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 Cosmo, Zoya Lux, and Zoya Vega: Spring 2014 Magical Pixie Collection

This post is dedicated to Zoya Nail Polish's 2014 Magical Pixie collection: Vega, Lux, and Cosmo.

These are a bit of a departure from the PixieDusts in Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2013. They have added mega hex glitter to the formula, and the glitter is holographic--both in the hex pieces, as well as the small glitter throughout the polish. The base is still technically matte, but it's hard to find light low enough to not catch any of the glitter--they're super sparkly. They are also significantly bumpier than their earlier PixieDust sisters. I think it's the hex glitter that doesn't lie as flat as the small glitter, and creates more bumps.

Personally, I've found that they tend to chip a bit easier than the regular PixieDust formulas. To combat this and the extra roughness, I like to press on them while they're still slightly tacky, and they smooth out a bit. This isn't a Zoya approved method by any imagination, but I think it increases the wear, without sacrificing the look.

Also, you should know that they're a bit hard to remove. If you let a bunch chip off, it actually helps a bit, but the best way I've found is to soak a cotton pad, and then press it onto your nail for about ten to fifteen seconds. Once that's done, I scrub up and down pretty vigorously until it's gone. I know it might seem a pain, but I honestly believe these are completely worth the potential extra hassle.

That said, here are the colors:

Zoya Cosmo, outdoor, shade

Zoya Cosmo, outdoor, sun

Zoya Cosmo is described by Zoya as a silver crystal sparkle in their matte, ultra-textured, sparkling Magical Pixie formula. It's a very pale silver, that looks just about white on my nails. The holographic glitter is amazing in it--it really shines and sparkles from any angle, and gives the color a lot of depth. It really elevates it.

Zoya Cosmo, indoor, artificial light

Zoya Cosmo, flash

It's been a crazy winter here in Massachusetts--we even had snow on the ground last week. This is totally a spring color, but I think it was really fabulous wearing Cosmo, since it sparkled a lot like fresh snow.

Zoya Cosmo, indoor, natural light

I personally like this color, and Lux, with only one layer. It's gorgeous with two to get full coverage, but it adds just a hint of sparkle with a thin coat. It's subtle, which is quite lovely. For example, here's Lux with only one coat (lighting is indoor, and a "natural light" Ott light lamp):

Zoya Lux, one coat

Lux is described as a rose quartz sparkle in the ultra-textured Magical Pixie, matte formula with mega hex holographic glitter. It's a beautiful pink that has some slight lavender/mauve undertones. It's a bit silvery, too. This is an absolutely stunning color. I can't even tell you how many compliments I get on this polish--it's super flattering for my skin tone, but I don't think you need to have very pale, cool pink skin to make this seem gorgeous.

Zoya Lux, outdoor, shade

Zoya Lux, outdoor, sun

It's almost Easter, and I'm currently wearing Lux, and I keep thinking it's a bit like wearing happy Easter eggs on my fingers. That said, it's also sophisticated for a glittery polish. It's a great pop of shimmery goodness, and a pink that won't make you feel like you should be a thirteen year old girl wearing it. Definitely not cloying. It really is quite lovely. It's probably my favorite from this collection, to be honest, even though I like all of them quite a bit.

Zoya Lux, indoor, natural light

Zoya Lux, indoor, artificial light

Zoya Lux, flash

Vega is described as a blue opal sparkle in the matte, ultra-textured Magical Pixie formula with mega hex holographic glitter. In person, it has quite a bit of a green tones to it, making it a couple steps away from aqua. Again, the holo glitter is amazing in this polish. The sparkle is pretty out of this world. It's definitely a spring-friendly color, as it's a bit like the Caribbean Ocean's sparkly blue waters.

Zoya Vega, outdoors, shade

Zoya Vega, outdoors, sun

 

Zoya Vega, indoor, artificial light

Zoya Vega, indoor, natural light

 I may be prone to hyperbole, but it's a pretty apt comparison. It would also be a nice icy color in the winter, and absolutely perfect in the summer. I don't know if I'd reach for it in the fall, but I'm also never one to base my colors solely on seasonal appropriateness. I tend to pick things out that suit my mood, and Vega will suit multiple moods of mine--to make me happy, calm me down, or really anything. I like blue. I like shiny. I like rainbows, which the holo provides. It's just a fun, sweet color, that is a neutral enough blue to flatter a lot of skin tones.

Zoya Vega, flash

I might be biased overall, because these all tend to look great on me, but I love this collection. I do like my method of smoothing it a bit in order to reduce chipping, as well as toning down the roughness. I particularly love Lux, but all three really are stunning on. I get compliments on them all the time, and I personally find them very lovely. I'm really looking forward for Arlo, Ginni, and Bar, too.

Soon, I'll have a post on Zoya's Naturel Collection (Late Winter, 2014). Until then, I seriously suggest you run out and get these three Magical Pixies. If you pressed me for a favorite, I'd have to say Lux, because it just looks amazing on me.

Until then,
Emily, the Manic Paintress

Zoya Magical Pixie Summer 2014: Arlo, Ginni, Bar

Hi kids,
Tomorrow, I'll have a post for you about Zoya's Spring 2014 Magical Pixie collection. I'd have it today, but the sun has been hiding behind clouds, teasing me. Today, I have the pleasure of telling you that Zoya is releasing a new set of Magical Pixies for Summer 2014! Yay!

Zoya Magical Pixie in Ginni

Arlo, Ginni, and Bar are the newest additions to the Zoya PixieDust family. I'm super excited.

From left to right: Zoya Ginni, Bar, and Arlo

Arlo is a violet amethyst textured polish with hex holographic glitter.
Ginni is a pink tourmaline textured polish with hex holographic glitter.
Bar is a nude topaz textured polish with hex holographic glitter.

