ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Nina Ultra Pro Never Glum Plum
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
While I love to shop, I tend to avoid actually going to stores as much as possible. You see, those “impulse buy” items were put in the checkout lane for me. I get easily distracted by something shiny and new and snap it up without even thinking about whether I need it. For that reason alone, I prefer to shop online. I find I’m much more methodical in my purchases that way. Nina Ultra Pro Never Glum Plum is a casualty of one of my frenetic Sally Beauty shopping sprees, as are a lot of my untrieds. Even though I own Chanel Paradoxal and various clones I still felt the impulse to buy this polish after reading about it on my friend Steph’s blog. You know, just to see for myself. Oh the excuses I’ll make to justify my purchase. Long story short, the polish I just had to have that day has sat, untouched, for months and months… until now. |
Formula & Application: Nina Ultra Pro polishes are 4-Free (includes formaldehyde resin). The fat, round glass bottles are topped with smooth, plastic caps. The brush is round, thick and pretty average in length. I found the brush to be a little too thick for my liking. It really sucks up the polish so I found myself having to really wipe it off between nails to avoid pooling.
The formula itself is really lovely. They pack a lot of pigment into the polish without sacrificing texture. In two easy coats I achieved full coverage and a finish so glossy you would think I had applied top coat.
Never Glum Plum is one of those funky greyed plum cremes, along the lines of Chanel Paradoxal. Though it’s missing that unique and distinctive shimmer that makes Paradoxal so special, you can see why comparisons were drawn. Unfortunately, we’ve been dealing with overcast skies and huge rainstorms so doing any sort of real comparison was out of the question today.
Bottom Line: If you’re into these kind of funky grey/taupe/purple mixes, Never Glum Plum won’t let you down. It’s budget friendly and accessible with a kick ass formula. The brush could use improvement but if you can over look that, it’s a great buy.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: Since I already own multiple colors in this shade range and Paradoxal trumps them all, this one is a SHARE.
Nina Ultra Pro nail polishes are available at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. They retail for $4.29/ea for a .5oz bottle but are regularly on special and even cheaper with a Beauty Club Card.
Will Never Glum Plum make your next Sally’s shopping list? Do you already own this color? What do you think of it? What are some other Nina Ultra Pro shades worth owning?
Disclosure: I purchased this polish myself. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
As a Paradoxal non-owner, I love my Never Glum Plum. One of my goto’s of that color group.
Purple taupes are the new greiges! I really like this color, but I probably don’t need it because I have quite a few similar colors!
So out of curiousity, what happens to your share pile? Love this colour but you’re right. It’s not stunning like Paradoxal (which I have as well).
I JUST picked this one up after seeing swatches. It’s really a fun color.
Every time I go into Sally Beauty, I pick this colour up and then put it down, again. Now that I have seen these photos, I might just pull the trigger, next time.
I own one of the dupes – Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gray Area. LOVE this color. It looks fantastic with all my work clothes, which are usually tan/taupe/gray/black/navy. I know Essie Smokin Hot is also a dupe but apparently that’s getting HTF and pricey. I’ve never tried Nina, but I do know the SHXW formula applies and wears very well. Loving the 365 days of untrieds!
Hmmm, not so sure about this color, but I think I might try some other Nina Pro polishes when I go to Sally’s in the future.
i own this. i love it. the only one of its kind i need, yes indeed.
I own this shade and love it. I like the Nina Ultra Nail Pro line. There’s a color called Purplxing with is a purple glitter chuncky type color which is really nice.
Your blog and Steph’s blog are my 2 favorite nail blogs!
I love this colour! I do really like the paradoxal type colours, and I’m a really big fan of Nina polishes. They really are good quality, especially considering what you pay!
I really enjoy your 365 of untrieds
*covers face*
This one is in my untrieds too! And I also bought it because it was on sale at Sally’s. What’s wrong with me?
And some other nice Nina Ultra Pro shades…I like Unteal You, although Ulta has a dupe for it.
And of course, Purple-xing, which for me, will always be the grand daddy of all Nina Ultra Pros. Idk what kind of crack they were smoking when they came up with that color, but I kind of want some.
I have NGP & it’s definitely one of mt faves!
I got this one last fall as an impulse buy too and love it so much (i don’t have Paradoxal) It’s also very very very close to Essie’s Smokin Hot but IMO has a better formula and a better price. I love this polish and have told many of my friends about it
good choice.
I have that color and I like it well enough. It was relatively long wearing but I’d love to try the Chanel…
It reminds me of a lighter RBL Recherche.
As a Paradoxal owner, I never considered Never Glum Plum as a dupe. It’s actually a better dupe for Essie Smokin’ Hot. I love this color and I think it’s a great buy. Of course, I’m a sucker for colors like this…
BTW, I’m really enjoying your ’365 of Untrieds’ series. I look forward to your daily posts! It’s really inspiring for me to go through my own untried stash.
This shade has been really popular with my clients, and find that they will wear it any season. It is definitely in the right price range, Chanel is just too expensive.
I too find myself enticed by these fun “add-on” items near the register at Sally’s. I have more polish than I can ever possibly use, even has a nail tech. However, I still continue to buy because I have a weakness for new colors. I should consider using this technique in my own business and have fun extras hanging around my register. I wonder how much extra revenue I could build doing this. Anyone have fun add-on items that they sell in their salon?
funny how i nodded my head when you asked if we are into this kind of polish. yes, i do love colros like this!
too bad i rely on nail techs to get a decent nail polish application. 
Love Nina Ultra Pro In A Tiff. Hands down my favorite light blue, and it wears very well.