zoya envy (truth and dare)

zoya envy is from there really old collection truth and dare for autumn 2009.

in ever truthful words of zoya people, it is a "deep blackened green with subtle yellow undertones and barely-perceptible shimmer." in my opinion, that shimmer is so barely perceptible that i honestly first saw it in this description :).

is a really nicely formulated creme. under at least a bit of light, it can barely be mistaken for a black polish, but it has a tendency to appear more black than green. certainly the darkest green i own.

natural light:

zoya tosca (classics)

tosca is one of the zoya oldies, it hard to pin it's original collection, but now it is a part of their classics.

i always forget about this polish during the gloomy days, but remember it the second the sun starts.

i believe that the strawberry red with the touch of coral is the best colour description. shimmer looks really dense in the bottle, but it is subtle on the nails. the formula is also nice, a real spring/summer treat.

natural light:

zoya vespa (pixie dust winter)

i love textured polishes, and zoya's pixie dust collection is one of the best. vespa was part of their winter range for 2013.

from all types of textured polishes, zoya's pixie dust is my favorite. i showed chyna before. vespa is the first one i tried, and they describe it as "mint kiss with a sugared sparkle". the shade is pastel, light sage green, with fine silver sugary glitter. the finish is so refined and the color looks vintage and, bottom line, i'm in love! 

it is a bit shear, so after a normal first layer, i added a thicker second. i tried a third one on one nail on my right hand, but it looked pretty much the same so i decided to finish with two. even though they recommend skipping the base coat, i have it on. after some years, the texture finish became less prominent, resulting in slower drying, so now i wear it only when i have enough time to wait for it to dry properly.

zoya mimi (sparkle)

sparkle is a really awesome zoya's collection from back in the summer of 2010, and mimi is one of it's stars. another beauty from this collection is ivanka.

mimi is described as a royal purple metallic polish, but this is just an oversimplified way to explain this awesome polish.

not only that the purple shade is so rich and deep, the shimmer in it gives it a lot of depth. the formula is also good, no brushstrokes whatsoever.

natural light:

zoya aurora (ornate)

 i still remember 2012, when zoya released ornate collection. i was obsessed! i've  shown storm and blaze so far, and today it's time for what was probably the star of this collection, aurora.

as always, zoya people were quite wordy with their description : " aurora is a medium sugarplum purple flecked with a high concentration of micro fine diamond holographic glitter. the rainbow holographic sparkle turns this plum purple into something truly captivating". 

this holo beauty is a truly perfect medium purple, with scattered holo particles. it is gorgeous indoors and outdoors, and even 8 years later, still hasn't lost its spark.

natural light: 

zoya liberty (pixie dust)

it's time for another zoya pixie dust polish, this time, gorgeous liberty from the summer collection. you could already see  beatrix.

zoya describes it as a "blue sugary sparkle", which it really is! the shade is medium blue, just perfect, with silvery shimmer and the gorgeous textured finish. i would be really sorry if i missed it, because it really looks amazing. true pixie dust, if you ask me! 

i compared the newest photos with the ones made back in 2013, and, as expected, the texture factor became more flat. this is a known thing with textures, and i am showing old pictures first, followed by the recents.

old:

zoya midori (ooh la la)

i am so happy that today i can show you the gorgeous zoya midori, from their ooh la la collection for summer 2009.

i discovered that midori means green in japanese, and we all know that i love my green polishes more than any other colours!

midori is described at zoya's website as "glowing medium apple green with yellow undertones and strong gold shimmer. a cocktail-green for a night out with the girls." and once again, they described it perfectly.

i find this vibrant apple green to be so delicious, and almost iridescent with the combination with the gold shimmer. it is definitely a unique polish in my otherwise vast collection :D even though it's metallic, there's no visible brush strokes and formula is good.

natural light:

zoya ivanka (sparkle)

ivanka is a part of zoya's amazing sparkle collection from spring 2010.

zoya's description: "mermaid green sparkling metallic. an expensive-looking metallic shade for summer. "  it is a rather complex color to describe - the base is emerald green, with gold and and lighter green flecks and additional green shimmer. it has a duochrome effect, which i hope i managed to capture in some of the pics; it can look more green or yellow depending on the lighting and the angle.

i already mentioned that i love everything by zoya, so this one wasn't an exception. great formula, great application!

natural light:

zoya trixie (extreme)

sometimes, the day comes when a girl needs some bling on her nails, so for today, i chose zoya's trixie from the extreme collection back in 2010 (together with raven and purity).

zoya describes this polish as a "stunning light silver with a sparkling metallic foil finish. a chic and edgy shade that adds a spark to your look". i couldn't agree more! the polish is amazing, very dense with a metallic, mirror-like sparkly finish. it applies without streaks, but with a bit of a textured finish and it is very opaque.

natural light:

zoya zuza (surf)

it's about time to show one of the zoyas so i'm presenting zuza from their surf collection for summer 2012.

