Zoya Cashmeres Collection

Hi everyone! It's been two weeks (gasp!) since I updated my blog. Life sometimes just gets in the way of my polish time lol. I've been dealing with some issues, plus I was always tired and out of energy. I went more than a week (eek!) without posting anything on Instagram, either. Anyway, I am slowly regaining my polish swatching mojo so for today's post I have for you the Zoya Cashmeres Collection.


The Cashmeres is one half of Zoya's Fall 2013 collection. It consists of six creme polishes.

*Note: I only have one pic for each polish, as I was having technical difficulties while taking these photos. Sorry...*


Let's get right to the swatches, shall we? :)


First, we have Livingston.

Livingston is a bright red, almost jelly-like polish. This was the thinnest of the bunch and also the sheerest. Personally, I think this was more appropriate for summer. This was also my least favorite of the set. This is three coats with top coat.

Next up, Pepper.

Pepper is a brick red creme polish. I love this one! Application was easy. I did three coats for this one but you can probably get away with two careful coats. Also with top coat.

Here we have Sailor.

Sailor is a dusty navy creme. This was my favorite from the set, but that was to be expected as I am partial to blues. This was a bit thick too, but still applied good. This is two coats with top coat.

And here is Hunter.

Hunter is a dusty, well, hunter green creme. The website described this a sea green but honestly I have never seen a sea of this color. Lol. This was also a bit on the thin side. This is three coats with top coat.

And then we have Louise.

Louise is a chocolate brown which is darker than it shows on the photo. I love it! I don't have many browns in my stash so this was a good addition. This is two coats with top coat.

And last but not the least, Flynn.

Flynn is a nude creme. This polish totally gives me mannequin hands! Lol. It's a bit more camel brown in person. This is three coats with top coat..

Thoughts? I love these polishes! I think they are very appropriate shades for fall, with the exception of Livingston. For me, she's more of a summer shade, because she's bright. It would look good on toes during summer. :) Although, I don't quite like Livingston just because it doesn't really go with my skintone (at least I think it doesn't.) Pepper is more like my style in reds, a little bit towards brown and not as bright red. I think a coordinating lipstick would be awesome! My favorite is Sailor, but that was to be expected, lol. I also liked Louise. The formula on these polishes is pretty good. Cremes, for me, tend to get a bit thick after a few applications, but it wasn't that hard to work with it. Livingston was the runniest, followed by Hunter. Sailor was the thickest, relatively speaking. Coverage was good, most were opaque in two careful coats but I like to do three, and Livingston did require three for full coverage. Dry time was average for cremes. Overal, I'm pretty impressed with this collection.

Would I recommend these polishes? Yes, and no. If you've seen similar colors somewhere, you probably don't need all of them, especially Livingston which has probably a dozen dupes already. (Can you tell I don't like her that much? Lol) The price might also turn some off, as it goes for $8 per bottle, plus shipping. Zoya does promotions from time to time, so I suggest snagging these during a sale. I suggest finding dupes first, but the formula on these do make up for the price.

And that's it for this post! I hope you'll be back for the next ones. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money. Zoya polishes are available from their website, Ulta, certain salons and other salon supply stores. They retail for $8 per bottle, plus applicable taxes and shipping.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Textured Polish Week Day 3: Zoya Pixie Dust Summer Collection (Miranda, Solange, Liberty and Stevie)

Hi everyone! Textured Polish Week continues! Today is Day 3 and we're continuing TPW with four polishes from the Zoya Pixie Dust Summer Collection. The collection comes with six polishes, but the other two weren't really my type.


I have already swatched these polishes before in my Instagram account (@tinkybellgotlacquered) but since we are doing TPW, it's just right that I swatch them again, more properly this time. :)

The Zoya Pixie Dust polishes are a totally different kind of textured polish than the first two I posted (see the O.P.I here and the Milani here.) You'll see in the swatches what makes these different from the others.


(All four polishes dry to a textured,matte yet sparkly finish.)


First in line, Miranda.

Miranda is a sheer jelly red/rose base with fine glitters. Opaque in two coats, but I did three because I felt like two wasn't color-saturated enough.


Next up, we have Solange.

Solange is a yellow gold foil with fine glitters. Opaque in two, but I did three because I had some bald spots (user error, not the polish's fault.)


And here we have Liberty.

Liberty is a slightly dark blue jelly base with fine glitters. It looks less dark in person. Again, opaque in two coats but shown is three coats for a more color-saturated look. Note: most people say Liberty stains, but I have not personally experienced any staining. I haven't worn it for longer than ten minutes, so I cannot say if it stains if worn for longer than that.


Last but not the least, here is Stevie.

Stevie is a red-toned lavender crelly base with fine glitters. I did three coats for a more color-saturated look, but is opaque in two.


