Manicure Monday: Blu

OPI Nail Envy base coat, Zoya Blu (2 coats), Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat

The viewers have spoken! After posting my nail polish haul, you guys said the first polish you wanted to see swatched on Manicure Monday was Zoya Blu. Good choice!

Blu is from Zoya's Lovely Spring 2013 collection. It's a light baby blue creme polish that's incredibly opaque and has a glossy finish. There's no sheer quality to this polish, which is great because the color pay off is awesome. However, as is the case with many opaque pastel polishes, the first coat can look a little streaky. But, don't worry, coat number two events out the consistency. And it's actually a very easy color to work with.

While the color itself is a soft pastel, it's anything but subtle. Sally Hansen's Breezy Blue is the same shade of baby blue, however it's much more sheer (and has some shimmer), which lends it a much softer and delicate finish. Blu, on the other hand has zero shimmer and certainly doesn't sit quietly in the background. It has more white to it than Breezy Blue, which gives it that opaque finish and stronger presence. It's amazing the difference color intensity can make in what is essentially the same shade of blue.

What do you think of Zoya's Blu? Are you a fan of pastel? And do you prefer your pastel polish to be delicate or intense?

Don't forget, you can still weigh in on which polish I swatch next week. Just watch my haul video and leave a comment telling me which color you'd like to see next.

All Zoya nail polishes are cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, and 5-free ( they contain no formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, camphor, or formaldehyde resin).