Test #6 Preview – OPI Natural Base Coat and Top Coat

And so the final matched combo has come around before I starting mixing and I’m hoping I’ve saved the best until last with OPI’s products.  I’ve also been saving Ski Teal We Drop for this test so I could have the OPI triple combo.  I’m thrilled to finally be getting to try Ski Teal We Drop, I’ve been in love with it since I received it back at the beginning of May.

Ski Teal We Drop was easier to apply than Suzi Say Feng Shui as it wasn’t so streaky and only required two coats, however I still struggled with the pro wide brush that comes with OPI nail polishes.  I’m hoping I will get used to it as there are a lot of OPI colours on my wish list.  The colour looks even better on than it did in the bottle and really suits my pale skin tone which was nice for a change.

Test #5 Result – Nubar Foundation and Diamont

Nubar Foundation and Diamont

Nubar Foundation

Nubar Foundation was picked purely because it partnered with Diamont and came in a convenient twin pack.  Ive never used any Nubar products before as they’re not available here in Australia.  Foundation had a slightly thicker consistency again but applied very smoothly and self levels in no time.  It dries to a smooth, glossy finish with no trace of the pink tint that can be seen in the bottle.  Much like China Glaze Base Adhesion, the smooth and glossy finish makes me a little apprehensive that the product will peel off.  It wasn’t as fast drying as some base coats, however it was just about ready for colour by the time I had finished both hands.

My initial impression of the bottle was a little cheap, the bottle lid is a textured plastic, which combines with the white colour to just make it look a little dirty and boring to me.  This is my first nail products that have the “ballgown” bottle shape that is increasingly popular, especially in asian brands (Nfu Oh, Scandal) and I was pleased to have my mind changed about the bottle when I actually used the product.  The handle sits very comfortably in the hand and because it tapers towards the bottom before flaring out again, it creates a nice place to rest your fingers tips, whilst giving good control of the brush.  The brush itself holds a lot of product, I didn’t have to refill until I got to my fifth nail, but it doesn’t apply too quickly creating pools and thick layers.  The brush is quite wide and fans out even wider to give a nice arc along the cuticles and good control.  Overall, despite my intial dislike of the bottle, its well designed and probably the easiest product to apply so far.

Nubar Diamont

Diamont was also slightly thicker, creating an instant glossy effect over the already glossy Chian Rouge.  It has the same bottle as Foundation, however I did need to refill my brush every two to three nails, but this may have been because I like a thick top coat.  Im not sure if this is just my bottle, but Diamont is actually a little cloudy up close and although this doesn’t seem to show on the nail, it would concern me if applied over darker colours where cloudiness would show more prominently.  I will make a note to test Diamont in this way in a later test.  I did notice that the brush picked up a little colour from my nails which were slightly tacky when I applied the top coat. I don’t usually have to wait for my colour to be 100% dry before I apply my top coat so this made the process longer.  Despite not saying it on the bottle, Nubar advertise Diamont as a quick drying top coat that “thoroughly dries all layers of nail polish quickly”.  Maybe this refers to the old formula because I found that over three thin coats that were slightly tacky, my nails weren’t even close to touch dry about 5 minutes later.  Thankfully Diamont also is self levelling and fixed up the finger print in my polish before I applied OPI Drip Dry.  After that, the nails were good to go in about 5 minutes.

Test #5 Preview – Nubar Foundation and Diamont

I picked out Nubar next as I want to use all OPI products together but China Glaze China Rouge was calling to me so OPI will just have to wait until next time.  I’m intrigued by Diamont, I know it used to be a go to for a lot of bloggers until the formula was changed in 2010.  I have to presume that I’ve got a bottle with the new formula as we’re now in May 2011 so I’m interested to see if it’s really not that great anymore or if the blogosphere have just been put off because it not what it used to be.

Nubar Foundation and Diamont

As I broke my thumb nail trying to open the box for my new cafetière the other day, I had to cut that one back so I decided some TLC was in order and filed the rest back a bit too.  I wasn’t really prepared to go all the way back to short and stumpy so my poor left thumb will just be absent from photos going forward for a while.

As I mentioned, I decided to give China Glaze China Rouge a run for this test.  I usually get my boyfriend to pick the colour I wear as I’m too indecisive at the moment.  I present him with two finalists and he picks one, China Rouge beat out OPI Mod About You this week.  China Rouge was part of the X Collection back in 2007, and was one of two “signature reds” that appeared in the collection.  It was mostly overlooked or underrated as just another medium red creme from what I could see when trying to research it.  I’m not a big red fan, I only have 4 in my collection so this seemed like a good addition.  The colour sits well with my skin tone and looks elegant and classy next to my preferred pinks/purples/blues.