Knitting, Crochet and Crafts

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Product Review

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive, a clear-drying liquid craft glue manufactured by Tonic Studios. Tell me this isn't the prettiest bottle of glue you've ever seen?
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive, a clear-drying liquid craft glue manufactured by Tonic Studios. Tell me this isn’t the prettiest bottle of glue you’ve ever seen?

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive is a liquid glue that’s remarkably popular with paper crafters. People are using it for card making, scrapbooking, mixed media art, collage art, planner layouts and various other paper crafts. Wondering whether Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive is a product you should add to your craft supplies stash? If so, read on for insights about this adhesive in the following detailed Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive product review:

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive is manufactured by Tonic Studios. The manufacturer claims that Nuvo Deluxe Adheisve is their most outstanding glue in their entire range of adhesives. This is a white, water-based glue that dries clear. According to the manufacturer, this particular adhesive has the highest concentration of PVA out of all the glues they make. They claim that you can use it on multiple surfaces such as paper, cardstock, foam, acetate and MDF. I haven’t personally tested in on any surface other than paper or cardstock yet, but will update this review once I have a chance to test it on other surfaces.

Reasons Why You Might Want to Choose Nuvo Adhesive Over Other Adhesives:

Do you need a glue that comes in a really pretty bottle – perhaps because you’re going to do a photo shoot for your blog / Instagram / scrapbook (or whatever) and you want the images to look gorgeous? If so, definitely pick up a bottle of Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive. Nuvo offers you the prettiest packaging for adhesive that I’m currently aware of; the bottle it comes in is shaped like a perfume bottle and has a sparkly faux “jewel” attached to the top.

Are you sensitive to strong odors? Do you want an odor-free glue? This one’s great in that regard.


Do you need to be able to dispense the glue in an extremely precise manner? If so, that’s another reason you might want to consider buying this glue instead of a different competing adhesive. The tip on this bottle is really small, allowing you to apply thin, precise lines of glue exactly where you need them.


The manufacturer points out that they have engineered this glue’s bottle and nozzle so they will fit perfectly in your hand, allowing you to achieve a comfortable and controlled application. The nozzle empowers you to achieve fine detail while being durable enough for use on larger surface areas.

Reasons You Might Want to Try a Different Glue Instead of This One

If you’re in a hurry to complete your project, you’d want to consider using a different glue. The manufacturer recommends allowing this glue to dry overnight. If you need a glue that dries almost instantaneously, try Zip Dry Paper Glue instead of this.


I’ve had paper and cardstock both buckle when using this glue. For that reason, I’m sticking with Zip Dry – which has never once, ever, caused my paper to buckle when I used it.


No adhesive is perfect, and Zip Dry certainly isn’t. Zip Dry is stinky, and the bottle it comes in is not as pretty as the bottle the Nuvo comes in. And Zip Dry has a tendency to get stringy after the bottle has been opened and used a few times. So if any of those things are potential deal breakers for you, they are all possible reasons to consider choosing Nuvo adhesive instead of Zip Dry. Personally, they aren’t deal breakers for me – but everyone’s priorities are different.


This glue is made in China; if you aren’t currently living in Asia, and you’re hoping to buy a locally made glue in order to keep your footprint low and reduce environmental impacts, there are other alternatives you’ll want to look at. For readers in the United States, Cherry Tape and Zip Dry are both made in the USA.


This glue is packaged in a plastic bottle. Again, if you’re trying to keep your environmental impact as low as possible, there are alternatives that don’t consume as much single-use plastic. However, I’m not aware of any other liquid glues that aren’t packaged in plastic — and this product is actually a bit better than some other alternatives, because they skip putting the Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive in a clamshell package in addition to the plastic bottle. But if you could successfully make the project you have in mind using a dry adhesive, you might prefer to pick one that’s packaged on a cardboard roll, because the cardboard can be composted and will not clutter up a landfill forever more after you’ve run out of adhesive. If you do decide to buy this glue, I suggest re-using the bottle when you are finished with it; it is such a pretty bottle, and you are a creative person; perhaps you could find something useful to do with it when you are finished with it. It really would be a shame to just toss it. If you have ideas for what to do with these bottles when you’re finished with them, please do post any insights in the comments below.


This glue isn’t the cheapest adhesive available. Overall, it offers you an acceptable value for the money you spend on it, but there are less expensive, more affordable alternatives. If you’re on a tight budget, take a look at Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue, which is significantly more affordable than Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive.

Bottle Size and Price: How Much Glue Do You Get for Your Money With Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive?

This adhesive comes packaged in a 60ml / 2 fl.oz bottle. For comparison purposes, Zip Dry also comes in a 2 fl oz bottle; Zip Dry is typically a few dollars more expensive than Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive is. Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid glue comes in a 50 ml bottle and typically costs in the neighborhood of $3.99 per bottle, although you can sometimes find it on sale for less. Tombow Mono Aqua is far less expensive, at only about as 8 cents per ml as compared against 10.8 cents per ml for Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive.

The Verdict:

I recommend Nuvo adhesive to other crafters, with caveats. It isn’t my favorite adhesive –not even close to being my favorite. For most projects, I’d generally reach for Cherry Tape, Zip Dry, Glue Tape or Glue Dots before I’d reach for Nuvo.


Overall, Zip Dry remains my favorite liquid adhesive. Performance wise, I believe it is far superior to this Nuvo adhesive. That said, there are some valid reasons to choose Nuvo over Zip Dry. In particular, if you need an odor-free liquid adhesive, I’d definitely advise you to skip the Zip Dry and pick up a bottle of Nuvo instead.

Where to Buy Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive

There are bunches of places you can buy Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive. The following are sources that I personally shop at and can highly recommend:

Over to You:

Have you tried Nuvo adhesive? If so, how did you like it?


Do you have a favorite adhesive? If so, which one is it? What do you like using it for? Thanks in advance for any insights you’d be willing to share with us.

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Posted By: Amy Solovay


This page was last updated on 2-17-2022.