Zoya Gems and Jewels Swatches

Good evening, Dear Reader!

What I have on tap for you tonight is swatches of Zoya's Holiday 2011 release, the Gems and Jewels Collection, which Zoya sent for review.  It's six polishes total, three shimmers and three glitters (which they call "glitter glazes"), and although Zoya suggests various layering options, I figured I'd show you swatches of each of the six at two coats so you have an idea of what each looks like before getting into any layering.  I used artificial light for today's pictures because there's no sunlight, which is never my favorite but sometimes shows glitters a little better by not washing them out.

I'll start with glitters, and with generalities about all three in the collection.  They're all a clear base with colored glitter of two types, powdery-fine regular glitter and particularly small bar (stringy) glitter.  I'm really picky about bar glitter, and this is a good one because it is so small - there are no giant stringy bits anywhere.  All three provided good coverage at two coats, and with glitters like this I use slow brush strokes on the first coat to avoid essentially wiping off all the glitter as I go.  Since these are swatches and I have not worn any as a full manicure, I don't know how much top coat they'll need, but it doesn't seem like it would be a lot with how fine the glitter is.  The dry time looks promising as well, and I'll let you know for sure when I wear them.

Kissy might be my favorite of all here.  It's a kind of fuchsia bright pink glitter with holo-y bar glitter.

Zoya Kissy Nail Polish, Two Coats

Twila is a striking vivid blue glitter with matching bar glitter.

Zoya Twila Nail Polish, Two Coats

Rina is a bright evergreen glitter with matching-but-reflective bar glitter.

Zoya Rina Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think these are great holiday glitters - they bring to mind throwing glitter and streamers at a party.  I don't think they'll be of the sandblaster removal variety either, because of how fine the glitter is - I find that the size of glitter tends to make a pretty big difference in how tough it is to take off, but again, I'll confirm that after I wear one for real.

That brings us to the three shimmers, which are also quite good.  All three were completely opaque and even in two coats, were super easy to apply, and they're full of the kind of shimmer I expect Zoyas to have, where it's strong but not too out there.

Noel is a good kind of silvery blue.

Zoya Noel Nail Polish, Two Coats

Holly is the epitome of a holiday green.

Zoya Holly Nail Polish, Two Coats

Izzy is a hot pink glowy shimmer.  I'm kind of hoping bright pink takes off as a permanent holiday color (in general, not just for nail polish!).

Zoya Izzy Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really like each one of these quite a bit individually, and all together I think they make a very cool holiday collection.  If there's only one in your budget, my vote goes for Kissy - it's a New Year's Eve party in a bottle!

Those are my Zoya Gems and Jewels swatches and all I have for you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.