Nubar Nail Lacquer

Based in LA and named after founder Noubar Abrahamian, Nubar nail polish is “The Healthy Alternative for Beautiful Nails.”

I received a sampling of Nubar shades to test out and I’m very pleased with the quality of their formula.

Precarious Lavender and Unfaithful Red are part of the Liquid Metals collection and while I tend not to like metallic finishes because they show brush marks, I was pleasantly surprised when I put Unfaithful Red on my tips (see below). The brush stroke marks were extremely slight and probably something only I could see. The polish itself is a bit goopy and I did have to redo my first nail until I figured out the right amount of polish to have on my brush but after that, it applied beautifully.

Red Ruby Glitz is part of the Trendy 1 Nail Lacquers which includes the fabulous Grass Green Glitter. Unfortunately, this one fell short for me. It’s a red glaze with glitter and too sheer for my taste. I used 3 coats on the nail wheel below and it was still semi-sheer. It just doesn’t compare to my beloved China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Mali-Blue & Pasadena Purple are also part of the Trendy 1 Nail Lacquers collection and are both well pigmented shimmers. Mali-Blue is my favorite shade of the bunch. Being a blue lover it was pretty much a given that I’d be drawn to Mali-Blue and the bright royal hue will look fab this summer. Pasadena Purple is grapey purple that would make a great addition to most collections. I do have similar shades though so it’s not a must have for me.

Finally Indigo Illusion from the Trendy 2 Nail Lacquers collection is a truly unique shade that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but certainly got my attention. It’s a hard shade to describe. Blue, green, purple, it changes depending on the light. If you like that sort of duochrome thing, I suggest you see it for yourself.

Speaking with Nubar’s Terry Akins, an extremely knowledgeable manicurist, she suggested that using base and top coats that contain the Big 3 chemicals with a more natural product, like Nubar, will affect it’s wearability. So I did the Unfaithful Red mani below using Nubar’s Foundation Base Coat and Diamond Seal & Shine top coat.

The base coat dried quickly and gave me a nice even surface to apply the lacquer. The top coat dried very fast considering that it’s not a speed dry product, like Poshe or Seche Vite. I was able to function after about ten minutes. The only downside for me was the wear. My polish hardly ever chips and after a couple days, I not only had tip wear but a couple of chips on my tips. So even though I am impressed with the lacquer as a whole, based on one mani, their treatments aren’t winning me over. But, I will give them another shot and report back.