Yahoo, it’s Friday and the weekend is almost here! Since it’s going to be a nice clear and sunny weekend for us here in the Bay Area, I thought I would show you the new Pastel Fever Spring 2009 collection from Nubar. This is my first trip down Nubar lane and I have mixed feelings about it. As you might know, chalky pastels are notoriously hard to pull off. They tend to be runny and streaky and these were no exception to that “rule”. I had great luck with some of the colors and not such great luck with others. I will not be judging Nubar’s formula by this collection alone though, since I think that I would run into the same issues with any brand that put out pastels. All pics taken in sun with no top coat. I put them in order from my least to most favorite. Enjoy!
Pastel Fever CollectionIsn’t the package it comes in so cute? I had to take a pic to show you how snuggly they look inside their plastic beds.
Baby PinkBaby Pink was my least favorite because it’s simply not enough pigmentation for me. I did run into a lot of streakiness with this one (as I did with all the pinks) but it finally pretty much settled out after 3 coats. This is a super light pink.
Oh Baby PinkOh Baby Pink had the same issue with streakiness, but evened out again after 3 coats. It’s a light/medium pink.
Pink CremePink Creme is the “Pepto Bismol” pink of the bunch. It too had streakiness and was 3 coats. I liked this the best of the pinks, but still not a color I see myself wearing a lot.
Baby BlueBaby Blue is a really nice, um, baby blue! What I like about these pastels is that they all look exactly on your nail as they do in the bottle, so there is no guessing what it might turn out like. This one too was streaky, but not as bad as the pinks. This is 3 coats.
LavenderI don’t get why some of these names are really cute and some are so plain, bit whatever! This is exactly what it’s called, Lavender. It was really pretty and not super streaky. This was only 2 coats (Hallelujah!).
Lemon SorbetLemon Sorbet caused me LOTS of problems with MAJOR streakiness and cuticle drag, but I managed to somewhat work it out. I love, love, love this color yellow on my skin, so this turned out to be one of my favs. This is actually 4 coats here because I didn’t really try to get it even. I think 3 coats would probably be the norm, if I wasn’t just slappin’ it on.
Orange CremeYay, an orange that looks good on me! Orange Creme is super fabulous and not that streaky. I only needed 2 coats for this one. So hard to find a good orange for me, so I think this is one of my favs now.
Green TeaGreen Tea, of course, is my favorite of the bunch. This one was almost not even a pastel, really. When I think of pastel green I think of “mint green” and I am SO glad this one wasn’t! It’s a super awesome Kermit the Frog green creme and nary a streak in sight. This only needed two coats, yay!
Overall I give this collection a 7 out of 10 stars because there were some that were very difficult to get even. I think the key with these pastel colors is to have a really good base coat and a lot of time and patience. Getting the coats on evenly is super important as well. This collection can be found here and costs $6.99 per bottle, or $45.00 for the whole collection.
Vamp it up!
I really like some of the colors, especially green tea and lemon sorbet, but I just don’t know if I have the patience to deal with the bad formula. I guess that explains why I have so few pastels
thanks for another great post!
Hi Marianna,
I know what you mean. I think of all the polishes I won, this collection was the hardest to get to look good. There is just something about pastel colors that lends itself to major issues, but some of the colors, in the end, I felt were worth it.
Hi Kelly!
Love those Nubar polishes. I already have green tea and orange creme. I haven’t worn them yet. I hope they aren’t streaky on me. I hate the cuticle drag the most. It’s so hard to fix. Love your blog!
Hi Lucy,
Thanks! Actually the orange and green were the least streaky of them all, so you lucked out with your choices!
does Baby Blue compare to Hard Candy’s Sky?
Hi The Asian Girl,
Honestly, I don’t know, I have never used any of Hard Candy’s polishes.
I’ve seen these colours popping up everywhere. This collection is a hit, and I crave it too–the collection is absolutely gorgeous, especially on you! I really did think that baby pink looked gorgeous on you. I can’t wait to save up my money to buy this collection.
Hi DB,
Thanks! I really liked the orange, yellow and green best though the yellow caused me lots of problems!
These totes make me think of easter eggs! OHH! Brainflash! You could do these for Easter and konad/nail art pen on stripes or spots or zigzags!
Ooh loving the baby blue and the lavender. Will have to eventually get my hands on some Nubars – rather rare here in OZ…
I have other nubar’s and the formula is pretty good. I have mostly the neon and glitters. They have some gorgeous multi-chromes. My favorite is purple beach(purple/green/silver) I have green tea from this collection but now i want the lavender and lemon sorbet. I like the yellow enough I think I would live with the application issues. Thanks for the great swatches.
This collection was so… hit and miss for me!! I lovee the ones that you liked too (orange, green and yellow) and totally hated the pinks… ew. What’s with the unoriginal names on some of them? I do like the colors but gah I love a good nail polish name and these weren’t cutting it in the name department! Love the post though!!
Hi Mariah,
The Easter idea is a good one, but I don’t have any Konad or nail art stiuff and I am afraid you would NOT want to see how badly I am with those type of things, LOL!
Hi Nixxy,
They should make all polish brands universal, so not fair that you can’t get certain things because of where you live (oh and I would KILL to visit there someday!)
Hi Heather,
Thanks for the tips, I definitely want those holos! I agree with you, Lemon Sorbet is just so awesome that I don’t care how long it takes me to apply it!
Hi Kristen,
Totally agreed. The pinks were just blah and applied horrifically. I would love to sit around and name nail polishes all day wouldn’t you?
Niiiice. Baby blue looks like carolyn ny blue skies over the city, but perhaps a touch darker? Do you think I need both? Lavender looks pretty hot too but I rather malia from zoya’s spring collection. I need lemondae! Orange speed looks like the new misa I just ordered. Green tea is stunning, but I’m waiting for a more minty green since I already have OPI greenwich village and I’m not too crazy about it. Awesome swatches as usual!
Hello dream job!
Hi Sharon,
Ok so Blue Skies Over The City is a little different. It’s not pastel (goes on more sheer) and not quite as obviously “baby blue”. I totally agree with you on Malia, it’s the best lavender, though it is a lot darker than this one. I too LOVE Lemon Sorbet though it was a pain in the arse! Thanks!
Hello. I just wanted to say that this post is WONDERFUL. Not just informational, but the pics are great as well. Keep up the great work!