As we’ve already discussed extensively, I am enjoying a “blue period” when it comes to my nails. So I decided to start in the middle of the set, with Boyfriend Jeans. It’s a muted, Jasper-Johns-Flag, Colorado-sky, Israeli-coat-of-arms, faded-paint-on-a-fence blue creme. What do you think?

I’ve heard a rumor that Chanel will be rereleasing Coco Blue, Blue Boy, and Blue Rebel this summer (giving me another chance to compare them to my Nubar shades).

Nubar’s polishes are available on their website.

And then — one of these things is not like the others — there’s Elegant Indigo. Elegant Indigo looks like a blue-purple duochrome in the bottle, but I didn’t really see the color shift in my swatch. It’s a super-dark black or blue-black base with little deep blue shimmers (and a few purple shimmers). I love it and I couldn’t think of another polish quite like it.

Nubar polishes are available on their website. They are $7.49 each, or you can buy the set of eight for $49.95. Their polishes are cruelty-free, vegan, and big-three-free.

These polishes were provided for swatching purposes.

In Nubar’s words: Faded Jeans is a light blue shimmer. Boyfriend Jeans is a medium blue creme. Dark Wash Jeans is a dark blue creme. From the promo pic, they certainly look familiar, don’t they?

The set of three will retail for $19.99 on bynubar.com, and they should be available any day now. I can’t wait to see how these compare to their Chanel counterparts.

“Flakies” are polishes with large, irregularly shaped glitter, like bits of foil. (Also see: MAC Superglass)

It’s not easy to find a good flakie. I have one from NYX, but it’s almost impossible to get the glitter out of the bottle and onto your nail in any kind of satisfying density. Nfu-Oh has a reputation for amazing flakies, but the brand is not easy to come by in the U.S.

Fortunately, Soaper1 was willing to try both the Nubar version and the Sally Hansen version and compare them. Her verdict? Read on:

This past spring, Sally Hansen released a limited edition polish collection, including hotly sought-after “flakie,” Hidden Treasure. It’s a jelly base with irregular pieces of iridescent glitter — intended to be layered over other polishes.  But Sally Hansen collections can be difficult to find; there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the distribution. A lot of people checked a lot of drugstores for the aptly named Hidden Treasure. It can still be found, but there are a few other more readily available alternatives.

A great one is Nubar 2010, released for their 10th anniversary. As you can see from the bottle pictures, they are very similar. The base for 2010 seems to be a little more clear than the slightly milky Hidden Treasure. On the nail, they are indistinguishable. If you have one, you don’t need the other. (And they’re essentially the same price; Nubar is $7.49, Sally Hansen varies slightly by retailer.)

Sally Hansen polishes are available at stores including Walgreen’s, Target, and Walmart. Nubar polishes are available through their website (bynubar.com), and they do have an international retailer locator, too.

Both 2010 and Hidden Treasure flash gold, green, pink, and orange. As you can see, they produce a more subtle effect over lighter colored polishes and a much more dramatic effect over dark colors.

I first swatched them over Zoya Kylie2. I did three coats of color topped with one coat each of 2010 and Hidden Treasure.

Then I did a manicure with OPI Russian Navy. This is two coats of Russian Navy topped with one coat each of 2010 and Hidden Treasure.

I’ve only tried Nubar’s version, but I think it’s really excellent. The “jelly” base, as Soaper1 says, makes all the difference between getting the foil on your nails and having it stay in the bottle.

Here are her thoughts on the shade:

Night Sparkle is rich, deep, cobalt blue… with bright blue glitter. This is amazing. It’s sparkling like crazy. It’s like Ruby Pumps / Emerald Sparkle turned Blue. BRIGHT BLUE!! *fascinated like a magpie*

One thing though, is that this requires three coats of topcoat to properly show off the sparkle. Without topcoat, it dries semi-matte, and feels a little gritty from the glitter. Urgh.

I do worry this will chip and/or be difficult to remove, but heck, this color is too awesome to be ignored. I think some lightning bolts will look damn chio on this.

