Making progress on my backlog! Yes! Three collections in one post! All are from the BB Couture Men's line, 2009 and 2010. Awesome!!
Regular Guys
Blue Collar. Sky blue/baby blue with silver metallic shimmer. Reminds me of nail polish from the 90s. Actually, a lot of things in this line remind me of the 90s- which is a plus in my book! This color is really cool looking, soft with an edge. If it takes all night to be just who I am... Well I'm gonna be a blue collar man...
Bullfighter. Deep bloody red jelly with shimmer. This one changes color depending on how many coats you do. It's lighter and brighter with one coat and deepens to this red/maroon color with three coats (I have three in this picture). Jelly shimmer is a really cool effect. Looks deep.
Coal Miner. In the year of 98, the mining trust became our fate... The weight of work now breaks the backs of the dirty black leg miners... I love when a polish reminds me of a song. Especially one of my favorites. Anyway. Coal Miner is a dusty blue charcoal type of color in the base with a speckled blue shimmer on top. Very unique and I'm quite fond of it.
Cowboy. This one also reminds me of a song, but it's a song I really really hate! Also reminds me of another song that I like more.. You see us comin' and you all together run for cover.. We're takin' over this town! Man, everything reminds me of a song. But about the polish. It's suede colored. A soft suedey taupey brown with secret shimmer.
Golf Pro. This one looks like it could be Kelly's Green's brother! A muted dusty jadey green with silver shimmer and black microglitter. You may need to enlarge to see the black glitter, but it's there.
Mariner. Really frosty dusty evergreen color. A deep green with tons of silver frost. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I alternate between liking it and being disappointed by it. I like it better in sunlight than indoors, indoors it looks dull and dusty.Mechanics 101
Drive Shaft. Hehehe.... Shaft. *ahem* This is a really unusual pick for a men's collection. Sort of a peachy-coppery-mauvey frost. A little dated looking. Not my favorite of the collection. Wish I had more to say about it! Frosts just aren't my thing.
Fuel Injector. Fuel injection makes you high... (Maybe I shouldn't listen to my iPod when I write reviews.) This color is AMAZING!! Vibrant grassy, leafy yellowy green with tons of gold shimmer. This is what I love about BB Couture. Millions (okay, maybe... dozens?) of awesome kickass greens.
Stick Shift. ... And safety belts? Bucket seats have all got to go. Seriously, I'm on a roll now. I wonder if they do this on purpose to get songs stuck in my head? Oh yeah, the polish. Everything about this polish is love. It reminds me of this guy I had a crush on in like... 3rd grade. He used to wear shorts this color. It's a murky mustardy yellow with a crazy weird pink flash. This polish makes me happy.
Shock Absorber. Okay, this one doesn't remind me of a song. Lucky you. But it is a light rusty red coppery fall-ish shade. Frosty, though. Really frosty.
Intake Valve. A chameleon color! It changes on me depending on the lighting. In some lights it's grey, sometimes it looks lavender and indoors it looks like straight greyed-out pink. It has some hidden shimmer to it. Unique for sure. Pretty fun to look at as well. Two thumbs up.
Universal Joint. Oooooh neato. Duochromeish swampy green with gold shimmer and faint pinkish shimmer. Love these BB greens. The name makes me laugh though, sounds like it could be the name of some sort of hippie jam band.Tools For Men
Vise. Deep dusty blue with silvery bluey shimmer. Sometimes looks a little duochromey because of the dense shimmer (the shimmer is dominant at some angles, at others the base is) but I can't call it a true duochrome.
Studfinder. This one morphs on me as well. In sunlight it looks like straight neutral brown with silvery shimmer and indoors it looks like a dusty plum-brown with gold shimmer. Weirdness! Cool color, though. Goes along with Cowboy in the soft-suede department.
Hammer Drill. It's frosty... Frosty frosty frost... however... I think I like it. It reminds me of fall. It's maroon-brown-red-chestnut-plum frost. Sometimes it looks redder, sometimes it looks browner. I think sunlight really pulls out different tones in these polishes.
Wire Stripper. I think I posted this one before with a Konad design on top. Another fascinating color to look at- it looks black sometimes, but I think it's mostly a deep grey with heavy brown tones. Or.... maybe it's just dark brown with dustiness? It's brownish-greyish with lots of silver, gold and red shimmer.
Pipe Bender. A deep bluey-green base with a crazy purple-navy frosty shimmer flash. Totally unique. The duochrome/blue flash acts really strange in this one. It's like you can see both colors all the time... they compete with each other... Green! Blue! It's pretty sweet. And it makes me wanna yell, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"
Impact Driver. Slate blue with microglitter and shimmer. It's muted and greyed looking, on my skintone it looks blue but I've seen a few pictures where it looks grey on others. The shimmer is really pretty in this. It's a very subtle soft color.
