Holiday Manicure

Hi Friends 

Today on the blog I'm sharing the manicure I'll be wearing for Christmas.

I started out with two coats of Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator, then two coats of Zoya Anchor Basecoat, I then went in with two coats of Fancy Gloss Once in a Red Moon which is a gorgeous dark cherry red when cold to a super pale pink with a strong blue flash. This had a great formula and I only did two coats as I wasnt sure how sheer it would be in the warm state, I was freezing cold while I painted it, hence why when I stamped I accidently stamped the white over the snow flakes on my middle nails.  I am really liking the blue flash in this polish, I also bough Once in a Purple Moon, I just love Fancy Glosses thermals.

The stamping polish I used was Barry M Cotton for the white and Zoya Cherri for the red, I then added a coat of Wikkid Polish Star Dust, the plates I used were Whats Up Nails A022 and B035 plus Moyou Snow Collection 02. My topcoat of choice is always Barry M Plumpy, it doesnt smear stamping and dries quickly.

In January I will start using the Barry M Nail Strengthener and use that for 4 weeks then not use it for 4 weeks, you dont want to use a strengthener all the time, it can make your nails brittle and break more easily.

I've included some pics of before and after I chopped my nails down, I did love having them long but the maintenance was getting tough, I had two breaks on my right hand plus wearing those fake nails on my left you can see the damage.

I hope everyone has a wonderful break whether you celebrate Christmas or not and I'll see you all in January 2024 for more Zoya and Fancy Gloss posts.

A Zoya A Day - Shay

Hi Friends 

Today on the blog I'm sharing my swatch and review of the gorgeous Shay.

Available on the website - Yes
Brush used - Z Wide
Name - Shay
Year - 2011
Number - ZP0562

Does it stamp - No

Coats - 3
Finish - Shimmer
Collection - Touch

Colour - Nude
Topcoat - No

Shay by Zoya can be best described as a dense, fleshy light peach with slight orange-red undertones and a hint of pearly silver shimmer.

This is a really pretty nude, its probably one of the closest polishes to my skin tone I have, I switched out the brush to the Z Wide and I did three coats for this manicure. Shay has a good formula, no running or pooling, she is sheer so I did do three coats, however, I think you could totally get away with one, two or three depending on the look you want to go for. I need to buff my nails as well, look at those ridges!

As you can see from these photos Shay really plays on the lighting its under.  This was a mini launch Zoya did in the Summer of 2011, the only one I dont own is Minka, she is discontinued.

I saw Zoya had a 50% off code going for only last weekend so I took advantage and grabbed Decembers colour of the month plus three pixie dusts I didnt have, namely Destiny, Arianna and Miranda.

Also I am going to cut these nails right down, I have two breaks on my right hand and my left hand are a bit weak from wearing the full cover fake nails a while ago. I really like long nails but they are quite hard to keep maintained in good condition.

Comparison Request between Fairleigh, Alicia and Tilly

Hi Friends

A quick comparison request between Fairleigh, Tilly and Alicia.

Left to right Fairleigh, Tilly and Alicia, no dupes, you can really see the purple tone in Fairleigh, Tilly doesnt have the holo sparkle glitters that Fairleigh does, Alicia is more like Tilly but she has that super strong golden shimmer flash and is not a texture finish.

Lat pics are cat tax, the furkids had to be confined to the conservatory and catio as we were having a bit of work done in our ensuite.  When they were released back into the house Obi needed some major fussing. Normally they avoid my office as its always dark and they cant see out the windows.

A Zoya A Day - Fairleigh

Hi Friends 

Today on the blog I'm sharing my swatch and manicure using the sparkling beauty that is Fairleigh.

Available on the website - Yes
Brush used - Z Wide
Name - Fairleigh
Year - 2023
Number - ZP1216

Does it stamp - No

Coats - 2
Finish - Micro-Flakie
Collection - Magical

Colour - Pale lilac
Topcoat - Yes

Fairleigh can be described as drifting into fantasy with an oyster shell hue, casting holographic spells in a micro-shimmer formula.   Zoya coming in with the misspelled labels :) 

Fairleigh is gorgeous, a total sparkle bomb, she has a great formula, no running or pooling and I did two coats for my manicure, I did add topcoat for my photos. Fairleigh isnt textured enough to need a glitter grabber I dont think, the normal topcoat I use (Barry M Plumpy) worked great.  

I then decided to stamp using Cherri, this time the stamping showed much better.

I am wearing this with a peel off basecoat, I use the Unt Ready for Take Off one.  It lasts quite well for a good few days wear, I'll soak my hands in hot water and it should peel off.

A Zoya A Day - Inez

Hi Friends

Today I'm sharing my swatch and review of the stunning Inez.

