Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Nubar Polished Chic Collection Fall 2011 Swatches and Review


So... Is it just me, or did Nubar not do an official summer collection? I know that The Painted Nail by Nubar had that awesome set of glass fleck glittery colors, but that's all I saw!

Well, whether or not there was a summer collection, there's definitely a fall collection. It's called Polished Chic and it's a set of really smooth, classic cremes with one blackened duochrome shimmer to stand out like a sore thumb.


Beguiling Carmine. An excellent fall red. It's warm and rich. Almost a brick red, not quite a blood red.

Poor Carmine.


Classic Camel. Not to be confused with this Classic Camel. Nubar's Classic Camel is more of a true camel- just like this pair of camel boots I bought several years ago and still haven't worn. This is a really great looking shade, a little bit sandy. I like it a lot.


Edgy Umber. I don't know if you can tell from my picture, but this looks really dusty. Dusty in a good way. I don't have a whole lot of colors like this. A neutral brown base, a touch of purple tone, a little bit of greyness. This one and Classic Camel are my favorites.



Elegant Indigo. One of these things is not like the others... Elegant Indigo is a black, or very blackened blue (hard to tell) base with a bunch of large particle blue-purple duochrome shimmer. The duochrome shift in the shimmer is prominent, but as a whole the polish doesn't seem to shift. It looks a little rough to me and not glossy even with topcoat on (I have topcoat on here).


Faded Putty. I know this looks like a pure white on my nails, but it's not. It's an off-white. It's not too dirty or yellowed looking but it is not a pure bright white. Faded Putty is a good name for it! It has a little bit of putty tone.



Mod Aqua. Really pretty dusty pale turquoise. Less vibrant than something like China Glaze For Audrey. Somewhere in between turquoise and robin's egg blue. Very soft look. Retro feeling.


Stylish Peacock. Medium teal creme. Don't know what else to say about it! How do you describe something so simple? It's a just a perfect teal creme.



Vogue Vert. This is an interesting one. I know it looks like I have mega lobster hands here, but that's just the lighting. Horrible lighting lately. But... when I see this on my nails in normal natural light, it doesn't give me lobster hands. A pastel mint that doesn't make my hands super red! That's a rare thing. Plus, it has a nice faded look to it that makes it really dreamy looking.


The formula on these was top notch. Gorgeous. They all applied like a dream and gave me no trouble whatsoever. All were opaque in two coats and I did two coats of all. Brushes were good, bottles were without defect. Dry time was good and all but Elegant Indigo dry glossy without topcoat (but you should use topcoat anyway). Zero complaints in the formula department. Nubar's creme formula is amazing.

The thing that I like about this collection is that while the color selection isn't anything new or exciting, the colors themselves are perfect. They're they types of creme shades that set an example for what other cremes should be. They're also extremely creamy looking... Milky... Soft. Don't know what else to say about them besides that they're fantastic to apply and flattering to wear. Not terribly exciting color-wise, but each color is exactly how it should be.

Though, I actually don't care for Elegant Indigo. Shocking! It isn't sparkly or duochrome enough for me, it falls flat on my nails. Amazing in the bottle, though.

These are available now on ByNubar.com.

(These were sent to me for review.)

32 comments:

  1. I agree, poor Carmine... also these colors look almost squishy, so perfect! <3

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  2. Stylish Peacock is awesome! It's the only one that caught my eye really. Thanks for the swatches! :)

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  3. Stylish Peacock, Mod Aqua and Classic Camel are beautiful! I wonder if Mod Aqua gives lobster hands on pale fingers.
    Edgy Umber is beautiful, too. Reminds me of OPI You Don't Know Jacque.

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  4. I absolutely adore Nubar nail polish - their formulas are usually perfect!

    Surprisingly I loved all the pale colours in this collection even though I tend to wear bold, bright, or vampy hues.

    I may just have to get Classic Camel. Nudes make me self-conscious (haha, because I'm used to loud nail colours), but this might be the one that'll ease me into nudes easily.

    Great swatches again, Scrangie! Your nails are gorgeous as always! :)

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  5. Could you do a comparison swatch of of Edgy Umber with something like YDKJ, Metro Chic, or even Smoking Hot, just to give it a frame of reference? It is a pretty color, but it was surprising that you said you don't have a lot of colors like it because I feel like I have about a dozen colors like it, and I'm sure your stash puts mine to shame. I guess it must be more unique than it looks at first glance.

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  6. Thanks guys :D

    Grace, Edgy Umber differs from those because it's so much darker. It's closer to Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche than any of those taupe/grey/stone shades. I know my picture doesn't capture it perfectly, but the combination of dark + dusty is really interesting.

