Zoya Nail Polish: My new nail obsession

(left to right) Shawn, Ibiza, Kalista, Kelly, Stacy 

I don't know how I've been in the dark for so long, but I recently discovered Zoya nail polish. I mean, I'd heard of it before, but I'd never actually seen it in a retail store, so I didn't really think about it much. Then I walked into a few fancy nail salons and saw they used Zoya polish, but I'd promptly forget to look into it more. But I was recently reminded of my curiosity when Zoya tweeted that they were holding a BOGO Free sale online. At this point, I no longer had any excuses. I could try out a few of their polishes for the cost of a drugstore brand (polishes are regularly priced at $7), and heck, even some drugstore brands are starting to charge that much for their new salon formulas (ahem, Sally Hansen). So really, there wasn't much stopping me anymore. I knew where to purchase and they were having a sale. How much more incentive did I need? None. I took that offer hook, line, and sinker. I gleefully explored their color selection, squealing to myself in the apartment, and frightening my cats. The color selection was gorgeous. The reviews were equally stunning. Had I been hiding under a rock this whole time? I inspected varnish after varnish and finally decided on four lovely colors that I felt could easily and safely get me through the fall and winter without a hitch. Those colors were: 

• Ibiza - A lovely midnight blue with a touch of blue sparkle that borders on black, but is still just light enough to come through as an elegant deep royal blue. This is not your kid sister's rebellious blue nail polish. No, no, no. This gorgeous hue is fancy. I could see a fashion-forward CEO rocking this polish in the winter with her dark designer suits, because it's not in-your-face teenage-angst blue. It's sophisticated and beautiful. And, it's richly pigmented. I only needed one coat to get the gorgeous shade you see in the bottle. Let me say that again for good measure: one coat. I've been sporting it on my toes for two weeks now. It's just the dark blue I've been looking for, deep, but not to be confused with black, and bright, but still subdued and classy. 
• Stacy - This polish isn't sparkly, but it shines all on its own. It's a beautiful berry-plum color that looks a bit like a glass of red wine (a plum, berry red wine). As I mentioned, it doesn't have any glitter, but the polish has a glossy sophisticated finish without reading old in any way shape form or manner. Two coats did the trick with this lacquer.  

Left to right: Stacy, Ibiza, Kalista

•  Kalista - I am head over heels with this color. It is my first brown nail polish and it's going to be hard for any browns to compete. Except maybe Angelina, Zoya's non-glitter infused deep brown, but I don't own it, so for now Kalista brown owns my heart (at least when it comes to brown). It's a perfect fall color: a deep brown with golden shimmer that goes beautifully with the changing autumn leaves. Check it out in the picture below. I used two coats to achieve that finish.

Kalista

• Kelly - And then there was Kelly. What can I say about Kelly? If you follow me on Twitter or have seen some of my YouTube channels, you've heard me make mention of my Sally Hansen Wet Cement. Kelly is its darker, sultrier sister. While Wet Cement is a nice light grey, Kelly is a deep charcoal grey with purple/blue undertones. It's perfect to transition into the winter. It's like a gunmetal grey without any glitter, and a fun alternative to dark black nails. And it seems I'm not the only one with a crush on this color, because this particular shade was on back order. One coat is all you need to get the same effect as you see in the bottle. 

Kelly

I was so taken by my four new polishes that when I went out to ULTA last week, I kept my eye out for some Zoya. It turns out, ULTA doesn't carry Zoya regularly, but as I was perusing the sale isle, I stumbled upon their distinctive bottle. A rather interesting shade of green called Shawn from their Wicked collection. While I was perusing the BOGO sale, I contemplated getting a green, but then decided against it because I'd never really been a fan of green nail polish. But when I saw how nice the shades I'd gotten were, I was wishing I'd gone ahead and purchased the green. And, now, here I was in the clearance isle at ULTA and a green Zoya polish was staring me in the face. Well, it was actually hidden beneath some China Glaze polishes that were in a cube container. It seems someone tried to hide it for themselves or simply just left it there when they decided to grab a sale product instead. I swept it up, practically ran to the register to see if it was on sale, and if not, where they were hiding the rest. I hadn't seen them in the nail isle. Turns out, they just had a few in a display at the front of the store. So I went to see what other colors they might have. Well, I was holding the last bottle of Shawn, which in the bottle looks pretty much like the green color hue of the Wicked Witch of the West. I was hesitant, because what I really wanted was a deep color, similar to Ibiza but in green. But remembering my initial hesitation, and how I'd wished I'd just gotten it, I put the bottle in my basket and went for it. (I also bought another color, but I'm keeping it a secret, as I plan to give it as a gift. Wouldn't want to give away the surprise!) I'm glad I didn't give in to my hesitation twice. While Shawn looks a little like the color green you turn when you're sea sick in the bottle, on your nails it's a beautiful deep green. Again, it's not a rebellious in your face green. In fact, my fiance, who'd made a face when I showed him my new purchase, did not recognize it on my nails. When I displayed my newly manicured hand, he actually thought it was black because the color was dark. When I told him it was green to look closer, he said that it was much nicer than that ugly puke green I'd bought at the store. This of course sent me into stitches, and he was quite surprised to learn it was in fact the same polish. So, if you want a deeper green than what you see in the bottle, opt for two coats of Shawn. 

Shawn

Now you know how I feel about the color pay off from these lacquers. But how well do they perform on when you wear them. Well, it seems that on average I can get about 4-5 days of wear before I chip. I type a lot, so I think that's great! By day two and three the edges might start to wear a bit, but that's pretty normal. So, I'd say the Zoya color selection is fantastic, and the polish has some rather decent durability. It certainly lasts longer on my nails than Sally Hansen (my favorite drugstore brand), and I haven't really tested my China Glaze and OPI but it seems to out last those by probably a day or two before chips. Now, if you are rough on your nails, then this might certainly differ for you. But these are the results I've had so far. It's day four with my Kelly polish on, and it's still looking rather nice, just some minor fading along the edges. 

If it wasn't obvious to you by now, I definitely recommend Zoya as a polish brand of choice. 

Have you tried Zoya? What are your favorite Zoya polishes? If you haven't, tell me what your favorite nail polish is. 

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