Available on the website - Yes
Brush used - Z Wide
Name - Inez
Year - 2023
Number - ZP1214

Does it stamp - Yes

Coats - 2
Finish - Micro-Flakie
Collection - Magical

Colour - Pink
Topcoat - No/Yes

Inez is described as radiate in a lively amaranth magenta, adorned with rose gold micro-flakes that shimmer with every move.

I was curious what amaranth was, discovered its a plant that has pink, purple or white flowers and you can also eat the seeds. An amaranth flower shown below, the colour is stunning and similar to Inez.

Inez has a fabulous formula, no running or pooling and I did two coats for my manicure, I also added matte and glossy topcoats, Inez dries dull so a topcoat of your choice is needed if you want the shine or a matte to bring out the flakies.  This colour reminds me of Elle Woods from Legally Blond.

I did stamp over Inez using Cherri but its hardly noticeable.

Additional Comparisons for Adara, Inez and one for the new Crystal.

Hi Friends 

Today I'm sharing a couple of additional comparison requests.

First up we have Adara compared to Kira and Estelle. No dupes, Adara is much deeper in tone than Kira and Estelle has a blackened base.

Inez and Tink, no dupes, Tink almost looks red compared to the pinkness of Inez.

Crystal (2) and Eastyn, this was close, I dont think my photo shows it but there is the merest hint more brown in Crystal compared to Eastyn, Eastyn I've just discovered today is discontinued :(.

Zoya Magical Collection Bottle and Swatch Stick Comparisons

Hi Friends

Today I'm sharing my swatch stick and bottle comparisons for the Magical collection for Winter 2023/24 from Zoya.

The set consists of 6 polishes and their names are:- 

Adara, Bisoux, Cherri, Fairleigh, Inez and Vixen.

As always, my photos are taken in natural lighting, I dont adjust the colour, I only crop and add my watermark, the new polish is always first left.

Continues below the banners.

First up we have Bisoux, Fairleigh, Twinklette and Ginni, no dupes, Bisoux, Fairleigh and Twinklette are a new polish formulation from Zoya, they are super sparkly and dry kind of like a pixie dust. Bisoux is a pale pink, Fairleigh has a lilac undertone, Twinklette is a deeper pink undertone and Ginni is deeper in tone again, Ginni is sadly discontinued.  I just realised my swatch label has an extra e, I've printed out a new label.

Next up was Fairleigh and Stevie, again no dupes, Stevie has a deeper tone of the purple and is a different finish, 

Left to right is Inez, Donnie and Sharon, no dupes, Inez is such a bright tone of hot pink, a proper full on pink with those little flakies, both Donnie and Sharon are deeper in tone, with Sharon having slightly more blue than Donnie.

Left to right Cherri, Alix and Racquel, no dupes, Cherri is a deep but brighter red than Alix or Racquel, Cherri also dries matte. Racquel is discontinued.

Left to right Adara, Isa and Jean, no dupes, Adara is the same tone of blue as Isa but she has added flakies while Isa is a shimmer and Jean is a different finish entirely.

Left to right Vixen, Nina and Kalista, no dupes, this one might be tricky to see but Vixen has a more blackened undertone than Nina and Kalista has a red undertone and golden sparkles, sadly both Nina and Kalista are discontinued.

Last but not least the stamping test. You can really see the red undertone to Vixen.

So there you have it, my comparisons for the Magical collection, do you think I missed a (Zoya) comparison? Let me know in the comments and if I have the polish I can do that comparison.

The Zoya Wall Update

Hi Friends

Today I'm sharing a small update on the *Zoya Wall* a few days ago I decided to add in all the polishes from late 2022 until just prior to the Magical collection.

Below is the wall prior to additions.

These are not the best photos because I keep my office dark at all times to protect the polishes from fading.

First photo is prior to adding of polish, second photo is the polish that needed to be added and third photo is the polishes having been added.

I really need to order another two wall racks, as clearly I am running out of space, the last two photos are the helmer drawers with the whites, nudes and browns, and the other drawer is the golds, silvers, greys to blacks.

The white dots on caps mean this bottle has a Z Wide brush inside, now that Zoya are using the Z Wide as default I've had to add a column in my spreadsheet marking if the bottle has an original or Z Wide brush.

The current count of Zoya polishes is 787.

Zoya Amaris Comparison

Hi Friends

I was asked a while ago about how Amaris would compare to Lennon and whether they were similar, as on the website they looked very very close. I am happy to report we dont have any dupes.

As you can see below, Lennon has a green/aqua undertone, Amaris is a denim blue and Jean has a periwinkle lean. Amaris also has way more holographic sparkle.

First pic is under my LED light, second pic is in natural day light, its quite gloomy here today.