The formula on all of these was great. Standard BB Couture formula with no deviations. Which means... a little bit thick (but not as thick as something like Barielle for comparison) but perfect application. Three coats of all. Good pigmentation, a lot needed only two coats, but three coats deepens and enhances all the neat effects in the finishes of these. Dry time on these is actually faster than the 'regular' (non-men's) BB Coutures I have. Maybe it's my imagination... but with these I can paint and topcoat and be ready to go in five minutes. Anyone else experience faster dry time with the Couture For Men line, or is it just me?
Wow. What do I even say about these? First, I love them. I love unusual unique colors and that's just what these are. Only maybe two or three polishes out of all three collections that I didn't care for. Heavy on the greens. Lots of flash and soft duochrome. Glitter. Interesting finishes. I don't think I have anything negative to say about these. Well... okay. I can think of something. Why so much frost?? BB Sure loves their frosts. But... they also love their glitters and their green polishes so I shouldn't complain! No one else does anywhere near as many greens and glitters.
And I know these are marketed for men- which I think is awesome- but of course women can wear them to. And vice versa... No reason a man can't wear a polish marketed for women. It's just colored paint.
OH!! That totally reminded me! I went to a wedding last Friday (wore some killer hot shoes too) and there was a boy there WEARING NAIL POLISH!!! It was just black nail polish, but still... it made me happy. It was well done, too- no polish on the cuticles and no chipped tips. Right on, dude.
Before I click 'publish' I thought I should say (cause I get asked every time I post BB)- you can buy BB Couture For Nails at overallbeauty.com or bbcouture.com . I have never seen them in stores, and I don't think they are actually in any retail locations. Correct me if I'm wrong though! I'm under the impression they're online only.
(These were sent to me for review)
Vise. Deep dusty blue with silvery bluey shimmer. Sometimes looks a little duochromey because of the dense shimmer (the shimmer is dominant at some angles, at others the base is) but I can't call it a true duochrome.
Studfinder. This one morphs on me as well. In sunlight it looks like straight neutral brown with silvery shimmer and indoors it looks like a dusty plum-brown with gold shimmer. Weirdness! Cool color, though. Goes along with Cowboy in the soft-suede department.
Hammer Drill. It's frosty... Frosty frosty frost... however... I think I like it. It reminds me of fall. It's maroon-brown-red-chestnut-plum frost. Sometimes it looks redder, sometimes it looks browner. I think sunlight really pulls out different tones in these polishes.
Wire Stripper. I think I posted this one before with a Konad design on top. Another fascinating color to look at- it looks black sometimes, but I think it's mostly a deep grey with heavy brown tones. Or.... maybe it's just dark brown with dustiness? It's brownish-greyish with lots of silver, gold and red shimmer.
Pipe Bender. A deep bluey-green base with a crazy purple-navy frosty shimmer flash. Totally unique. The duochrome/blue flash acts really strange in this one. It's like you can see both colors all the time... they compete with each other... Green! Blue! It's pretty sweet. And it makes me wanna yell, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"
Impact Driver. Slate blue with microglitter and shimmer. It's muted and greyed looking, on my skintone it looks blue but I've seen a few pictures where it looks grey on others. The shimmer is really pretty in this. It's a very subtle soft color.The formula on all of these was great. Standard BB Couture formula with no deviations. Which means... a little bit thick (but not as thick as something like Barielle for comparison) but perfect application. Three coats of all. Good pigmentation, a lot needed only two coats, but three coats deepens and enhances all the neat effects in the finishes of these. Dry time on these is actually faster than the 'regular' (non-men's) BB Coutures I have. Maybe it's my imagination... but with these I can paint and topcoat and be ready to go in five minutes. Anyone else experience faster dry time with the Couture For Men line, or is it just me?
Wow. What do I even say about these? First, I love them. I love unusual unique colors and that's just what these are. Only maybe two or three polishes out of all three collections that I didn't care for. Heavy on the greens. Lots of flash and soft duochrome. Glitter. Interesting finishes. I don't think I have anything negative to say about these. Well... okay. I can think of something. Why so much frost?? BB Sure loves their frosts. But... they also love their glitters and their green polishes so I shouldn't complain! No one else does anywhere near as many greens and glitters.
And I know these are marketed for men- which I think is awesome- but of course women can wear them to. And vice versa... No reason a man can't wear a polish marketed for women. It's just colored paint.
