Dupe Check: Zoya Ginni and Zoya Bar against Zoya Tomoko, Zoya Godiva, Zoya Cosmo, Zoya Lux, and Zoya Miranda

Hello my lovelies,

I know it's hard to rationalize buying polish when you know you have something similar sitting in your stash at home. And when I looked at both Ginni and Bar from their Summer 2014 Magical Pixie collection, I have to admit that I was a little surprised that they were doing two polishes so close to others that they have already made. Then they arrived on my doorstep, and I realized that they aren't really dupes, and that I probably should prove that to you all, since I know I was worried about that, myself. I mean, at $10 a pop, I myself wonder if it's really necessary to have three "nude" polishes, and three in the pink family.

Miranda, Ginni, Lux, sunlight

I compared Zoya Ginni against Zoya Miranda and Zoya Lux (from the Summer Texture PixieDust 2013  collection and Spring 2014 Magical Pixie collection, respectively). I didn't think that Miranda would be too close to Ginni, in all honesty. That being said, however, Miranda dries pretty light, and I wear it most often with only one coat, so I thought it might be good to really rule it out as a dupe once and for all.

Miranda, Ginni, Lux, natural light

Miranda, Ginni, Lux, artificial light

The photos are as follows: From pinky to index, we have Miranda, Ginni with two coats, Ginni with only one coat, and Lux with two coats. I know I'm going to be wearing Ginni with only one coat pretty frequently, so I wanted to show that it still has a lot more pink pigment than Lux, even with only one coat. See how silver Lux is in tone? I still think Miranda is a stunning color, personally. There are only a select few polishes that I have a backup bottle of, and Miranda and Godiva are among them.

Zoya Miranda, Zoya Ginni, Zoya Lux, natural light

Zoya Miranda, Zoya Ginni, Zoya Lux, artificial light

Zoya Miranda, Zoya Ginni, Zoya Lux, sunlight

Cosmos, Tomoko, Godiva, Bar, natural light

The next pics are comparing Zoya Bar against Zoya Godiva, Zoya Tomoko, and Zoya Cosmo. I threw in Cosmo in the last minute because they have always called Tomoko a champagne silver, and Cosmo a real silver, and I thought I'd set that to rest once and for all. I'm just going to step up off the bat and say that there are no dupes here, either. Not even a little bit. They're all pretty distinctive in their own way, even the two I've always felt were the closest: Tomoko and Godiva. Bar is certainly very different from both Tomoko and Godiva, and Cosmo is almost white in comparison with the other three. It sort of doesn't belong in the dupe check, but I want it here, so it's staying.

Cosmo, Tomoko, Godiva, Bar, artificial light

Cosmo, Tomoko, Godiva, Bar, sunlight

The colors are as follows from pinky to index: Zoya Cosmo (one coat), Zoya Tomoko (two coats), Zoya Godiva (two coats), and Zoya Bar (one coat). Note that both Cosmo and Bar only have one coat versus the others. This is because I think both of these Magical Pixies actually lend themselves to single coats really well, particularly Bar. Cosmo with two coats is very opaque, and almost white-silver in color. Bar is more opaque and darker, as well, but I'm pretty sure that in my everyday wear, I'll mostly be using just one coat of Bar. Again, I really don't think there's a single dupe in the bunch here. Tomoko is much more yellow than all the others. Godiva and Bar are the most similar, but Bar is darker, browner, and the holo glitter really sets it apart, so I don't see it as a dupe in any way. Cosmo is just in its own galaxy.

Zoya Bar, Zoya Godiva, Zoya Tomoko, Zoya Cosmo

Zoya Bar, Zoya Godiva, Zoya Tomoko, and Zoya Cosmo, artificial light

Zoya Bar, Zoya Godiva, Zoya Tomoko, Zoya Godiva, sunlight

The moral here is that you really can buy these with confidence, my darlings. Bar and Ginni are nothing like the other PixieDusts and Magical Pixies before them. The Zoya fairies? They did some very nice work with this Magical Pixie collection.

As always, I feel obliged to tell you to head on over to Zoya's blog and follow @ZoyaNailPolish on twitter, as they have frequent promos, contests, and giveaways. They're pretty awesome like that.