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  7. Nubar is hands-down (hur hur) my favorite polish brand. I've got ~20 of their shades and have NEVER been disappointed with formula, application, pigmentation, wear time, anything.

    But. I'm reeeeaally disappointed in these. Yeah, a couple of them are colors I like, but they're colors that other brands have been doing frequently over the last *two years* (dusty teal, dusty aqua) so I've already got dupes or very very similar. And the pastels look too washed out (and not very autumnal? not that that's a huge issue), I don't wear reds, and there's *one* measly unimpressive shimmer. I KNOW Nubar is capable of doing great finishes and sparkles -- 2010, Reclaim, Absolute, Meadow Sparkle, Indigo Illusion -- I was hoping for something equally unique and fantastic in this collection. Guess I'll have to wait until spring...I likely won't be buying any of these.

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  8. Collier, totally see what you're saying. I feel the same way about the color selection. It's not interesting, it's not innovative, hell, it's not even *new*, but I'm having such a hard time disliking the collection because each of the colors are just so good. They're really well done. The formula is great, the finishes are great (except Indigo) and the shades are just exactly right on me. Boring, yes. But so creamy...

    Really hope they do something exciting for Holiday, though.

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  9. Lolforever@Poor Carmine, especially since today is Gears 3 day! You need a high five for that! ;)

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  10. Amber, haha :D I couldn't NOT post it!

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  11. FOR REAL. If they don't do something mind-blowing soon, I'm going to have to start buying additional bottles of colors I've already got, just to get my Shopping For Nubar fix. Come on, Nubar. A collection of flakies! Foils! Anything! What've their last few collections been? Pastels, neutrals, and reds. Zzzzzz.

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  12. Collier, I'm still hoping that one day they'll do an amazing rainbow collection or something. One of each color of the rainbow with some sort of sparkly awesome finish... Like 230-style tiny duochrome shimmer with different base colors, or maybe ultrafine glitter in different shades of the same color, sorta like those Milani One Coat glitters... ugh... one can only dream...

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  13. Elegant Indigo looks NOTHING like I hoped it'd be judging by the ad. The whole collection lacks personality to me. Nubar is able to make such incredible and unique colors. So why do they stick to what everybody else is doing (did we need one more aqua and one more mint)?

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  14. Oh man those swatches are all so pretty! To me you always have some of the best swatches! I always come back here to read and view your pics! ^_^

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  15. Yes! And they're clearly adept in working with all kinds of finishes - I'd really love to see them innovating more. Multisized glitters! Contrasting specks like in the new Misa greys! I've started custom-mixing, maybe I'll do some all-Nubar blends and pretend they're a new collection...

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  16. Oh great, they are available now! Thanks for the swatches! I think I need Classic Camel! It looks elegant and super pretty! I love the way you describe and review this collection. I think you're quite right!

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  17. Great swatches and collection! :)

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  18. Your swatches are divine, thank you for these! I'm a huge creme lover and Nubar really does make some of the best ones out there. I need Faded Putty and Edgy Umber.

    And yes ... poor Carmine, LOL.

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  19. Beguiling Carmine looks amazing!!

    btw, long time reader, first time commenting :) Just wanted to say that your swatches & reviews have always helped me immensely! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  20. Ohhh I love love love the last three! They are gorgeous! I think Mod Aqua is going to be my first Nubar purcahse ever. Thanks for the amazing swatches!

    xoxox

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  21. Vogue Vert is gorgeous! These all look so fantastic looking.

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  22. Todos maravilhosos !!!!!!!!!! Beijos.

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  23. I really like Classic Camel and Vouge Vert! Thanks for the swatches!

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  24. Oh, the last 4 there are gorgeous! Especially the last 3! Yum!

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  25. Thanks for showing up the entire collection. I find it's cheaper for me to buy a whole collection in Nubar anything vs. individual bottles - but I really don't 'need' every one of these shade. Have to give it some good thinking to see what I should do. There are a few shades I really do want in this grouping.

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  26. how close is edgy umber to opi's i brake for manicures? Stylish peacock looks stunning but also like something i have already seen before...nubar is disappointing me this year :(

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  27. I need Vogue Vert! Never enough of those minty shades, damn! :>

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  28. How does Faded Putty compared to White Peony from the Spring Garden range? Judging from your swatches Faded Putty looks..more stark.
    Vogue Vert and Mod Aqua are so pretty D:

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  29. +50 for Gears of War reference. <3 Gamer girls FTW!

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