Perfect for any nail-girl is nuBAR’s Vineyard Collection. It’s not just that the product comes in a nice (gift!) kit full of eight great shades, from Corvina and Cabernet to Muscato, I adore that the polish went on cleanly. Dark is hard for DIY’er nail girls, and I appreciate anything about a product’s consistency and brush that helps the application. nuBAR is big on carcinogenic-free nail care products, so each polish in the nuBAR collection is free of formaldehyde, toluene, and phthalate. Don’t make me type that again.

The green girls’ nails have been nude for a while now, ever since we discovered that most polishes contain formaldehyde, toluene and/or (DBP) phthalate, three chemicals that are on California’s Prop 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity (http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html). Toulene has been linked to birth defects in lab animals, formaldehyde is a carcinogen and air pollutant and (DBT) phthalate is linked to hormone disruption. (Which is also why you should never microwave your plastics. But that’s another story.) But now that we’ve discovered Nubar’s non-toxic nail polishes and products, our tips are a veritable rainbow of fruit flavors. With no Big Three toxins in the recipe we don’t really know how they make polish that sticks (or why the other manufacturers still need to keep that stuff in the mix). But guess what? The one-two-three combination of Nubar Base, Polish and Top Coat lasts as long (or longer) than its scary spice cousin. And with over 200 colors to choose from, we could be safely polishing away for years without duplication.

P.S. Determined to detox but don’t know what to do with those old bottles of nail polish and remover? Don’t put them in the trash—find a Household Hazardous Waste disposal center where you can drop them off by typing your zip code into www.earth911.org

New summer nail polish alert! It’s that time of the year when, apart from getting a great tan, we just want to try out as many nail shades as possible.

Nubar is a range of nail polishes which is brand new in the UK. It has been available stateside for a while and has already attracted quite a gang of celebrity fans - and what’s good enough for the likes of Mischa, Lindsay and Hayden is good enough for us!

Celebrity manicurist to the stars Jenna Hipp created the range to keep her famous client list in the most fashionable and on-trend colours. The range includes an impressive selection of shades (180 to be precise) - L-Lo swears by their Hot Pink, Eva Longoria loves Hot Yellow and the elleuk.com team have been fighting over the Hot Red shade for the last week, which is by the way a favourite of Scarlett, Jessica Alba and Mischa Barton, so we are definitely in fashionable company!

Not only are the shades to-die-for, the nail varnish is non-toxic containing no Formaldehyde, Toluene or Phthalate (DBP) which are not just bad for you, but bad for the environment too, making them perfect for the more eco-concious among you.

Nubar nail lacquer, £8 is exclusive to Selfridges nationwide.

By Amy Lawrenson

Posted: 14 May 2008

Be a part of the 2008 international premier beauty event encompassing all beauty sectors.

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If the words “nontoxic nail lacquer” conjure up visions of bland, unfashionable colors, think again. Nail lacquers free of reportedly harmful ingredients are not only being produced by an increasing number of companies, but are on the cutting edge when it comes to the latest trends in nail color. So whether you favor a French manicure or the latest colors from the Paris catwalks, there’s a bottle of harmlessly stylish polish for you.

With people becoming increasingly concerned about the purity of what they put in and on their bodies, it’s no surprise that many are looking for healthier alternatives when it comes to their mani/pedi routines. If anything, it’s a surprise that it took this long. Some in the industry attribute the increased interest in safer cosmetics to the current wave of eco-consciousness. “The increase in ‘green’ started really taking effect last year, after 10 years of trying to educate the public,” says Nubar spokesperson Terry Akins. Nubar is a nail polish line created by founder Noubar Abrahamian when he discovered a family member had cancer. “Noubar realized that there were harmful ingredients in cosmetics, the worst offender being nail polish, and sought alternative answers,” explains Akins.

The three “bad guys” in the nail industry, the ingredients that are increasingly being omitted from nail polish formulas, are formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). A plasticizing agent often used in nail lacquer formulas, DBP has been banned for use in cosmetic products in the European Union. According to the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), DBP, toluene and formaldehyde have all been linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and toxicity of the immune and nervous systems. All three products are on the California Safe Cosmetics Act list of ingredients that must be disclosed due to their links to cancer and birth defects.

Thankfully, the industry has responded to the public’s growing concern about these substances, and many quality nail brands are free of all three. While some of these are smaller, boutique beauty brands (such as Nubar, Sparitual, and Rescue Beauty Lounge) even nail giant OPI, which has become the brand ubiquitous to nail salon shelves, removed DBP, toluene and formaldehyde from its products more than a year ago.

While all this talk of toxic ingredients and their potential effects is not a lot of fun, there’s a lot of merriment amidst the brands that eschew them. At Sparitual, products in their Spring 2008 DBP-Free Color Collection sport sassy names such as Plugged In, Aroused, Epiphany and Paradigm Shift. And the paradigm seems to be shifting industry wide. At OPI, their Spring/Summer ’08 India Collection features quirkily dubbed shades including MonSooner or Later, I’m India Mood for Love, and Keys to My Karma.

At Nubar, the color of the season is hot pink, and Geisha Blaze is their best seller. They also have color collections named after everything from wine to flowers. “Nubar allows you to have all the colors and the fun at the same time,” notes Akins. “You no longer have to choose between health and beauty when you are choosing a nail polish.”

nubar is proud to participate in the Beauty Can Cure Fundraiser. Beauty Can Cure is a fundraising event to support research at City of Hope in its effort to eliminate cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. The first-ever online auction for the Beauty Industry will run from May 14-May 28, To Participate visit: www.beautycancure.org

The Beauty Business is BIG BUSINESS at Bennett Career Institute
As BCI celebrates the 4th Annual Celebrity Make Up Symposium 2008
and the 3rd Annual BCI Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Washington, DC

On May 3rd, 4th & 5th, 2008, The Bennett Career Institute (BCI) will host the 4th Annual Celebrity Make Up Symposium with Celebrity Makeup Artist/Author SamFine and Celebrity Makeup Artist Billy B. This three day event taking place at Bennett Career Institute, 700 Monroe St. NE, Washington DC. The symposium opens on Saturday, May 3rd with a Special Award Presentation,  honoring the “2008 Beauty Business Entrepreneur of the Year”