I'll be back soon, my lovely ladies. Until then, happy polishing!

Emily, the Manic Paintress

Zoya Bar, Zoya Ginni, and Zoya Arlo: The Zoya Summer Magical PixieDust 2014 Collection Review and Swatches

Okay my darlings, the lovely fairies at Zoya saw fit to send me this summer's Magical PixieDust collection, and I must say that it is STUNNING. Yes, these are press samples, but no, I didn't have to love the heck out of all of them.

Zoya Bar, shaded sunlight

Zoya Arlo, shaded sunlight

Zoya Ginni, shaded sunlight

Before I go into my descriptions, here are the outdoor shaded pictures of Bar, Ginni, and Arlo, so you can go onto www.zoya.com to order all three right now. You really won't be sorry. If you like shiny, feminine, beautiful polishes, these are all must-haves. No joke. The photos are all taken with two coats of polish--no top coat, so you can really see the texture and finish of the polish.

First up is Ginni. I have to admit, I was originally looking forward to Ginni quite a bit when I got the press release back in April, as I like soft, pink colors. After receiving, swatching, and wearing Wendy, Rooney, Kitridge, Harper, Binx, and even Jesy and Rocha, I sort of was over anything pink, or even pinkish. I was also a bit wary of the fact that Zoya tended to go super bright and candy/ girlie in lieu of rosy this summer, and I thought Ginni might have been a textured version of Harper, but without the gold tones. It in no way is. As a note on the pics, Ginni didn't want to photograph in the sun well. At all. This was the best I could do, and I know it's blurry. The holo glitter kept kicking it out of focus, which actually wasn't a problem for the other Magical Pixies, luckily. Just Ginni. Sigh.

Zoya Ginni, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Ginni, direct sunlight

Zoya describes Ginni as "a glittery pink tourmaline in the best-selling, ultra textured, matte, holographic Magical Pixie formula." I appreciate that Zoya is trying to use gemstones in the descriptions of these polishes. I do. Really. Except that they're not particularly accurate--not in this case. Pink tourmaline is frequently super bright, and would have pretty much been close to Rooney in terms of color--bright, blue-toned pink. I find Ginni to be really well balanced. While it is definitely feminine, it's not overly bright.

Zoya Ginni, indoors in artificial lighting

Zoya Ginni, taken with a flash

I should note that I also have Lux from the Spring collection, which I have swatched in the past. It definitely is not a dupe. They're both pale pinks, but Lux reads super silvery on me, to the point where I've confused it with Cosmo. Ginni manages to be soft without washing out in color--the pink doesn't overpower, but it also is quite present. The holo glitter in Ginni is also really quite pretty, adding a nice fire to it, and complimenting the pink in interesting ways. It's a very feminine polish that isn't over-the-top or overwhelming. I think the larger hex glitter is both holo AND pink in Ginni--not just holo, like in Lux.

Zoya Bar is described as "a glittery nude topaz in the best-selling, ultra textured, matte, holographic Magical Pixie formula." I'm not going to lie here: I read Twilight, and, like most everyone else who did, have no real idea what topaz really means beyond a general gold-like hue. Actually, I also know that there is a topaz in pretty much every shade of the rainbow, and I'm assuming that when Zoya said nude, they meant gold-ish like Stephanie Meyer. Competing with that mental image, however, was the nude descriptor, which made me think of Godiva, Zoya's nude PixieDust from their original Spring 2013 collection. It's one of my all-time favorite polishes, but I was a bit afraid that Bar was going to be a holo, chunkier version of Godiva.

Zoya Bar, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Bar, direct sunlight

I was mostly wrong on both accounts. I find it really hard to gauge how a polish will look on Zoya's website, as we all know, so I really was expecting Bar to be a bit lighter, especially since there was the "nude" descriptor. It's almost a light brown, but with nice warmth, but not too yellow. It'd work really well with a tan, I think, as a flesh tone. I have to say, I think this looks absolutely stunning on me. Godiva is more yellow than my freakishly pink skin, and Tomoko isn't really trying to be nude, but Bar actually looks the most natural on me, perhaps because it's not too close to something it's clearly not. It brings a warmth to my skin tone that really flatters in a surprising way, without being yellow, which actually might be the key here. My skin is never yellow, and that's what Godiva really is, in essence.