Editor’s Note: According to Urban Dictionary, chio is Singaporean/Malaysian slang for really good looking, attractive girl.

Also, I found Meadow Sparkles not that difficult to remove for a glitter polish.

As with all Nubar polishes, application is a dream. And the color! It’s purple, with bronze microglitter and a small amount of iridescence.  It’s utterly fascinating, and I want to see it on everyone’s hands (because I think it’s going to look slightly different on each skintone).

All Nubar polishes are formaldehyde free, toluene free, and DBP free. An individual polish like Iced Licorice is $7.49, and can be purchased at www.bynubar.com.

I bought Iced Licorice during Nubar’s last sale. Follow them on Twitter (@bynubar) to stay in the loop.

Nubar also has a new collection out, called Risque Reds. I am a huge fan of Nubar’s polishes, but this collection struck me as odd. If you’re a lover of reds (as is my friend Carla at ProductGirl), you might end up amassing a collection like this over time — but would you buy all 8 together?  The shades are $7.49 each, or $49.95 for the collection (about a $10 savings).

Sensual Red is bright, hot rod red. Lustful Red is deeper, more cherry, like a red lacquered box. Sensual and Lustful are the only cremes in the collection; the others are shimmers.

Cabaret Red is like Christmas. Sultry Red is deeper, and a little more berry (perhaps it’s slightly bluer). Fiery Red is deeper still, a bordello red. Enchanting Red is like red velvet theater curtains. Torrid red is a vampy, gothy, more brown-burgundy shade. Seductive Red is magenta.  Nubar provided these polishes for swatching.

Thoughts? Favorites? Red lovers, are you swooning?

Marble Tower, Citadel, Barricade, Palisade, and Stronghold are cremes. Silver Sword and Dark Castle are shimmers. And Knight’s Armor is a completely awesome, dense black-and-silver glitter. (I am so enamored of Nubar’s glitters right now.)

You start noticing subtle variations, swatching grey polishes side by side. Certain shades are cooler (more blue), and the warmer shades look slightly green by comparison. I started wondering if bluer Marble Tower would look better on one skintone; Citadel on another. Likewise with bluer/cooler Palisade and warmer Barricade.

Tonal creme polishes inspire me to attempt an “ombre” manicure (a graduated color shift from one nail to the next; kind of like MAC’s “dip-dyed” blushes). Check out these stellar illustrations at All Lacquered up.

You can also get crafty like snaphappy. She made her own grey-on-grey manicure (which I love) using American Apparel Factory Grey and Rescue Beauty Lounge Concrete.


Nubar polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, and “big three” free (formaldehyde, phthalate (DBP), and toluene free).

The Fortress collection polishes are are $7.49 each, or you can buy the set of 8 for $49.95.  The only place I know of to buy Nubar is their website.

The only place I know of to buy Nubar is their website. Meadow Sparkles is $7.49.

The Glitter collection is a work of nail polish genius. Each of the eight shades contains dense, fine-grade glitter which will give you full coverage (a glitter wall!) in 2-3 coats. Glitter polishes sometimes look great in the bottle, then disappointing on the nail — not these. I’m ready to call it love.

Fire Sparkles (ruby slippers red) and Night Sparkles (Wonder Woman blue) are the only two that have glitter in a pigmented base. I actually like these less because the pigment covers some of the sparkle. The other six shades have glitter in a clear base, and the effect is marvelous. My photograph didn’t capture the holographic effect, Star Sparkles is actually a silver holo. It’s fantastic in real life.

The Nubar Glitters are $7.49 each, or you can buy the set of 8 for $49.95. All Nubar polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, and “big three” free (formaldehyde, phthalate (DBP), and toluene free). The only place I know of to buy Nubar is their website.

These polishes were provided by Nubar for swatching purposes.

Nubar Glitter Collection: Star Sparkles, Fire Sparkles, Night Sparkles, Sky Sparkles, Meadow Sparkles, Violet Sparkles, Hyacinth Sparkles, Petunia Sparkles