Manicure Monday: Zoya Liberty

OPI Nail Envy base coat, Zoya Liberty (2 coats), no top coat

As you might know, I've been rather hesitant to try out the textured polish trend. I wasn't sure I was going to like it. For the most part, many of the swatches I was seeing online just looked like gritty colorful cottage cheese, with the exception of one brand, Zoya. I think the secret to their success in the textured polish department is their use of glitter. So, I went ahead and purchased a Zoya Pixie Dust polish in Liberty, which is a fun dark cobalt blue.

I think the glitter works so well in this formula because it will fall into the grooves the texture creates and because there's so much micro glitter in there, when it catches the light, it really does create a beautiful sparkle. The sparkle offsets the grit, making your polish look less like gravel and more like what I imagine fairy dust would look like, making the Pixie Dust moniker rather apropos.

I have to say I'm quite pleasantly surprised by how much I like the finish, even if it does feel like sandpaper to the touch, something I'm not crazy about. I keep wanting to reach for my top coat to smooth out the surface. But the texture, plus the sparkle seems to really work well together. The polish's matte finish really makes the glitter stand out even more.

Adding a glossy top coat will ruin the texture effect by smoothing it out a bit on top (you'll still be able to feel a little of that grit, but it will be significantly reduced). It will also give the matte texture shine, so it won't work as well. However, what I noticed when I added top coat (I just had to see what would happen) was that it gave the finish a seemingly holographic look. It didn't really pick up that well on camera, hence the lack of photo. And while I think that looks rather cool as well, I have to admit, it does look better without it. Only time will tell whether the lack of top coat will lead to a chipped manicure faster.

As for application, I was really surprised by how easily this glided on to my nail. I thought the gritty texture might make it tricky to work with, but that wasn't the case at all. The first coat pretty much covered my whole nail, leaving so sheer space. The second coat increased the glitter factor. It feels a bit like someone dropped sand into my nail polish. But I stand by this statement: It's the sparkle that really makes this work. My nails look like sparkly gum drops.

Removal wasn't too terrible -- about what you would normally expect with a glitter polish. It came off easier the more I saturated my cotton swab with acetone.

All in all I'm glad I ventured into the textured polish trend but I think I may be sticking to the Pixie Dust version as opposed to the flat creme versions that are out there or even the feather finish I've seen with other brands. They're just not peaking my interest.

What do you think of the Pixie Dust trend? Do you agree or disagree with my glitter assessment? Are you likely to try a textured polish?