Zoya Bar, taken with a flash

Zoya Bar, indoors in artificial lighting

I always have scoffed at the descriptions of Bella falling into Edward Cullen's topaz eyes, but if topaz is actually as pretty as Bar, I'd get lost in topaz, too. The holo glitter really makes Bar pop on the nail, too, which pretty much goes without saying, but shouldn't be ignored, either. Again, it doesn't overwhelm the color itself (and there appears to be larger hex nude glitter along with hex holo glitter, too), despite Bar being in the nude family. I hate to admit it, but these swatches are actually me with a bit of a tan, so I will be interested to see what I think of Bar in the middle of the winter, when my skin is hard to distinguish from the snow outside. For now, it's a surprisingly serious love for me.

Zoya Bar, one coat in direct sunlight

Zoya Bar, one coat in shaded sunlight

As an FYI, Both Ginni and Bar look absolutely amazing with only one coat, as well. I went a bit too heavy on the first coat with Ginni to provide pics of that, but Bar is seen here with only one coat... it's dainty, right? You get enough color without it being overwhelming, and enough sparkle without it being too much. I'm sure it's how I'll wear it 90% of the time.

Zoya Bar, one coat indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Bar, one coat indoors in artificial lighting

Side bar--after wearing it for a while, I've decided that it's like wearing the beach on your nails, a bit, too, which is fun. Seriously--what's a better summertime mani than wearing the beach on your fingers? Right now, I'm wearing Muse from the Bubbly collection on my toes, which is a mermaid blue, and I think it might be the most amazing summer beach mani/pedi combo ever.

Arlo is described by Zoya as "a glittering violet amethyst in the best-selling, ultra textured, matte, holographic Magical Pixie formula." Arlo is a polish I knew I was going to love. I have a few pieces of amethyst, and all of them admittedly lean a bit more blue than Arlo, but there is a lot of variety in the stone, so I'll give them this one, begrudgingly. It's definitely an on-trend color, leaning a bit towards Radiant Orchid. I'll be really honest here: Arlo is the color I really wanted Binx from the Bubbly collection to be. Binx ended up much more pink than I thought it was going to be, and had strong gold metallic glitter that really subdued the purple tones that I was excited about.

Zoya Arlo, direct sunlight

Zoya Arlo, indoors in natural lighting

The hex glitter in Arlo is both purple and holo, like in the other summer Magical Pixies, and it really helps keep the integrity of the shade, while adding the dimension of the holo. It's stunning in Arlo, truly. I don't know if I see any of the violet aspect in Arlo that is in the description, but I also don't know that I care. It's much darker than the other two, though still remains pretty and feminine. The purple still has a lot of pink in it (again, I think it leans towards the Radiant Orchid spectrum) so it's a rather versatile color.

Zoya Arlo, taken with a flash

Zoya Arlo, indoors in artificial lighting

Some people get scared of purples, as they can be rather assertive, but despite the fact that Arlo is a textured polish with heavy glitter, it really isn't overwhelming. Arlo is a bit on the juicy side, compared to the other two. I could see it being quite lovely with a top coat over it--almost like a grape jelly with glitter and loveliness. The darker background colors in Arlo really fade nicely when dry, though, and the colors sort of melt on the nail. Quite lovely. Because it's darker, it will also hold up on toes well, too, for a nice, sparkly pedicure.

This Zoya collection was incredibly gorgeous. I thought the colors were really well balanced. The Spring Magical Pixies had a bit too much holo glitter in them, and you really lost the matte look. They also were a bit too textured then, too, and I think they've evened out a bit on that aspect, as well, though they are a little more coarse than the regular PixieDusts from Zoya. These three polishes are a big improvement over the Spring's collection, which were already a nice line that sold out amazingly fast. I think the biggest improvement is adding hex glitter in the polish's base color instead of just holo; while I adore holo glitter, it tended to swallow the colors on the Magical Pixies before, and these shades are allowed to come through beautifully, while still having a substantial amount of holographic glitter in them.

