A Zoya A Day - Phoebe and Summer

Hey Friends

Today on the blog we meet Phoebe and Summer. 

Available on USA website - No
Available on the UK website - No
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - No
Name - Phoebe
Year - 2011
Number - ZP0558R
Coats - 2
Finish - Matte
Collection - Mod Mattes
Colour - Blue
Topcoat - No

Phoebe is a discontinued polish from Zoya, I would describe her as a bright jewel toned blue in a matte finish with hidden shimmer.

Available on USA website - Yes

Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Z Wide
Does it stamp - No
Name - Summer
Year - 2021
Number - ZP1091
Coats - 2

Finish - Shimmer

Collection - Dreamin

Colour - Blue

Topcoat - No

Summer can be described as a mermaid shimmer featuring flashes of green and gold with a blue base.

I love the colour of Phoebe, the formula, not so much, I dont know if its my mini bottle or because its so old now but this was pretty bad to apply, it was drying almost as soon as I took the brush out of the bottle, I tried to do a thin first coat but I didnt have enough polish on the brush to do that, so I gobbed the second coat on, still didnt cover the gouge I made in the first coat. I also put top coat on half my nail to show the shimmer. I've included a pic of my swatch stick compared to my thumb, the swatch stick is faded a lot and I keep my room dark all the time with little to no sunlight.

Summer is gorgeous!, its like looking into shallow sea water at coral under the surface, great formula, no running or pooling and opaque in tow coats.

I've also broken a nail pulling a pillowcase on a new pillow so I'm going to cut them down. You can see that the two nails with the least staining are the ones that always break and have gel patches on.

A Zoya A Day - Austin and Skylar

Hey Friends

Today on the blog we meet Austin and Skylar. 

Available on USA website - Yes
Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - Yes
Name - Austin
Year - 2021
Number - ZP1102
Coats - 1
Finish - Cream
Collection - Nostalgic
Colour - Blue
Topcoat - No

Austin can best be described as a cool wedge-wood blue cream..

Available on USA website - Yes

Available on the UK website - No
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - No
Name - Skylar
Year - 2012
Number - ZP0588
Coats - 2

Finish - Metallic

Collection - True

Colour - Blue

Topcoat - No

Skylar by Zoya can be best described as a medium steel blue with a softened, dusty look and speckled by visible gold and silver shimmer flecks.

Two of Zoya's chameleon colours, very shifty depending on light source.

Austin is so pretty, I dont think I'd call this a wedgewood blue though, I think theres a bit too much grey, nor is it bright enough, good formula though, no running or pooling and opaque in one coat, Austin also stamps well. I've included a pic of some wedgewood.

Skylar is one of my first Zoya's I love the grey undertone and sparkles in this, great formula, no running or pooling and opaque in two coats, you can see it stamped but probably best over a darker colour.

The collections compliment each other nicely I think.

Right at the very bottom are some pics of my weekend mani, I started out with two coats of Fancy Gloss Once Upon A Time a gorgeous blue (cold) to pink (hot) thermal, I then stamped using Virago Varnish Not A Happy Camper and Sally Hansen Insta-dri Heather Hustle using plates Born Pretty BP-L045 for the lace images and Dixie Plates Butterflies and Bees for the flowers and butterflies. The pics are all mostly the cold state.

A Zoya A Day - Amira and Darby

Hey Friends

Today on the blog we meet Amira and Darby. 

Available on USA website - Yes
Available on the UK website - No
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - No
Name - Amira
Year - 2017
Number - ZP0891
Coats - 2
Finish - Sparkle
Collection - Charming
Colour - Blue
Topcoat - No

Amira by Zoya can be best described as a soft dewy blue micro-sparkle.

Available on USA website - Yes

Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - Yes
Name - Darby
Year - 2018
Number - ZP0928
Coats - 1

Finish - Metallic

Collection - Thrive

Colour - Blue

Topcoat - No

Darby by Zoya can be best described as a dusty, gull gray metallic.

Love both of these, Zoya again calls Darby gull grey but puts it in the blue colour family.

Amira is stunning, the sparkles in this are gorgeous, a mix of silver and gold I think, great formula, no running or pooling and opaque in two coats. I#ve added a comparison of Amira nad Fisher incase anyone was wondering.

Darby oh Darby, Zoya calls you a metallic but youre really a shimmer but sadly a very very shy shimmer who shows up in the bottle but not really on the nail. Darby has a great formula though, no running or pooling and opaque in one coat, Darby also stamps but trying to show the stamp was a bit difficult because Obi was in the window, also please ignore the smudge on my ring finger, didnt notice that until I imported the pics.

