Zoya Winter/Holiday 2016 Enchanted Collection Swatches & Review

We made it to Wednesday, congrats to us! And happy November to all you autumn-loving folks, I'm totally digging the crisp weather right now. Today I have the Winter/Holiday line from Zoya to share with you, the Enchanted collection. This six shade palette gives us two metallic "flips" and three PixieDusts! Zoya said they were retiring this textured finish a while back, but they must have reconsidered due to popular demand, as they gave us some in their summer collection too.

Press Sample

images via Zoya

Waverly is a deep sapphire blue with blue sparkles in the exclusive PixieDust matte sparkle formula. I am SO happy to have new colors in this finish, it's so striking. Applied easily and dries quickly to a textured, sandy finish. I prefer these in their textured state, but you could use a few layers of top coat to make it smooth if you want. I always wear a base coat, though they say you don't need one for these. However this is a very pigmented blue, so it may stain.

Lorna is a luscious berry magenta with a sugary bling in the matte sparkle PixieDust formula. The sparkle from the glitter in these may seem shy in the photographs, but it's delightfully twinkly in person. Two easy coats here.

Alice is an enigmatic periwinkle PixieDust with subtle magenta and blue sparkles. This formula seemed thinner with a slightly chunkier heft to the glitter. I was thinking maybe I would need three coats but it became opaque in two. This is nice and unique, an exciting shade to have in a texture finish.

Elphie is a bewitching emerald green PixieDust matte sparkle. Another excellent formula, full coverage in two coats. I think this is probably named for Elphaba from Wicked, which is of course awesome. I needed this green texture in my life, sexy and so wearable.

Saint is a vivid periwinkle shimmer multichrome with a magenta shift. This has a thin but easy formula, a bit prone to brushstrokes but they don't look bad with this type of finish. I used three coats for full coverage.

Olivera is a mesmerizing color-flip metallic with an indigo base and a green and purple shift. This is seriously gorgeous, dark and glimmering. Very close to being a one coater, two layers makes it perfect though. I can see myself wearing this over and over.

The Enchanted collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. What do you think of these lacquers? I'm pretty taken with them, this is probably my favorite Zoya collection all year! I would say Olivera and Elphie have to be my favs, how about you? Enjoy your day sweets!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Summer 2016 Seashells Collection Swatches & Review

I've got the second Zoya collection for the summer to show you today, a group of six glittery textured polishes called Seashells! (Click to see the other summer collection, the Sunsets!) This is the first reemergence of the PixieDust series since the Holiday Wishes collection in 2014. And more specifically the first return to the original PixieDust formula since Fall 2013. I was very excited to see these when I heard about them, so let's see how they turned out!

Press Sample

Tilly is described as a "starry grey, textured PixieDust with a small holographic glitter interwoven with a darker gunmetal." I'd say at first glance that it was silver with muted dark purple glitter, but I can see the grey/gunmetal thing too haha. This applied wonderfully, the glitter was easy to spread over the nail and I got full coverage in two coats.

Zooey is a "classic pink, textured PixieDust laced with a fine thread of gold and medium sized holographic hexes for an added layer of dimension." This looks like a textured version of Zoya Harper from their 2014 Tickled & Bubbly collection and I love it! Two easy coats.

Levi is a "beige gold, textured PixieDust with medium holographic hex glitter." Zoya says they created this color to give an updated glam look of one of the classic PixieDusts, so I'm thinking they're talking about Godiva. This is pretty different though so I can't be sure. I love how the holo glitter catches the light and brings green hints to the gold base! Two coats, flawless formula.

Bay is a "sky blue, textured PixieDust with fine silver and gold glitter." This one was a little more sheer than the others, I needed three coats to completely cover my nail. I didn't experience any staining though, which is nice. I can't help but think they named this in a way after Beyonce, considering her daughter's name haha.

Linds is a "cherry red, textured PixieDust with red and fuchsia glitter to mimic the look of maraschino cherries dipped in sugar." Linds has a creamier, more pigmented type of base like Tilly and Levi, lending it to be more opaque. This was almost a one coater, but I used two to get 100% coverage.

Cece is a "full impact green, textured PixieDust with a thin vein of gold creating a fizzy lemon-lime effect." I used two coats here but almost wish I'd have done one more, though in the photo it looks pretty good. Seemed more sheer, like Bay. Awesome color though, I totally needed a texture in this shade of green!

This collection is available now on the Zoya website for $10 each. I am pretty in love with these, I am really happy they went back to their roots and made more of the original type PixieDust formula textures. I thought the texture trend was over, but this kinda re-lit my passion for them! I would be pleased to see more!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya PixieDust Fall 2013 Collection Swatches & Review

Hello and welcome :) Today is the last of my PixieDust posts that I never got around to putting up the year they came out. This is the Fall 2013 collection from Zoya, six textured polishes called PixieDusts, now discontinued. This collection might be my favorite of them all so let's take a look at the pretties!