I've always been a huge fan of the textured polishes-particularly Zoya's PixieDusts, but was a bit less enthusiastic about the Magical Pixies from the Spring. Zoya came back stronger than ever with this summer collection, though, and my only compliant is that it's only three colors. I wasn't as sad about the quantity in the spring, but I am missing the six color collection right now, man...big time!

Next post is going to be a dupe check for these Magical Pixies. I'll be comparing Bar against Godiva and Tomoko, and Ginni against Lux and Miranda. I figured it'd be nice to see them side by side, both in bottles and on the nail, so keep a look out for that.

Pretty soon I will have a post on Zoya's Rebel, which I bought during their $1 shipping promo. I keep telling you guys to watch Zoya's blog and twitter (@ZoyaNailPolish) pages for a reason. They decided to have a promo for expedited shipping for $1 with any $15 purchase... the code was JUSTBC, which pretty much sums it up for you. They're always running promos like that. I snagged myself Rebel and Dillon, as well as Dot for my mother. I had passed over these three polishes when I saw the press releases for Spring's Awaken collection, but when Zoya sent color spoons out with a minicure promo, I realized that I had dismissed these babies too quickly. I always seem to find myself disappointed in blue and green polishes, but these are NOT to be missed. Reviews and swatches will come soon.

Until then, stalk Zoya's twitter and blog like I do. I really don't think you'll be sorry! Oh--and BUY ARLO, GINNI, and BAR! Right now! They're amazing!

I'll see you soon, my darlings!

Emily, the Manic Paintress

a glittery nude topaz in the best-selling ultra textured, matte, holographic Magical Pixie formula. - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Bar-ZP761.html#sthash.T4ibcjbQ.dpuf

Zoya Tickled Collection Summer 2014: Reviews and Swatches of Tilda, Kitridge, Ling, Rocha, Rooney, and Wendy

Zoya Rocha and thumb with dots of Zoya's Tilda, Wendy, Ling, Rooney, and Kitridge, the Summer 2014 Tickled Collection

Okay, kids, here's the cream polish counterpart to the Bubbly collection I swatched yesterday, the Zoya Tickled Collection for Summer 2014. This six polish collection consists of six full coverage cream polishes. They're super bright, super fun, and super pretty. I think it's pretty much the perfect summer collection. While I'm a glitter girl (as we all know), I actually like this collection better than the Bubbly. Shocking, but it's a shockingly lovely collection.

Zoya Rocha, sun

Zoya Wendy, sun

Four of the polishes range in the pink to coral orange shades, with a blue and a green added in for good measure. There were a couple real surprises for me in Tickled, and they were really good ones, actually. Not all were polishes that I would gravitate towards normally, but each had a lot of merit in their own right. I'll start off with Zoya's descriptions, and then move into what I thought of the color and its place in my stash. 

Zoya Tilda, sun

Zoya Rooney, sun

Once again, just as a disclaimer, these were press samples sent from Zoya for review, but that just means that I was able to fall in love with colors I might not have otherwise been brave enough to try. There were a couple in this collection that this would have happened with. All of the colors are Big 5 Free (Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, and Camphor), and available for pre-order on zoya.com. They're $9 each, and ship May 15th.

Zoya Kitridge, sun

Zoya Ling, sun

Zoya Tilda is described as a warm mantis green cream that is a great alternative to a summer lime. That's pretty much precisely what I would call it. It's a real spring green that works well in the summertime. It's like the leaves on trees when they first open. The coverage was amazing on this polish, and fully opaque in one coat, and it went on super smoothly. I totally could see a really adorable bug nail art... Just sayin'. The body could even stretch in segments over each finger. It'd be so cute.

Zoya Tilda, shade

Zoya Tilda, indoors in natural lighting

I have to say right off the bat that this is the polish in the collection that surprised me most. I wasn't anticipating to like it in the least. I was actually not a fan of it in the bottle, but when I put it on, it was so incredibly happy and flattering that I couldn't help but love it. My top three favorites are all super close, and I think I'll have a different top choice every time I look at them, but Tilda is one of those top picks. It was lovely against my pale skin, but I think it would look amazing against a tan and darker skin tones as well. I would never have picked this up at first, but I really love it. Green is my favorite color, but I generally don't like green nail polish. Tilda is apparently the exception. I do recommend using a base coat, as Tilda wanted to stain my nails a bit; I used Get Even before putting it on, but I'd probably go with Anchor in the future.

