it just looks like a real pearl. It's hard to find polishes that are truly pearl and not frost. This one looks smooth and shiny, even without topcoat.


These polishes used to come with a really fabulous crystal flower toe ring with an invisible band. I think I have one or two of them, but most of the time people just stole the toe rings of of the bottles so I couldn't collect them all. Boo, thieving bastards. You suck.

The formula on this collection is excellent. I am pretty sure it's old-formula OPI, but I don't remember old-formula polishes having the Pro-Wide brush. The label on the bottom is black, so I can only assume it is. They all apply smoothly with no notable issues and they all dry very quickly and to a shiny finish, even without topcoat.

I really do not like sheers, pinks, soft colors, neutrals, what have you- but this collection is too good to resist. They all have character! They're interesting! They all remind me of fairy colors or something. Fairy-tale, for sure. And the names... how could you not like the names? Okay, I'm not into princess stuff at all, but Who Needs A Prince? Genius!

I'm almost positive that this collection is still available, and I've even seen it with green-label new formula bottles, so some of the shades might even be Classics now. If you're in the market for ladylike colors with character, you might really like these. I do.

*watches a pig fly past the window*

Essie Bridal Collection 2008

I've been meaning to swatch this collection for MONTHS, but my nails are always so stained that I haven't been able to until now. For some reason my nails are really nice and white and pretty right now... I haven't done anything different! Maybe it's from all the swatching I've done this week. Who knows. I'm not complaining.

Anyway, just in case you like these polishes and don't want to read my less-than-glowing opinion of them, I'll post the pictures first and my review second :)



Blushing Bride. A sheer milky cream with a bit of a pink tint.


Cloud Nine. A sheer bright white jelly.



Happily Ever After. A sheer milky shade.



No Pre-Nup. A sheer pink jelly.


Tie The Knot. An off-white cream with a hint of beige.


True Love. A sheer peachy-pink jelly.


Now for my review.


Honestly, I HATE this collection. Sorry sheer-lovers. I just can't do it!

First of all, I never wear these types of colors so they are way outside of my comfort zone. They're not my style, not my personality, and really, really uninteresting to me. I'll go so far as to say that these polishes depress me. When I look down at my hands while wearing these, it's like seeing someone else's hands attached to my body. Freaky.

Second, what you're looking at is SIX COATS OF POLISH. No, I'm totally serious, six freaking coats of polish are on my nails here and they're not even close to being opaque. I do not like to see my nails through my polish. If I were to do only two or three coats of these polishes, it would pretty much look like I'm wearing nothing on my nails. I just don't see the point. With foundation it's one thing- wearing makeup to look like you're not wearing makeup. But my nails? This look is not for me, that's for sure.

Third, if your nails are even the least bit yellow or stained, these polishes will look like total crap. There is no hiding stains with these polishes. Any little bit of damage (like those white lines from where I slammed my finger in a cabinet) or discoloration will be glaringly obvious. These polishes require naturally flawless nails to wear, otherwise it just enhances and draws attention to any flaws that are present.

The colors are boring, plain, demure, uninteresting, natural and just all around too feminine for me. This means that a lot of women probably love these to death, and more power to them. If you like these colors, awesome for you. Thousands of them exist in the world and you can easily find something to suit your tastes. For me, they are the essence of frustration. When I go to the store looking for a cool new polish in a fun color, all I can find are hundreds of sheer pinks!! Sheer pinks are the bane of my existence, if you haven't noticed. Hah!

Okay, okay. I know I'm being harsh. But hey, this is my blog!

I guess there's one color I like from this collection. Cloud Nine.

Cloud Nine is really pretty. It's a bright white jelly that brightens your nails and makes them look very clean. I think it would be a good base for other colors and I'm sure it would make a really natural looking french manicure. If it wasn't so sheer, I might actually wear it. It's soft enough to not look retro, super bright but not stark and chalky looking! It is a really nice white jelly.

Why do all 'bridal' collections have to be so plain? Not every bride on earth wants plain nails on her wedding day. I sure didn't- I wore glitter! Holo glitter! OPI Paris Couture For Sure and Orly Love Each Other, to be exact. I wish someone would release a funky bridal collection for people like me. Seriously, not every bride wants to look identical and not every bride wants the stereotypical chunky fake pink-and-whites that plague the pages of bridal magazines and posters inside salons.

I can see that there are plenty of situations that call for these types of polishes. Job interviews, perhaps. Very conservative offices, sure. Jobs where you're not allowed to wear polish but want to do it anyway without drawing attention to it, totally.

Not all collections of sheer pinks are boring and plain. In fact, there is a collection of sheer pinks and whites that I absolutely love and would totally wear (and have actually worn)! I'll post about that later this week. Light feminine colors can have character and still be pretty (and not need six coats to wear).

*sigh*

Quick post: Nicole by OPI Spring Shades

I'm still sick, but I ventured out of bed to do a little fishing on the Selbina boat... Unfortunately the Sea Horror had other ideas, so I figured I'd pop in with a little post while I'm waiting for it to leave.


I've had these swatched for a while now and have really just forgotten to post them, but better late than never I suppose.

These are new shades from Nicole by OPI. I don't know much about them other than that! I'm not really sure if Nicole does traditional 'collections' like OPI, but they usually have new colors a few times a year.




Do Good... Feel Good. A soft, delicate petal pink. Semi-sheer, an almost jelly-like texture.



Dream Maker. An opalescent pink with crystalline shimmer. Not quite iridescent, but flashes hints of white, silver and gold.



Find Your Passion. A hot pink jelly.



Imagine If... A sheer silver holographic polish. Almost too dense to be a topcoat, but sheer enough that it needs at least three coats for opacity. This is four coats.


It's Possible. Pretty, shiny bronzy metallic chrome. Dries without brushstrokes.




No Limits. Very dark, inky blue-purple creme. Not obviously blue unless you're in bright light.


Light A Candle. A silvery chrome with a purple tint. Almost gunmetal.





Play Fair. A soft lilac shimmer. It's not as warm as the first picture suggests- it's closest to the second picture.


Positive Energy. Bright, gleaming silver chrome.




Reach Out. A candy-like medium pink jelly. Almost seems to appear coral colored in certain lights.


You're A Star. A sparkly and surprisingly opaque shimmering white. This is only two coats! It's extremely sparkly and it has hints of silver and blue.

Also worth noting: The chromes in this 'collection' work extremely well with Konad! Here's a demonstration:


No Limits topped with Imagine If... and Positive Energy stamp.


The chromes make such a crisp, clear Konad design, it's like they were made for each other.

The formula on all of these was excellent. I have no complaints. The only potential issue is the sheerness of a couple shades- Imagine If... and Do Good... Feel Good were definite three coaters, but this isn't really too much of an issue because these Nicole shades dry very quickly even without a quick dry topcoat. They are also very shiny and durable without topcoat. I kept my Valentine's Day Nicole manicure on for at least four days with no topcoat and there was no tipwear or chipping by the time I removed it.


Pretty, springy, versatile. A little bit of everything in this collection- sheers, pastel, vampy blue, holo, chrome, brights... Very cool. Now all we need is some green and some glitter and we'll have something for everyone!