All of Zoya's PixieDusts are matte, textured, and glittered, though the Magical Pixies are lighter on the matte, and heavy on the glitter. The holographic glitter is super pronounced in them, and they shine like diamonds. No joke. They're super fun. It's hard to find a light where you don't get at least some shine from the Magical Pixies, if the summer colors follow spring's pattern.

I should note that if the formula is the same as in the Spring 2014 group, the Magical Pixies are significantly more textured than the original PixieDust formulas. It feels more similar to OPI's liquid sand polishes. I think it's the hex glitter, to be honest--it seems more likely to not lie flat on the nail, and create more bumps.

Zoya Bar, Zoya Ginni, and Zoya Arlo

I actually am excited for all three colors. I love me a good nude, and Cosmo from the Spring collection is truly a silver bordering on white, so Bar should be a nice cousin to the regular PixieDust nudes of Godiva (one of my all-time favorite polishes), and Tomoko. Ginni seems much pinker and darker than the Spring Magical Pixie, Lux, which almost leans towards a silvery lavender pink. Arlo is a light purple, which is much darker and less bright than the regular Summer 2013 PixieDust, Stevie. It look substantially lighter than the Fall 2013 PixieDust, Carter.

Zoya Magical Pixies- color spoons in Bar, Ginni, and Arlo. Photo of nails features Arlo.

They all are pretty distinctive. I'll be swatching them when I get them, and will likely post comparisons of similar colors. The only one I'm really even suspicious for a dupe is Bar, but I firmly believe that anything holo won't fully resemble any other color. Even then, Tomoko and Godiva themselves are similar, but still distinctive.

Get excited, my fellow addicts. Get excited.
Until tomorrow,
Emily, the Manic Paintress

O.P.I. Vesper and Zoya Maisie Fix-Up

OPI Vesper and Zoya Maisie, outdoor, sun

You all may be surprised, but I actually decided to try and improve a nail polish with something OTHER than Zoya Godiva. I know. Heart attacks may happen.

OPI Vesper and Zoya Maisie, outdoor, shade

I was really unhappy with O.P.I.'s Vesper Liquid Sand. It just was... blah. It was vampy, but flat. Not my favorite. I decided a glitter would be fun to put over it, hoping it would work. I settled on Zoya's holographic mylar "Fleck Effects" polish, Maisie. I need to put out the disclaimer that I didn't buy this from Zoya directly--they don't sell it any longer on their website, so I sought other venues. Amazon magically found this for me.

OPI Vesper and Zoya Maisie, indoor, natural light

Maisie is really a top coat polish, or what Zoya calls a glaze. Alone, it can read a bit strangely, as the base is a blue-tinted translucent jelly, with mylar holographic glitter. The holo flecks in the polish are actually green in color, despite the fact that the polish looks blue in the bottle. You can still get Opal directly from Zoya. Honestly, based on my experience with Maisie, I think Opal will have the same results. Particularly over other polishes, Maisie simply looks green, and loses the base color.

Unlike with Blaze and Aurora (and, I assume, Storm) from the Ornate Collection, Maisie's holographic glitter really only reads monochromatic. Even in the bottle, Maisie looks like a blue polish with green holo flecks.

Zoya Maisie, shade

Zoya Maisie, sun

On Vesper, I have to say that Maisie did just what I wanted. It transformed it from a dark purple (almost black) polish to a dark polish with funky green glitter on top. They're very appropriate for Halloween, or even just autumn. It's not a look for the faint of heart, but it really works for a funky pedicure. It was a success in that it is certainly better than Vesper alone, but I still don't think Vesper is something I'll be wearing much. It's just not for me.

OPI Vesper and Zoya Maisie, indoor, artificial light

 
If you have any successful experiments, feel free to share them. I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'll be back with you guys soon with a new manicure.

OPI Vesper and Zoya Maisie, flash

Until later,
Emily, the Manic paintress

Zoya Godiva

Zoya Godiva, outdoor, shade

I really can't believe that I haven't given this polish its own review before now. I have mentioned it, and what I consider to be its magic ability to make any major color misstep -particularly of the blue persuasion- better (i.e. essie's in the cab-ana and Zoya Crystal). Yet, I was shocked that I hadn't given this polish its own feature. Zoya Godiva is one of my favorite polishes on the market today. It was part of Zoya's Spring 2013 PixieDust collection.

Zoya Godiva, outdoors, sun

Zoya describes Godiva very accurately on its website, as "a soft nude with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula." It's a beige-y base color with silver glitter. It's amazing. Seriously gorgeous. In the sun, it sparkles like diamonds on your fingertips.

Zoya Godiva, indoor, natural light

Gah. I'm just going to gush about this polish. Godiva is adequately opaque in two or three coats. In some lights, this almost looks a bit taupe on my nails, but it really is a lovely nude. Ideally, I would love a touch more pink in it, but it's much more neutral than Tomoko, which reads as rather yellow on my nails.

Zoya Godiva, texture close-up

This polish is in my top five all-time favorites. It's a clean, fresh look for your nails, that makes you look a bit more put together. The texture is not overwhelming, but is present enough to make it a bit more interesting. The glitter in Godiva is actually muted in softer light, but really sparkles in direct lighting. For me, that's perfect--I love the nail bling.

Zoya Godiva, indoor, artificial light

I learned a very important manicure lesson this week, guys. Interior paint (latex) and manicures don't mix. At all. Because of this, I have to admit that my time with Godiva was cut far too short. I'm so sad. On a more positive note, this means that I had to change color earlier than usual, so I shall post again really soon with a new manicure. I'll post what I did to make my pedicure nicer in a very short while.

Zoya Godiva, flash

You won't even have time to miss me. Seriously.
Emily, the Manic Paintress