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 Tomoko

Zoya Tomoko, full sun, outside

Today, I excitedly put on my test drive of Zoya's Tomoko. It's described as a romantic champagne silver, and, as it is part of their Pixie Dust collections, it has a sparkling, matte, and textured finish.

Zoya Tomoko, inside, flash

For once, I don't think I would agree with Zoya's description. Generally, I think they're pretty spot on, but I can't see the silver in this polish; I'd go for gold. Maybe it could lean champagne, but against my skin, I think it looks very yellow.

Zoya Tomoko, outside, shade

Maybe it's because I have a lot of red/pink in my skin, but I don't think this is a polish I would wear again. Tomoko is listed as a cool color, and I do think it is fairly cool in tone, but it's not one that I can really get away with. Maybe it's the yellow hue? Cool colors are my best, in general, but this one just doesn't jive with me. It makes my skin tone look off, instead of complimenting it. I think if you have darker or really tanned skin, this may be totally fabulous on you. It really just... wasn't on me.

Zoya Tomoko, inside, artificial light

In terms of a gold or beige Pixie Dust, I think I'll stick with Godiva. It looks more natural on my nails, and has a gorgeous shine. If you're looking for a true silver, I would go with one of two options: London, or Nyx. I have pictures of Nyx on this blog--it looks silver in some lights, but definitely blue in more direct lighting. I don't have London, but I think that may be the truest silver Pixie Dust.

Zoya Tomoko, inside, natural light

This was a very rare disappointment for a Zoya polish. The formula was great, it was fully opaque in two coats, and is very easy to apply. It's definitely Zoya quality. It's just not the color I was expecting it to be, and it doesn't work at all with my skin.

It's a sad, sad day.

Zoya Tomoko, outside, full sun, closeup

I put a layer of Miranda over it to see how that works, but Tomoko just isn't one that I'll be wearing again. Sigh.

Here it is with Miranda over it. I think it's rather pretty. Because Miranda isn't too saturated with pigment, one very thin coat almost gives a very slight peach effect. It's super subtle, but I dig it. I'm a huge fan of Miranda in general, though, so I felt I should note that.

Zoya Miranda over Zoya Tomoko. Inside, natural light

Zoya Miranda over Zoya Tomoko, flash, close up

Sorry, kids. I wish I liked this one better than I did. Until next time,

Emily, The Manic Paintress