Of course I had to try it with top coat... Here they are with TC:

Miranda with top coat

Solange with top coat

Liberty with top coat

Stevie with top coat

Thoughts? If you have seen my last two posts, you can tell that the Zoya Pixie Dusts are different than the O.P.I or the Milani Texture polishes. While the O.P.I have larger glitter particles, the Zoya has fine glitters. It's completely different from the Milani as while the Milani polishes were a creme, these are glitter. Also, they are way more sparkly in person. I hate how I could not capture the true beauty of these polishes. The texture is also like fine sand, not very gritty as one would expect from a glitter textured polish. Adding top coat helps you have the color and not the texture, if you're bothered by the feel of it.

I love the colors of these polishes more than their predecessor, the original Zoya Pixie Dust shades. (I don't have any of the original Pixie Dusts.) The formula is as what can be expected of Zoya polishes: beautiful and perfect. Considering these are essentially glitterbombs, they were easy to work with. Dry time was also fast. I have always loved Zoya ever since I bought my first (Wednesday, but that's for another post down the line.) Their brushes are one of my favorite brushes to use: soft but doesn't leave streaks or bald spots, and fans out nicely. Altough, I found the Pixie Dust brushes to be a bit fluffier than the usual, but maybe that's because of the polish itself... I'm not too sure. Removal can also be a bit messy. But either way, I love these polishes!


Would I recommend these polishes? Um, YES! Zoya is one of my favorite brands because of their formula and their brushes. I haven't encountered a Zoya polish that I haven't liked (well, maybe certain shades, but that's because I didn't like the color. Not Zoya's fault!) and these are no exception. The price might be a bit steep at $9 a pop ($8 for regular shades) plus shipping, but Zoya always as flash sales/promos so be sure to follow their Facebook page for updates. (I have a secret: I almost always only buy Zoya when they have a sale...) The texture might be off-putting for some, but some top coat will take care of that.


And that's it for Day 3 of Textured Polish Week! Stay tuned for the next installment in the series. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from the Zoya website for $9 a bottle. Check their Facebook page for updates on flash sales/deals. Zoya is also available at ULTA and some nail supply shops.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

(Late!) Mainstream Mondays: Zoya Aurora, Blaze and Storm

Hi everyone! Yes I know it's Tuesday today, but I still decided to do Mainstream Mondays. For today's post I have for you three Zoya polishes from the Ornate Collection Holiday 2012: Aurora, Blaze and Storm. I'm a bit late in the game, so I didn't know about these polishes til early this year. But wait and you'll see why I chose to feature these polishes today. A bit more photos than usual too because I am trying some new hand poses and I also just want to showcase these polishes. ;)

Who is Zoya? Here's the description from their website:

Zoya Nail Polish has been awarded as the longest wearing natural nail polish by an independent panel in Women’s Health Magazine. Zoya Nail Polish is a nail polish free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. Nail Polish by Zoya offers over 300 gorgeous nail polish colors to choose from, plus 4 seasonalcollections of nail polish every year. Zoya Nail Polish was specifically formulated to deliver the longest wear possible on natural nails. Zoya Nail Polish can be found in better beauty salons, spas and online at www.zoya.com

While Zoya is still exclusive to their website, salons and Ulta, I still consider this a mainstream polish just because it is more widely available than indies. There are some beauty supply stores that sell these, although I haven't seen any yet. Zoya is one of my favorite brands, even though I don't own that many (yet, I plan to remedy that situation!) it is still one of my top brands. You'll see why in a bit.


First up: Aurora.

Aurora is described as "a full-coverage, medium sugarplum purple flecked with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." I can only describe it as a jelly-ish magenta-purple with tiny holo glitters. Isn't it gorgeous? Opaque in two coats, but I used three coats plus top coat because I felt like it was still kinda sheer for my taste with two coats.


Next in line is Blaze.

Blaze is described as "a full-coverage, cool-toned medium mulberry red with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." To me, it's a jelly-ish (like Aurora) blue-toned dark red with holo glitters. I love how the glitters add pizzazz to an otherwise plain red. Opaque in two coats but again I felt like it was still a bit sheer, so I used three coats plus top coat.


Last but certainly not the least: Storm.

Storm... oh Storm. I have no words for this polish. Storm is described as "a full-coverage, holiday black with a high concentration of microfine diamond holographic glitter." All I can say it, this polish is GORGEOUS! It's like a galaxy in a bottle. I mean, can you SEE those holo glitters?! Obviously this is my favorite out of all three. I loved it so much I did all ten nails with this color. It's a jelly-ish black that's completely opaque in two coats. I did two coats with top coat.


Thoughts? I freaking love Zoya polishes! They have one of the best formulas I have encountered. They were a little on the thin side but if you're careful enough and don't overload the brush, it won't flood your cuticles. The polishes also even out quite nicely. The brushes are also one of the best I have worked with. It fans out quite nicely and not streaky at all. Dry time is also fairly fast, about a minute or two per coat.

Would I recommend these polishes? YES, definitely. It's a bit expensive at $8 per 0.5oz, plus shipping, but they are definitely worh the expense. Plus, Zoya has deals from time to time so be sure to like their page on Facebook and check their website from time to time. They also have a wide array of beautiful colors.


That's it for today's post! I hope you'll join me again soon. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money. Zoya nail polishes can be purchased from their website, select salons and Ulta. They are $8 per 0.5oz.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, I try to describe as much as I can.*