Zoya Tilda, indoors in artificial lighting

Zoya Tilda, flash

Zoya Rocha is described as a classic folly red cream with warm undertones that flatter a summer glow. Um... I think it's a dark orange that leans deep coral in a pretty way. I don't know what folled red is. I think it's too yellow for me to classify it as a red, anyways, but I suppose that's as good a description as any other. It's really bright, very summery, and hard to pin point the color precisely, which actually sort of adds to its allure. There's even a bit of a shimmer to it if you look close enough. It sort of absorbs sunshine and spreads it around for a smile when you look on your nails. The formula was super smooth, and covered fully opaque in two coats. 

Zoya Rocha, shade

Zoya Rocha, indoors in natural lighting

Rocha is actually probably going to be my most consistent favorite of the Tickled collection. It's really bright, but, to me, it is summer in a bottle. I smile every time I look at it. I don't know if it's one I would have picked in a first order of the collections, but I think maybe it's the same as with Tilda--I don't wear that many straight up red polishes, so I don't have all that many, and that's what I thought Rocha was. It's totally not in person, and I'm so glad I have it. I'm pretty sure it's going to be on my toes all summer long--it seems made for the perfect summer pedicure, but it's going to get a ton of play on my fingers, too. I actually already put it on my toes, and haven't quite decided if I'm going to wear Rocha or Wendy on my fingers first, and that's choosing between all of Bubbly and Tickled. Rocha is that gorgeous. The color also stays pretty consistent throughout different lighting, which is really nice (and unusual).

Zoya Rocha, indoor in artificial lighting

Zoya Rocha, flash

Zoya Wendy is described as a juicy summer melon, deep enough to flatter a tan, but bright enough to stand out. I think that's actually really accurate. It's a pretty salmon that manages to be bright, yet hold a bit of a dusky quality that keeps it from being too cloying. It took a solid two coats to get fully opaque. It went on super smoothly, and the formula is pretty much always amazing with Zoya; Wendy was completely up to their high standards.

Zoya Wendy, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Wendy, shade

Wendy is the other polish in my top three favorites in the collection. It's a sweet and summery color, without being too pink or young. I've become a big fan of Zoya's cream polishes, and I think Wendy is a perfect example of why. Even though they're solid colors with no shimmer, they're not boring or dull. The Tickled collection creams really have a nice glossy finish. I actually didn't use a top coat with any of these polishes, and they have such a nice finish all by themselves. This really did flatter my pale skin, which means I can extend it to spring and early fall with ease, and I probably would even wear it in the winter. It's a versatile shade, and maybe is the most refined of the Bubbly and Tickled collections.

Zoya Wendy, indoors in artificial lighting

Zoya Wendy, flash. Shockingly accurate, if a bit pinker

Zoya Rooney is described as a mid-range magenta pink with balanced undertones to flatter most skin tones. I'd call it closer to a fuchsia or maybe even orchid, though on the definite pink scale. I think there's a definite purple leaning to Rooney, which is really nice. It took two coats to get it opaque, and I briefly debated on a third, before deciding it wasn't necessary. The formula was nice and even. Rooney is dark enough not to be too candy pink, and the purple in it adds a nice dimension to the color.

Zoya Rooney, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Rooney, shade

I really liked Rooney. I had actually pegged it as an early favorite of the Tickled collection, and it did deliver as a solid choice for a happy mani. I think I might have liked it better if it went further towards the purple. It's not deficient in any way, but maybe I'm just not in the mood for such a straightforward pink right now? Both these collections are pink heavy, and Tickled particularly, but Rooney doesn't have that little extra quality like Wendy or Rocha that elevates it into something more special. I do like it, but it's not going to be what I reach for first out of the collection.