Both of these are chameleon colours, they could go in the grey colour family or the blue.

A Zoya A Day - Kristen and Val

Hey Friends

Today on the blog we meet Kristen and Val. 

Available on USA website - Yes
Available on the UK website - No
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - Yes
Name - Kristen
Year - 2011
Number - ZP0591
Coats - 1
Finish - Cream
Collection - Feel
Colour - Blue
Topcoat - No

Kristen by Zoya can be best described as a gull gray nail polish with a mild bluish hue.

Available on USA website - Yes

Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - Yes
Name - Val
Year - 2021
Number - ZP1076
Coats - 1

Finish - Cream

Collection - Darling

Colour - Blue

Topcoat - No

Val can best be described as a relaxing mid-tone sky blue cream.

I'm fascinated by Zoya's colour descriptions, its why if I can I use theirs, sometimes they are dead on accurate and other times its like huh, Kristen theyve listed as a gull grey polish but theyve put it in their blue colour category. 

Kristen is gorgeous, its blue with a grey undertone, great formula, no running or pooling and opaque in one sweet coat, Kristen also stamps, best over a darker colour.

Val is looking way more blue than she really is, no idea why my LED light pulled so much blue out of Val but the bottle shot and the thumbs top pic is totally accurate, to my eye not via the camera she is more a slightly deeper version of Kristen, great formula, no running or pooling and opaque in one sweet coat, Val also stamps, best over a darker colour.

Interesting looking at the two collections, Darling is almost a more vibrant version of the Feel collection.

A Zoya A Day - Fisher and Lake

Hey Friends

Today on the blog we meet Fisher and Lake. Its so nice to be back swatching, I missed it when I had to wear my glasses for two plus weeks before my eye scans. 

Available on USA website - Yes
Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Z Wide
Does it stamp - No
Name - Fisher
Year - 2020
Number - ZP1041
Coats - 2/3
Finish - Shimmer
Collection - Splash
Colour - Blue
Topcoat - No

Fisher can best be described as a sun-kissed seafoam with a stunning gold micro-shimmer.

Available on USA website - Yes

Available on the UK website - Yes
Brush used - Original
Does it stamp - Yes
Name - Lake
Year - 2016
Number - ZP0828
Coats - 2

Finish - Cream

Collection - Whispers

Colour - Blue

Topcoat - No

Lake by Zoya can be best described as a softened blue that gives the effect of serene water with just a hint of vibrancy to preserve its luminosity.

Fisher is gorgeous, I took the photos in low daylight as well as my usual LED light, you can really see that gold shimmer stand out, this had a good formula, no running or pooling but sheer, if I was wearing this for a mani I would be doing three coats, my pics show two.

Lake is quite interesting, you can really see that grey undertone come out, good formula no running or pooling and opaque in two coats, Lake also stamps. 

The cats got a new cat bed for Christmas and thankfully its a success, Obi was inside and Ellie took the top bunk :) 

Weekend Mani plus Ugly Bottle Syndrome

Hey Friends

Recently I bought 65, yes 65 stamping plates in a destash, they were pretty much all brands I didnt own and I took a punt, there was one single dupe in the whole lot a Moyou plate called Animal Collection 01 which is pretty good going.

Within the 65 were two plastic plates, now I'd heard of plastic plates but never purchased any, I think both of these are Ali Express. So over the weekend I thought I'd test one of them out.

I went for something entirely not seasonal too lol 

On a side note because I'm going to show you the bottles, do not panic if your polish has sat for a while and it separates, as below my PoP Polish bottles which are the pastel collection turned into their own mini ombre, side note I do not support this brand anymore but I will use what I already own, their ethics are not something I support. So with a good shake the polish inside is totally fine but bottles I'm afraid will not change because the polish adheres to the sides, which is why its know as Ugly Bottle Syndrome. I own nail polish from the 80s and its still totally usable, as long as the lid is tight it can last decades.

Base was two coats of PoP Polish Sorbet then I stamped with Fancy Gloss Neon Pink, I added a glossy topcoat then decided I really do prefer matte for any stamping as it means you see the design well you do if your camera doesnt have a freak out at the neon colour and refuse to focus on it! The pic of just the base colour was only one coat at that point.

Most brands can or will separate, Virago Varnish does it a lot as do a few of my Zoya.