well, guys at zoya are doing a great job about describing their polishes, so i'm just going to quote them. zuza is a "deep, saturated, oceanic turquoise with gold and silver metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish. a beachy, colorful, foil-like shade with the perfect balance between blue and green".

in my pictures, it is a tad more blue that in real life. it is like nothing i own, it is really interesting polish with a fantastic formula.

natural light:

zoya lotus (true spring)

lotus is from zoya's true spring 2012 collection.

zoya describes it as: "a very soft, dusty blue-toned amethyst purple with colorful shimmer that reflects pink, red and gold. a dreamy smoky shade for purple lovers that looks both soft and luminous"  and they are dead on with the description. the color really is a dusty, muted purple packed with pinkish shimmer. 

formula is amazing and it is fully opaque after two coats. the shimmer is quite visible on the nails, which surprised me, because i expected it o be more subtle. i think that this is one of those shades that look good on every skintone.

natural light:

zoya jem (mirrors)

one of the zoya beauties is the gorgeous jem from the mirrors collection for 2011.

as i wrote a lot of times, zoya guys really describe their shades perfectly: "dark red-toned purple base with metallic dark pink highlights and subtle gold duochrome flecks".

bottom line, gorgeous. a bit vampy, a bit mysterious. perfect for sunny autumn or winter days, because it is just a bit too heavy for summer, but needs sun to show it's full beauty.

natural light:

zoya holly (gem)

holly is from the zoya's 2011 holiday gems and jewels collection, and it is my favorite green polish, hands down! isn't it yummy?

zoya describes holly as " rich holly green with subtle yellow tones in a luminous metallic finish. great for giving the nails a flash of rich gem-toned color." i must admit, i don't see the subtle yellow tone.

the formula is dreamy, it is almost opaque after the first coat but the second one is needed the even the surface out. the color is my favorite emerald green, and it really makes your nails stand out.

natural light:

zoya storm (ornate)

storm is one of the polishes from zoya's awesome collection ornate for winter 2012.

storm is a really straightforward polish, but nevertheless, a stunner. one of those that are a must have in every collection: a black base filled with dense holo particles. in zoya, they describe it as "a full coverage, holiday black with a high concentration of micro fine diamond holographic glitter."

it is beautiful and with a great formula, just like a deep starry night.

natural light:

zoya chyna (pixie dust winter)

it's time for a gorgeous zoya's pixie dust shade, this time it's chyna from the winter 2013 collection. zoya describes it as "a red dazzle with a sugared sparkle".

i almost skipped this one and got it in the second round. i thought, well, it's red, it's not like i'm going to be amazed by it. oh, how was i wrong!

this polish is super stunning. base colour is rich, dark red that dries into the textured finish, with light red glitter and sparkle that just pops out of it. it can be pulled off as a one coater, but i did two out of habit. formula and application are great, and drying time really fast!

natural light:

zoya hazel (irresistible)

gorgeous polish such as zoya's hazel from their spring irresistible collection is such an interesting polish that it's almost said that they described it so simply:  "full-coverage, blue green foil metallic".

hazel has everything i like: the base colour that is definitely unique, an icy, steely blue with goldish flakes that i would never think would go well with the base, but they fit perfectly.

the finish is both foil and metalic, but there's no problem with application or brushstrokes. i am really impressed with this polish, it looks a bit space-y.

zoya saint (enchanted)

today i am showing  the stunning zoya saint from their holiday collection called enchanted. zoya describes it as "whimsical color-flip metallic with a periwinkle base and magenta shift.".

saint was a love at first promo picture for me. it is such a complex and unusual polish. the base color is a rather sheer periwinkle, with iridescent magenta/pink shimmer. it changes a lot in different types of light. 

the first coat was sheer, but it had a decent coverage after the second one with no need for a third. it is so unusual and somehow soft.

natural light:

zoya beatrix (pixie dust summer)

beatrix is from the summer edition of zoya's pixie dust polishes. as usual, their description couldn't be more accurate: "tangerine metal sparkle in the exclusive zoya pixie dust textured, matte, foil twinkle formula".

i love everything about this polish, especially how the gold shimmer sparkles in this amazing vibrant orange base. i wore it three times this summer, the last time i took it to a 5 day festival, wore it the whole time, including the tent setting and all the unglamorous but fun stuff camping can give. all of that, without chipping! one of my dearest friends also loved it, so we were sporting matching manicures :)

formula and applications are typically without issues, drying time is about 20 minutes. 

sun:

zoya blaze (ornate)

ornate was such an awesome zoya collection, with some iconic shades (aurora, storm and logan are on my list), and blaze is one of those gems. zoya poetically described it as "cool-toned medium mulberry red with a high concentration of micro fine diamond holographic glitter". 

the first thing that comes to mind to me when i wear blaze is "delicious". it looks like some kid of berry marmelade and i always crave red fruit when i have it on my nails.

here,  holo particles are not as dense as in some other polishes from this collecton, and they give out pinkish and purplish glitz. 

coverage and formula are great, and it's an awesome polish overall.