Press Sample

Arabella is described by Zoya as fuchsia, but I think it's more magenta with fuchsia and silver glitter accents. This is different than Miranda from the summer PixieDust collection because of the metallic edge of the glitter. It doesn't dry as "sugary" as some of the other pixiedusts but that's ok. Two coats, very opaque.

Next is fan favorite Carter, which I literally cannot believe I haven't worn before. This is a blackened royal purple texture with pink glitter bits. I LIVE. Two coats.

Chita you've seen from me here, and I still love it. It's a fantastic pine tree green with silver glitter. This is very opaque, I only needed ONE coat. A little thick but not difficult to use. Dries incredibly sugary.

This gal is named Dhara, a faboosh shade of orange with gold glitter. It's darker than the tangerine of Beatrix from summer and not as coral as Destiny, so she owns her place in the PixieDust family. I love oranges, so natch I love this. Two coats.

Sunshine is the name of this gorgeous americana blue texture with silver shimmer. I don't get that name with this color, but it's of little importance because this is such a winner. She is creamy like Chita, but thinner and less glitter dense. This is two coats.

And last is Tomoko, a stunning blingy pale champagne silvery gold texture. It's a bit sheer because I think it might have a clear base rather than a colored one like the others, or just a much lighter one. This is two coats, but I probably should've used three.

As I've said before, since these are discontinued, Zoya is not making any more of them. The Zoya website has them up for sale at the time I am posting this for $10 each, so if you want them, do not hesitate because they won't be there forever. Did you like this little trip down memory lane with the PixieDusts? I love them and am sad they aren't making more colors, this brand really did the texture thing right.

Laters gators!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya PixieDust Summer 2013 Collection Swatches & Review

Hi everyone! I posted about the Zoya PixieDust premiere collection the other day, so I'm continuing with the Summer 2013 collection! These are six textured glitters that are still available on the Zoya website, but the PixieDust line is discontinued so they won't be making any more. When they are sold out they are gone! Gotta grab 'em all while they're there!

Press Sample

First is Beatrix, a tangerine orange texture polish with gold glitter. The name Beatrix always reminds me of the Bride character in the Kill Bill movies, which I love. This is so bright and happy, just perfect for summer. I used two coats.

Destiny is a hot orangey coral texture with sugary looking bits and gold glitter. Oh my. This is so gorgeous and it makes me instantly happy to look at it. The base is kinda jelly-ish so it looks like candy! Two coats.

Next is Liberty, a happy bright blue with silver glitter. The base on this one is very jellyish. A little more sheer than the others but I still only needed two coats. I was afraid this would stain but it didn't on me.

Miranda is described as a rose, it leans kinda dark strawberry for me with silver glitter. This is lovely and looks almost sophisticated. Two coats here as well.

Buckle your seatbelts cuz here comes Solange! It is a gold metallic foil sparkle texture. This is supposed to have a special exclusive to Zoya gold pigment in it, it's stunning. This is a yellow gold, but it leans cool. Two coats of bling!

Stevie is a pale muted lilac with the sugary silver sparkle texture look. This is more of a crème base than jelly, more like the ones in the first PixieDust collection. I think this taffy pinky purple is kinda unique when it comes to textures so I really like it. Two coats for full opacity.

You can get these, for the time being, at Zoya.com for $10 each. What do you think of these shades? Did you get any of them when they came out? If you didn't, which one would you choose now? I still enjoy the texture trend, so these are still on my radar :)

Have a great Memorial Day weekend if you're in the US, if you're not have a great regular weekend!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya PixieDust Spring 2013 Collection Swatches & Review

Hey there! I've got a different kind of Throwback Thursday post for you today. Since Zoya has discontinued their PixieDust line, I thought it was high time that I should put up swatches for them! Late 2012-early 2014 were kinda hard years for me so I was absent from my blog way more than I had ever intended, and that meant a lot of collections got left out :( I apologize to anyone who looked forward to these swatches and was disappointed when I didn't post them around the time of their release, but I hope you will enjoy them now even though they are quite tardy.

Press Sample

When I say discontinued, I mean that Zoya announced they are no longer making these textured polishes back in December 2014, but it looks like they are still available (except one) for purchase on their website. I loved these "regular" textured finish PixieDusts, and their special editions like the Magical PixieDusts and the Ultra PixieDusts which actually made it to my blog already, so I'm sad they aren't making any more. If you want these, you should grab them up soon, I'm not sure when they will be out of stock for good.