OH!! That totally reminded me! I went to a wedding last Friday (wore some killer hot shoes too) and there was a boy there WEARING NAIL POLISH!!! It was just black nail polish, but still... it made me happy. It was well done, too- no polish on the cuticles and no chipped tips. Right on, dude.
Before I click 'publish' I thought I should say (cause I get asked every time I post BB)- you can buy BB Couture For Nails at overallbeauty.com or bbcouture.com . I have never seen them in stores, and I don't think they are actually in any retail locations. Correct me if I'm wrong though! I'm under the impression they're online only.
(These were sent to me for review)
Each and everyone I love. I had on Golf Pro last week. I have on Tuxedo Shirt for 3 days now. I have very minimal tip wear. My bottle of Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure was looking at me around 2AM so I painted it on. Devine. I love this brand of polish. The names are so cool. The best thing about them is that they have the best greens around. My favorite polish is Poison Ivy by BB Couture. I ordered 3 of the men's collection last month. I now own them all. I can't say enough good things about this brand. I also order them from OverallBeauty.com. Kim is the most wonderful woman. She's so kind and also gets your order out super fast. Thanks Scrangie for showing all of these on your most awesome nails.
ReplyDeletei like coal miner,cowboy, and golf pro. very nice- i have yet to try bb couture. what am i waiting for??
ReplyDeleteActually I found a small display of BB Couture where I live. It was in a random med-spa type salon, and there were 15-20 colors. I live in a tiny rural town in Arkansas, so you can imagine how surprised I was to see them. So who knows where else they might show up.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried any BB Couture but I do like a lot of the colors... one day. I'm really loving Coal Miner and Impact Driver but I could also find room very easily for Cowboy, Golf Pro, Vise, Stud Finder and Wire Stripper!
ReplyDeletePS. Props on the Pantera reference ^5 and I'm going to be singing Blue Collar Man all day now.
workin in a coal mine going down down down
ReplyDeleteit is so great to be seeing more and more BB swatches but so not in the budget to but all the ones i want
ReplyDeletePantera?!!! Dig it!!! I love that so many nail bloggers are metal heads! Back to the post ... I've seen several other NB posts swatching these BB Coutour collections, all have been good, but I think yours was much more descriptive and even though I've never sent away for polish, I'm very tempted now! I love duochrome and shimmer, not so much the frosts (not too many do, too dated.) Thanks so much for this post -it made my day!
ReplyDeleteWow great colors! Never heard of them, worth a try !!!
ReplyDeleteSo, my Phish-loving husband needs Universal Joint...too bad he's past his polish wearing days (at his high school, girls claimed their territory by painting their guys' toenails. He only ever allowed brown...I'm thinking this one would have changed his mind).
ReplyDeleteLove Pipe Bender - such a different color. Sooo many pretty colors in that collection.
ReplyDeleteI love your swatches! My favorites are Golf Pro, Universal Joint & Impact Driver would be my no 1 pick. Thanks for showing these!
ReplyDeleteAll are very pretty colors :o)
ReplyDeleteyour lyrics made me happy. i am typing this in bed and i will be thinking: when you sleep, where do you fingers go? lol
ReplyDeletei love these. i want to a major all out haul soon!
Scrangie, I.hate.you.
ReplyDeleteNOT!
I swear, every time I come to your page I make a new list and buy more polish. These companies better give you more than just polishes for review.
LI really like these BB Couture polishes.
Awesome! I have quite a few of these...well, quite a lot of these. BBC is quickly becoming my favorite brand. With all the OPI drama, it's great when a company isn't climbing its high horse and only providing the customer with unique colors and something for everyone. The only thing I don't like is as you, the frosts. Ugh...otherwise I'm in love with most of them. Thanks for the swatches!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness I need like almost all of these now. :)
ReplyDeleteOh man Scrangie, these look soooo good on you nails - even better than on mine! And I actually wear a lot of these too.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's very cool BB Couture markets these polishes toward men. I also agree that anyone can wear whatever kind of polish they like - it really is only paint. And many of these colors actually do look quite good on guys - something that is not so easy to find in your typical drug store.
There is one significant thing that I am thankful BBC has done with this line; they have openly endorsed guys wearing nail polish! It's awesome you saw a guy at the wedding wearing it too!! You don't know how many guys wear it on their feet though - LOTS!
Thank you Scrangie for your always top-quality reviews and incredible pictures (not to mention your gorgeous nails!). Your blog is an real help when I am trying to decide which color to buy next. Trouble is...because they look so great on you, I want all of them!!!