Zoya Rooney, indoors in artificial light

Zoya Rooney, flash

Zoya Ling is described as a vibrant royal blue cream that is evenly balanced to flatter most skin tones. That's pretty dead on, I think. It has a dusty quality that really works well to keep it fairly neutral. The formula was the same as in Tilda, and it covered amazingly and smoothly to opaque in one coat. Sometimes, I think some Zoya polishes have better formulas, and I think that Tilda and Ling can't be beaten in that respect. This polish almost looked like it wanted to have teal overtones, like Muse from the Bubbly collection, but if you look at it, it really doesn't have any green. Maybe it's just me that sees that? Who knows.

Zoya Ling, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Ling, shade

I actually was planning on not loving Ling at all. I'm not a huge blue person on my nails, but it's actually a quite lovely shade, particularly on the nail. I wasn't a huge fan of it in the bottle, but it was nice once I had put it on. It's sort of like Tilda in that way, too. I like it when I have really low expectations, and actually like the color a lot. It's not quite the sleeper success for me that Tilda and Muse were, but Ling is quite lovely. I think it'll be amazing around July 4th, for a bit of patriotism in the mani. Very pretty, and a really unique color. I don't have anything like it in my stash; I have Liberty from Summer 2013's PixieDust collection, as well as Sunshine from the Fall 2013 PixieDust collection, but the texture, shimmer, and matte qualities really make them vastly different, and I tend to buy blue shimmers when I buy a blue polish. This is a nice change of pace, and I think I'll like it through the fall, as well.

vibrant royal blue cream that is evenly balanced to flatter most skin tones. - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/category/Zoya_Tickled_Bubbly_Summer_2014_Nail_Polish_Collection.html#sthash.KDrZe6yZ.dpuf

Zoya Ling, indoors in artificial light

Zoya Ling, flash

Zoya Kitridge is described as a summer bubblegum pink cream, and is universally flattering, with enough white to pop against a tan. It's very pink. It's like what most Barbies wore for clothes, accessories, cars, and horses. I almost wanted to start singing the Aqua song when I painted it. It's pink, and makes no excuses for it. The formula was actually less consistent on Kitridge than the other Tickled polishes; it took three coats to reach opaque, and even then, I thought I probably should have done another to be safe. It's a very summery color, and the undertones are balanced beautifully.

Zoya Kitridge, indoors in natural lighting

Zoya Kitridge, shade

Kitridge looked quite lovely against my skin. Super pale to tan to very dark skin tones will be able to wear this well, I think. It's just so unabashedly pink that I couldn't quite warm up to it. It has a definite place in my stash, and is legitimately beautiful, but it's just not a polish that I can see myself wearing. I don't know if I could take myself seriously wearing it, but I think, in reality, that it takes some serious confidence to put yourself out there with something so unapologetically girlie, and I don't quite have it. I think maybe it's a bit too young for me. Then again, isn't summer the time when you can kick back and just wear something that is fun and makes you happy? If you're a pink lover, I think Kitridge is absolutely a must have color. It's the most confidently sweet, fresh pink I've ever seen in a polish. Definitely not something in my stash before now, but it owns its pinkness with pride.

Zoya Kitridge, flash

Zoya Kitridge, indoors in artificial light

The Tickled collection is absolutely stunning. The colors are well coordinated, and all really do scream summer to me. My faves are by far Tilda, Rocha, and Wendy. Since I started writing this beast of a review, I have come to the decision that Tilda has won the battle for my fingers. It's the first to fully debut of the collection as a mani, and Rocha is my pedi color. So stunning. I adore Wendy, as it's soft and sophisticated, but very fun at the same time. Rooney really is quite pretty, and will be worn often. I love Ling, and, while I really have to be in the mood for funky, will definitely be in the rotation from the collection. Kitridge is a lovely polish, but not something I can pull off easily. I think people with darker skin tones (anything beyond freaky pale and pink) will be able to wear Kitridge with pride.

As always, I encourage you to check out zoya's blog and follow @ZoyaNailPolish on Twitter. They always have tons of contests and promotions going on, and fresh ideas for nail art, new trends in colors, and in fashion. It's amazing that they are so environmentally friendly and natural, but even more so since they have the longest wearing polishes with the best formula I've used. They're my favorite for a good reason, and they definitely showed their stuff with the Tickled and Bubbly collections this summer.

Happy painting, kids! Until next time,
Emily, the Manic Paintress