First we have Chyna, a ruby slipper red texture polish with red glitter. This had excellent pigment and opacity. I used this polish in this nail art manicure I did for a guest post on my friend Leslie's blog a few years ago and I just love it. These all dry to a matte, gritty textured finish; all swatches are without top coat.

Dahlia is a black texture polish with silver glitter bits. This is less of a jelly consistency than Chyna was. A little thick but easy to apply, two coats.

Next is Godiva, a soft beige nude texture with silver glitter grains. This was a showstopper when it first came on the scene, pretty unique at the time. I think it's so elegant! This is two coats, but you may need three depending on your application style as it's a little thin and not as pigmented as the darker shades.

London is a rainy day grey texture with silver glitter. This name is spot on, it totally makes me think of London skies! This one is unfortunately the only one I can't find on Zoya's website :( so if you are lusting after it you might try Ebay. Two coats.

Here we have Nyx, a periwinkle denim blue texture polish with icy silver glitter. This is a fan favorite and for good reason, it's really lovely! A little on the sheer side, but I only needed two coats.

Vespa is last in this premiere collection, it's a light mint green texture with silver shimmer. I showed you this back in a manicure post I did in 2013 as an accent nail, which texture polishes are great for in my opinion. I love this shade, it reminds me of a spring meadow! Another one that's a bit more sheer, but only two coats.

Chyna is probably my favorite of these just because of the coordinating colored glitter, it just gives it something extra I think. These are available for purchase on Zoya's website for $10 each, at least they are for now. Like I mentioned above, they are discontinued so they won't be there forever. When they are sold out, that's it. Let me know if you will miss the PixieDusts! Or if you are over textured polishes in general, or even if you didn't like them to begin with haha. Or any other opinion at all :)

Thanks for looking!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Holiday 2014 Wishes Collection Swatches & Review

What's this? Another Zoya collection? Oh yes you heard right my friends! This is the Holiday 2014 collection from Zoya called Wishes. It includes three standard polish shades and three magical pixie dust polishes. Let's take a look shall we?

Press Sample

First is Haven, my favorite from the collection. It's an incredible red toned plummy purple shimmer bordering on metallic. Zoya calls this finish "liquid metal". That glowy brilliance in the full sunlight is almost fuchsia, and I love this. Two coats, a little thick but manageable.

Next is the first of the magical pixie dusts, called Thea. I have to say that I don't care for these three magical pixies. They all have a jelly base color and don't really dry down to that signature textured sugary pixie dust finish, like two of the ultra pixie dusts I reviewed recently. I know a lot of people probably don't mind, it's just not my cup of tea. Anyway, this is a medium to deepish purple amethyst with holographic glitters in varying sizes. Three thin coats, pretty decent formula for a chunky glitter jelly. This is how it looks when it dries without a top coat. Kinda gummy.

Now this is Prim, a polish I was prepared to dislike but I ended up loving. It's really the sleeper hit of the collection. This is a cornflowery powder blue metallic that is bordering on being a frost. The brushstrokes don't really show as much as I thought they would and I just love how it looks. Gorgeous color and it's opaque in one coat! I used two here because I wanted to smooth my application.

Nori is next, another one of the magical pixie dusts. I was hoping to love this but sadly I think it's all wrong for me. Forget about me not liking the finish for a minute, but this tone of blue doesn't look good with my skin tone at all. An upside though, the formula was quite easy to work with! I used two coats here.

Here is Willa, a black jelly crème hybrid. Too glossy and juicy to be a straight crème, too opaque to be a jelly. This is very shiny, kinda thin, but opaque in two coats. Am I the only one who didn't realize Zoya didn't have a straight black in their massive arsenal yet?

And last is Imogen, which is one of my favorite names ever. Again it doesn't dry matte and sugary, but it does end up with a little more texture than the other two pixies in this collection. Unfortunately it is another "no" in my opinion though. I think there might actually be too much glitter in here for me! This was more difficult to apply than the other glitters in the collection but not impossible by any means. Two coats.

So there you have it, the Wishes collection was basically a 50/50 win/lose situation for me, but hey no one loves everything! These can be purchased on the Zoya website, the regular polishes are $9 each and the magical pixies are $10 each. What do you think of this collection? Do these colors say "holiday" to you? How do you feel about the texture (or lack thereof) of the glitters?

That's all for me for today! See ya :)

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Fall 2014 Ultra PixieDust Collection Swatches & Review

Greetings! Today I wanted to show you the third Fall collection from Zoya, this one is a trio called the Ultra PixieDusts! They are texture polishes that are sort of a mix between their regular PixieDust texture and their Magical PixieDusts. They have that fine textured micro glitter that regular PixieDusts have and small, medium, and large matte hex glitters. All of these swatches are done with no base or top coat, as directed.