Oh man Scrangie, these look soooo good on you nails - even better than on mine! And I actually wear a lot of these too.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's very cool BB Couture markets these polishes toward men. I also agree that anyone can wear whatever kind of polish they like - it really is only paint. And many of these colors actually do look quite good on guys - something that is not so easy to find in your typical drug store.
There is one significant thing that I am thankful BBC has done with this line; they have openly endorsed guys wearing nail polish! It's awesome you saw a guy at the wedding wearing it too!! You don't know how many guys wear it on their feet though - LOTS!
Thank you Scrangie for your always top-quality reviews and incredible pictures (not to mention your gorgeous nails!). Your blog is an real help when I am trying to decide which color to buy next. Trouble is...because they look so great on you, I want all of them!!!
Uau, todos muito lindos, cores diferentes!! Adorei. Beijos
ReplyDeleteI like Blue Collar and Intake Valve (lol?). The names of a few make me want them just because of their name. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome pics! I've been plotting an Overall Beauty haul for a while (I'm being cheap and waiting for a sale) and you've added quite a few to my wish list. BB Couture doesn't get the love they deserve on some blogs and I'm glad to see you're definately not one of those bloggers :)
ReplyDeleteLove them! I am not as keen on the frosts, but the BB colours kind of make up for them. I appreciate the swatches, because I will probably put in an order soon :).
ReplyDeletethis collection is seriously awesome. i feel like i need 90% of it!
ReplyDeleteI'm Pipebender all the way.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of 1960's car colors.
Nice! I like the blue ones :)
ReplyDeleteFirst off thanks for the major giggle this morning! I love your swatches as always, but now thanks to you I got Blue Collar man stuck in the head!! lol
ReplyDeleteYou always do the best reviews because you are honest, thoughtful, funny as all get out!!
I really love all the greens, and I always sending BB Couture more ideas.. I can never have enough green nail polishes I have decided.. never!
Kim Snyder ~ Overallbeauty.com
Hi Scrangie: Your web blog and swatches is beautiful and gorgeous. I know these nail polishes are marketed to men however, how many men would wear them on their nails in public.
ReplyDeleteI paint my toenails and wear open toed sandals, I love that. To find someone at a wedding openly wearing black nail lacquer is great!
I am also a big fan of Overall Beauty who carries the BB Couture for men nail polishes which I own many.
I subscribe to your web blog (now) and many others and very rarely they will mention men wearing nail polish. Is this just still coming of age? Or is it still up to their spouses and girlfriends to encourage their men to wear polish either on fingers or toes.
Do men still find it difficult to wear polish in public?
Nameste
Mc Huggs :)
I SOOO need to try this brand! Gorgeous pics as always...what kind of lighting you use when you take pictures of your swatches?
ReplyDeleteI really like Coal Miner and Blue Collar :D
ReplyDeleteThey look so professional!
ReplyDeleteGolf pro and Cowboy are my favorites. Yeah, wish I could get these in Canada. Ordering to Canada is always annoying because of excessive shipping fees.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting these swatches! As a guy who wears nail polish on my fingernails the whole time (a rare breed indeed) and not just black, I find it fascinating the colours which have been selected for marketing for men. Now I'm pretty broadminded, and will wear blacks, reds, silvers, greys, blues, love holos and duochromes - but some of the colours here are great, but even for me there are some which just don't strike me as wearable for a guy (or at least a straight one).
ReplyDeleteThought I'd mention - I was at Blackfield festival in Germany over the weekend, where there are about 5000 goths, and I (of course) looked out to see if other men were wearing nail polish, and I saw a fair number with black, but none sporting anything else! Personally I had on a red-orange glitter franken which I had tried to make look like flames - worked OKish. Bands were great too: eg. Oomph!, Deathstars, Covenant etc.
Love some of the double entendres in these names. Great colors.
ReplyDeleteThank you for swatching!
After seeing these swatches, I ordered the Tools collection. I'm a blue fiend, and these are great!! I was surprised how many people complimented my nail color when I wore Vise. Even after typing at work, washing dishes and washing the car...it was a full 4 days before it even showed tip wear. BB Couture is the bomb! OverallBeauty.com is great site for getting your BBC fix, too. A few more colors from these collections are on my want list. Hmm...wonder if Dave Navarro has discovered BB Couture??
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing these pics I had to have Tools for Men! Being a fiend for blues, it was love at first site. I was surprised how many compliments I got when I wore Vise - which only showed tip wear 4 days in, even after typing at work, washing dishes and my car, lol! OverallBeauty is a great site to get your BBC fix from, great service. Speaking of dudes who rock polish...wonder if Dave Navarro has discovered BB Couture?
ReplyDeleteOMG, I think I'm a guy because I liked almost all shades!!!!! ;)
ReplyDelete