NOTD: Zoya Banks

Zoya Banks

3 coats

from the EasyNeon Collection

 

Exclusive Nail Couture My Little Unicorn Hologram Gel in #10

Exclusive Nail Couture My Little Unicorn Hologram Gel in #10

I can never turn down holo polish... so when I saw these I had to order. Each set includes 6 shades and is $36. Of course I ordered both sets....

I have been experimenting with Zoya's Gelie Cure system and have found that using their Naked Gelie as a base (on top of a gripping primer) and a topcoat works great for me and gets me at least a week of wear.

NOTD: Zoya Dannii

 Zoya Dannii

2 coats

From the Zoya website: Dannii by Zoya can be best described as a medium orchid purple with pink and champagne highlights and flecks of silver metallic shimmer. 

NOTD: Zoya Dannii

Zoya Dannii

I'm going to need some help here.... what base/top coats do you use with your Zoyas?

I am getting shrinkage and also some denting the next day..... almost like it's not completely dry.

I did my normal routine:

1. Orly Bonder

2. Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle

3. 2 coats of color

4. Seche Vite

I do have the Zoya Colorlock system, but heard it takes a while to dry so I haven't tried it.

Any tips?

Julianne

My Zoya order arrived a couple weeks ago, but being I had the Shellac on, I couldn't paint my nails until now. {Side note ... I chose to peel off the Shellac instead of going back in to the salon for the 'special removal', and it worked just fine ... no more damage than acetone would have done. And I peeled off the mani before it started lifting, after 2 weeks, because I was too anxious to try out my new Zoya colors. Ha!} Here are the indoor and outdoor shots of the mani ...

Meet Julianne! When I ordered this polish, I liked it because it looked like it had a touch of blue in this deep purple shade. Upon application, there is indeed flecs of blue in it. For such a glittery polish, it went on pretty smooth and layered fine ... I used a base, 2 coats of Julianne, and a topcoat. The mani lasted a few days before the tips began chipping. My only gripe was that it didn't have enough shine. I am not into matte polishes, and while this one is not a matte, the lack of shine reminded me of one.

Did you take advantage of the Zoya Facebook special? Can't go wrong with 3 FREE polishes!! Which ones did you order and are you lovin' or hating them?

Relapse

Okay girls ... I am slightly embarrassed. I had a very brief moment of weakness after I got a new job a few months ago and I put solar nails back on.
Now I am taking them off again.
I know - what in the world was I thinking?!? I was having so many issues with my natural (and weak) nails breaking and tearing while doing what my job duties required, and I wanted reinforcement. I am so over all the maintenance (and cost!!) of the solar nails, so I went to the local beauty supply store and got the necessary products to remove the acrylic once again. I will post a step-by-step guide within the next 2 days on how I removed my nails with as little damage as possible. Stay tuned!!
In the meantime ... how gorgeous are the colors that Sasha and Smoochiefrog have been posting?!? I am loving the Orly Out Of This World, Essie's Aruba Blue, and Sally Hansen HD in DVD colors!!! The SpaRitual colors are so amazing for this fall and winter seasons and Zoya's Valerie is absolutely stunning!!
xoxo,
April

NOTD: Zoya Nova

Zoya Nova (3 coats)

Last fall I saw Scrangie post a preview of the Zoya Ulta Glitters and I knew I had to have the two pinks. I hate that I am just now getting around to trying them, but maybe I buy too much polish? Never!

At any rate, I have to tell you I am a bit disappointed. I am wondering if Scrangie's swatches might be 4-5 coats? My 3 coat mani was just not as poppin' as hers... but I just can't be bothered for more coats!

As with most of my pics, this is a day old mani- I paint before bed and usually don't take pics until I get off work the next day. You can see some tips wear.

Anyone have any experience with the Ultra Glitters? How many coats did you use?

NOTD: Zoya Harlow

Zoya Harlow

I am over-the-moon in love with this color. Gorgeous! I think the application on this matte was better than thre first three Zoya mattes I tried. The formula seems to be improved on a bit.

I did a coat of Orly Bonder and let it dry for 10 minutes and then applied two coats of color. Of course, they were dry almost immediately, which is one of the things I love about mattes.

More Zoya Mattes!!!!

So excited for more of these!

MATTEVELVET WINTER

Savita (ZP504) - plum gray matte shimmer

Harlow (ZP505) - rose matte shimmer

Veruschuka (ZP506) - evergreen matte shimmer

NOTD: Zoya Yasmeen

NOTD: Zoya Yasmeen

This was the first non-matte Zoya that I have used and I love it! This is a gorgeous purple and this picture doesn't do it justice. I think Scrangie's picture is more representative of the actual color.

NOTD: Zoya Matte Dovima

Zoya Matte Dovima

Don't look at my fingers or cuticles. Or the too-large gap.

I was exhausted last night, but needed to paint my nails before bed, because they WILL break or tear if I don't have polish on them.

So this is not the best job... but I am testing out something.

I did a base coat of Orly Bonder and let it dry completely (about 10 minutes). Then I did two coats of Dovima, followed by a coat of Essie Matte About You. The Essie didn't change the finish at all, and I'm anxious to see if the wear is better and if they polish stays matte longer, rather than turning satin like Posh did.

NOTD: Zoya Matte Loredana

Zoya Matte Loredana

This one applied so much better than the Posh- or maybe I was just more used to it! It seemed thinner and easier to apply. Love love love.

That's two coats over a coat of Orly Bonder that I allowed to dry for about 10 minutes.

How gorgeous is that?

Posh: Day 3 (or is it 4?)

Zoya Matte Posh on Sunday night

Zoya Matte Posh on Wednesday afternoon

I'm super impressed with the wear, although you can see the finish has changed a little. I wouldn't call it shiny like normal polish, but it's lost a little of it's super-matte finish. But I have absolutely no chips and just a small amount of tip wear.

I am pretty sure I took both of these in my bathroom in identical lighting.

This is basically day 4 and I've showered three times (each morning) and applied lotion and cuticle cream as usual- no way I can give that up.

I'm satisfied with this polish and can't wait to try the other two Zoya mattes!

NOTD: Zoya Matte Posh

Zoya Matte Posh

Girls, I just don't know about this polish.... it was kind of hard to apply, and you can't use a topcoat, and that kind of freaks me out. It does dry awfully fast..... But it was kind of thick and gloppy.

Looking at it today, I do like the way it looks. I am anxious to see how long it lasts without chipping, since other bloggers said it chips pretty quick. I did use Orly Bonder underneath it, although they tell you not to. One blogger said to go ahead and do it because it makes it wear better.

On Zoya's website, they say not to use hand lotion, but that's plum crazy. I applied lotion as usual this AM and also used my CND Cuticle Eraser, and it doesn't look any different... so we shall see. Not sure of the final verdict yet.

The New Trend: Matte Nail Polish

I am all over this matte nail polish trend and placed my Zoya order today- can't wait to try them out!

It looks like quite a few of the nail polish companies are coming out with matte polishes this summer. Here's a list I found and some links to some swatches.

Nubar Mattes - July 4
OPI Mattes - July
Orly Mattes - September
Zoya Mattes - July 1 (though will be shipped now if you order)
Essie Matte About You topcoat - August