Press Sample

Oswin is a rich ruby red that dries down completely matte. This reminds me of Dorothy's ruby slippers! So pretty. I found the formula very easy to use. I painted on three thin coats, waiting for each layer to completely dry in between.

Noir has a dark plum base with red magenta glitters. This one stayed very jelly-like though, and I waited quite a lot of time for it to dry in between coats. It almost doesn't look like theres any of the super micro texture beads in this one. Hmm, I think I would like it more if it had a completely matte finish. Thinner than Oswin, three coats.

Arianna is a slightly darker, cooler wine red than Oswin. This one also dried semi-jelly and not matte, but not as gummy looking as Noir. I like this color but I think it's almost too similar to Oswin to be released in the same collection. This had a thinner formula as well, I used three coats here.

So I have heard that the consumer bought versions of these all dry down totally matte, so the two non-mattes might've been part of a problem batch. I'm not positive on that, of course I can't say for sure. I just know that I followed the exact application method that Zoya recommends and two of them didn't dry the way I'm assuming they were meant to. Either way, I think you'll either be into these Ultra PixieDusts or you won't. I think I prefer the Magical PixieDusts the best, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority haha.

You can purchase these now from the Zoya website for $10 each. What do you think of these? If you have them, did yours dry totally matte? If you only could pick one of the three, which shade would you pick? Thanks for stopping by :)

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Zoya Magical PixieDust Summer 2014 Swatches & Review

Hi friends! You know how much I loved the Spring Magical PixieDust glitters from Zoya, so I was excited to hear they were releasing more of them! In this Summer Magical PixieDust trio there are three awesome textured glitter polishes filled with chunky holographic glitter bits and plenty of shimmer for us to welcome all that summer sun!

Press Sample

My favorite of the three is Ginni, a light pink. A perfect girly pink. I love how the base of the shade is so pigmented, really ringing that pink through the shade. The glitters in this really bling out with rainbows, but I end up seeing a lot of purple in it and I love it! This is three thin coats.

Next is my second favorite, Bar. It's a light beige nude shade that is just a bit lighter than my skin tone. I love nudes and glittery nudes are even better in my book. This is three thin coats.

And last to round out the collection is Arlo, which to me sounds like a man's name but whatevs. This shade is a light purple amethyst color. I like the shade alright but I don't feel like it goes very well with my complexion. This is also three thin coats.

I found the formula on all of these to be good, not hard to use at all. You can purchase these from the Zoya website for $10 each. What do you think of these chunky textured honeys? I'm into them. I'm pretty sure they're into me too ;) See ya!

facebook ▴ twitter ▴ instagram  

Product samples were provided for consideration.

Zoya Magical PixieDust Collection Spring 2014 Swatches & Review

Today I have a trio of texture polishes from Zoya, called the Magical PixieDust collection. They have the Zoya PixieDust texture with added chunky holographic bits making them more blingy and "magical". Zoya does texture polishes super well so I was eagerly anticipating what these would look like and how they would be to wear.

Press Sample

Cosmo is a silver glitter with multi-sized bits and holo sequins. It was a little thicker than normal PixieDusts but I expected that. It wasn't hard to apply but I did take a little more care in application so it wouldn't get too thick. This is two coats.

Next is Lux, a pale rose metallic color with the same texture and holo glitter bits. I thought I would like this the best out of the three but the color wasn't as rich as I thought it would be on the nail. This is two coats. It's not as opaque as the others.

And last is Vega, a light aqua metallic glitter. I love how the holo bits in this come alive, like glistening tide pools or something. This one was probably the most opaque out of the three. This is two coats.

You can get these from Zoya.com for $10 each. What do you think of these supercharged mega textures? I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't super chunky or that hard to apply, which was a concern. I think if you go slow and let them dry a bit in between layers you'll be just fine. They also didn't feel as thick or any grittier than any other texture polish. I love them and I hope Zoya comes out with more.

facebook ▴ twitter ▴ instagram

Product samples were provided for consideration.

Blogging for a Cause - My Guest Post on Work/Play/Polish

Hi friends! Today I am being featured as a guest blogger on my friend Leslie's blog Work/Play/Polish. She is doing a series to highlight the charity Polished Girlz, a group "bring sparkle to the lives of girls with special needs or frequent hospitalizations by bringing the trendiest nail art parties to them, while teaching them the importance of hand washing to reduce infection rates and repeated hospital admissions".

You can view my post here and be sure to subscribe to her so you can see all the other great guest posts she's planning. I can't believe I did nail art! It is a recreation of one of Instagrammer @amkuch15′s manicures, just switched up to different colors. Happy holidays!

Press Sample

Join me on my other social networks:
Facebook ▴ Twitter ▴ BlogLovin' ▴ Instagram

Product samples were provided for consideration.