Nubar - Black Polka Dot

Although I own quite a number of them, I am not a big big fan of glitters in general. I don't hate them in the least but they're a bit to me what frost are to most. I fear the gritty texture like some fear brush strokes. To each their taste and preference. All this of course mean I don't buy many of them and when I do, it means it's really something. I didn't think twice when I bought "Black Polka Dot", anything black will tickle my interest. "Black Polka Dot" is a top coat made of hexagonal big black glitter and tiny round ones suspended in a milky dark grey base. It's pretty unusual and cool which is why I guess it intrigued me so much. The grey base is very sheer and doesn't show up on nails. Here I'm wearing 3 coats of "Black Polka Dots" over Essie "Mademoiselle". I could say that "Mademoiselle" seen under fluorescent light is slightly grey toned now but it might also be my imagination tricking me. 

I'm not the best at applying glitter top coats and of course the glitters didn't conduct like I wish they had. But the polish will leave you enough time to place the glitters like you want - I could spread the brush 2 or 3 times on every nail to rectify the placement. Despite this, the 3 coats I applied were very fast to dry. The glitter are thin and not bumpy which is something I really like about it. You can barely feel them on nails. The removal, like all glitters was difficult - no surprise about that. I see "Black Polka Dot" working over many colors and this polish is inspiring me a lot. Some might say it's not so well named as it doesn't look like real polka dots (which is true) but I take things as they come (life has learned me to do so) and love it for what it looks. It's so bizzarely festive and sober at the same time. You know? Like black confetti thrown all over the place at very sad funerals.

Zulu vs Other Dark Green Polishes

Hi everyone! It's still challenging for me to post but I could manage to show you a quick comparison of some dark green polishes, including the newly released Nars "Zulu". I never bought dark green such as OPI "Here Today Aragon Tomorrow", Zoya "Envy" or Orly "Enchanted Forest", so please excuse my being unable to feature them on this post. NarsZulu, Nfu-Oh 569, Yves RocherVert Noir, LeChat Dare to Wear Enchanted Forest, Kinetics Velvet Green. Then, on every wheel: NarsZulu, Nfu-Oh 569, Yves RocherVert Noir, LeChat Dare to Wear Enchanted Forest, Kinetics Velvet Green. Zulu and 569 are told to be decent dupes. It's true. However they aren't exact twins: 569's base is more on the yellow/bright side (but it's nothing that is truly noticeable at 3 coats) and for the same number of coats, it also appears slightly lighter. In short, Zulu is darker and more profound. That being said, on nails 569 makes a beautiful alternative and I swear your neighbour who is not into nail polish at all wouldn't see any difference between the two. 

If you already have the cult dark green Nars polish, I don't think you need 569 but if you already have Nfu-Oh's supposed dupe and are found of dark green, you might find it hard to resist to the Zulu call. Yves RocherVert Noir has the same darkness as Zulu except that the base is not forest but jewel/blue tone. It's as if Zulu had turned peacock toned. Vert Noir is an equally favorite of mine with Zulu. Absolute gorgeousness. Too bad it was LE and get only released on those ridiculously tiny bottles (same size as mini OPI) with that very hard to handle brush. LeChat Dare to Wear Enchanted Forest is the most yellow based of them all. The base is clearly brighter too and also lighter. The last, Kinetics Velvet Green is a very dark dusty green with a slight shimmer. It doesn't have the deep and intense quality of a jelly. Light doesn't pierce through it. Here is, hope this helped!

Nars - Zulu

There is no need, I think, to even introduce Nars "Zulu". Or should I? I know few about the original. I'm not even sure it was released in Europe. All I know is that it is with a couple of other polishes, one of the most sougth after polish ever, some kind of unicorn that few of us ever expected to get their hands on. Then Nars announced they would re-release it and it's finally there again. For real. As a green lover, as a jelly lover, as a vampy lover, I've always wanted the more than elusive Zulu but I was never interested in even trying to go on a hunt for this one. I'm not rolling on gold like many of us and I must confess that what I paid for one bottle of this one full price is definitely my limit when it comes to nail polish prices. After I tested "Purple Rain" though (it never dried on me and I found the color unimpressive), I was a bit reluctant at the idea to buy this one, afraid to repeat an error (I gifted "Purple Rain") but I did it anyway. And you know what? I have no regrets. "Zulu" didn't steal the craze that is surrounding it. It's as gorgeous as a dark and juicy vampy green jelly can be. 

Not too blue. Not too yellow. Just perfectly balanced and the perfect idea you'd have of a jelly dark green. Seriously, it reminds me of blood. Green blood, sapor, wild nature creatures. It is as beautiful indoors as it is in sunlight but I prefer it when the sun goes through this vegetal jelly and reveal its revigorating nature. I always say that I find green revigorating and I even more do when I see this one. Plus it's classy. Like a red jelly. Only turned green. Formula speaking, it applied without a problem, smoothly, easily and I found it really easy to work with (jellies can be sticky sometimes but this one isn't). I did 2 coats and it's perfectly glossy (no top coat and I see myself in my nails like in a mirror). It dries well, which led me to think that "Purple Rain" was really an incident and should not question Nars formula in itself. Long story short: It's a must have. I'm in love. One last thought about "Zulu": when a brand re-release a strongly sought after item, it kills speculation. I have just one thing to say. Respect Nars.