Zoya Intimate Collection

Zoya's Intimate collection was designed to "recreate the custom looks developed for and inspired by the runways of New York Fashion Week - Spring 2011."

The collection is my kind of take on spring. It is moody and whispery pale. It is all kinds of Heathcliff and moors.

Zoya is available at http://www.zoya.com/ and the bottles retail for $7 each.

Marley is a slightly murky lavender pink. Very delicate and pretty.
Dove is a delicate, pale gray cream. This is my current manicure color.
Caitlin is a misty, moody, gray violet cream. This is my personal favorite from the collection. It is romantic and twisted like a Bronte sister's novel.
Dannii is shimmering,slightly metallic orchid purple. It is the perkiest shade in the Intimate collection. This shade also had the best staying power. Not one ounce of wear and tear after one week.
Jules is metallic, muted taupe with flashes of gold.
Gemma is an army green with flashes of periwinkle. The cast is very subtle.

Disclosure: Zoya provided a press sample of the Intimate collection
Credits: Zoya PR and Blogdorf Goodman

Some Kind Of Wonderful

Behold the lovely heaven of Zoya's Kelly.
The grey is cold, murky, twisted, loch ness-like and full of Sleepy Hollow evil. Chanel's Paradoxal is almost cheerful in comparison. Fall is going to be a Tim Burton fairyland.

Kelly is part of the Zoya Fall collection called Wonderful. Kelly retails solo for $7. The entire Wonderful sampler collection retails for $36. Visit http://www.zoya.com/content/38/category/Zoya.html?brndid=38 to order or for more details.

Disclosure: A press sample was provided by Zoya and Chanel.

Swimfan

My nail polish for the week is Zoya's Robyn from the Flash 2010 collection. Zoya managed to capture the blue color of an American Robin's egg. In full sunlight, this shade is a swimming pool blue. It is crystal clear with a brightness that just makes you smile.
Can a nail polish make you happy?
I am thinking it can.
The real test will be today. Mondays can be vicious.
Visit www.artofbeauty.com for more details about this polish and the Flash collection. The bottle retails for $7.

What is your polish for the week? Let us know in the comments.

Have a great and peaceful Monday!

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Zoya.
Credit: Blogdorf Goodman

Soft and Velvety or Sparkling Jewels - You Decide

By Melanie Parker

Zoya's Winter Matte collection does double duty as soft and velvety matte finished shades or as shiny and sparkly jewel-toned nail lacquers.

Veruschka is a evergreen velvet that covers well in two coats. Named after the legendary 6’3” glamazon model from the 60s and 70s, it is the star of the collection. This shade is lovely with a matte finish and really does remind me of a green velvet ribbon. Even if the matte finish is not your thing, you can use a top coat to make this polish shine and sparkle.

With one coat of Poshe top coat, Veruschka transforms into a brighter, shinier emerald microglittler polish that is just perfect for Fall and the upcoming holiday season. It’s shown here with my new favorite nail treatment by Palladio. I use the Palladio Moisture Surge Nail Repair in place of a base coat in the winter months. Even though my nails do not peel or split, they can use all the moisture they can get in the colder months. I bought this at Sally’s Beauty Supply and although it looks mint green in the bottle, it dries clear enough to wear under sheers. I am a big fan of Palladio herbal lipglosses, too. If you like sheer with a little sparkle, try Pink Candy.

Harlow is a raspberry shade that covers in one coat with the matte formula. Whereas, Savita is a darker purple and needs 2 coats to provide even coverage. They appear muted and chalky in their native matte finish.

It’s no surprise that I like Harlow and Savita much better with a top coat of Poshe, as well. Harlow’s fuchsia microglitter makes it interesting and unique. It reminds me of an amped up China Glaze Secrets. Truth be told, I do not like Barney purple polishes in crème or shimmer finishes, but if you do, Savita is quite a vivid hue. Purples and blues are hard to photograph and display on a monitor. In real life, Savita has no obvious blue tones. It’s a bright grape base with violet microglitter.

Zoya polishes are available at select nail salons and artofbeauty.com. Palladio products are available at Sally's Beauty Supply, head2tobeauty.com, and select nail salons.

Photos: Melanie Parker.

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this review were individually purchased.

Lack Luster Finish for Nails
By Melanie Parker

Bucking last year's trend of high gloss patent leather, is this Fall's matte nail lacquers. OPI, Zoya, and Essie have all jumped on the matte nail trend originally reserved for men's manicures.

The leader of the pack in terms of color stories for their matte line is Zoya. The limited edition Matte Velvet trio includes Loredana, Dovima, and Posh. The polishes appear to be shimmers when wet and are in a unique frosted glass bottle. The lightest of the set is Loredana, which is a metallic pewter polish.


Dovima, is a deeper, more saturated charcoal gray. I originally thought this one would look like black velvet on the nails. A better name for it might have been Char or Smoke, as it is not a true black. However, I do like the unique, smoky look of this color. But on someone with square-shaped nails, you might run the risk of looking like you have mini charcoal briquettes on your tips.


My favorite of the trio is Posh. This pinkish red polish reminds me of flushed cheeks and velvet. I would have named this one Iron Maiden. The frosty finish held up well. This picture was taken on day 3 of the trial and there is no chipping and minimal tip wear. Despite the instructions, which say no base or top coat, I wore NailTek Xtra as a base treatment with it. Should you choose to wear a top coat, the polish will be shimmery, just like it is when it goes on your nails wet. Although the dry polish looks like it might have a fabric feel, the polish is smooth. It feels more like a polished stone than velvet. I liked the feeling. It made me feel like my nail were extra strong.

If these darker colors don't appeal to you, you are in luck. Essie has launched a Matte About You finisher product that will turn any of your polishes into a matte polish. This would replace a clear top coat during the manicure process.

I'm not ready to turn in my glossy top coats yet, but this is an interesting trend for Fall. Zoya Matte Velvets are available at http://www.artofbeauty.com/scrpt/scr.dll/ShowLine?cat=4&line=622&brand=2.

You may also want to check out ManGlaze polishes for black or grey shades at http://www.manglaze.com/buy.html.

And just because I love it so much, here is a swatch of Dashing Diva Northern Light. This polish appears to be peacock blue with a gold shimmer in the bottle, but it dries a darker teal with lime green shimmer that makes it look like a metallic jade. Love, love, love it! I cannot give up the shimmer and shine or a polish like this for more than three days.

Summer Tip to Toes: Popsicle Shades from Zoya

Zoya released the La-Di-Da and Ooh-La-La collections earlier this month. These nail polishes ushered in warmer weather and a general optimism that summer was going to wonderful. The colors were bright and cheerful. I generally like a bit of twinkle in my nail lacquers. This season I find myself drawn to the creme collection. The popsicle shades are so appealing.

The standout in the two collections is a daisy yellow called Pippa. The Nylon blog has been gushing over yellow nails since fall. I have resisted their influence until now. This yellow is strangely wearable. It is cheerful, sunny and full of citrus zest. For all it's intense juice, it is not jarring on the nails. It is actually feminine and pretty.

The rest of the La-Di-Da cream collection is a mix of neons and intense shades. Paz is a safety orange shade. I will never be able to carry it off on my nails but will sport it on my toes.

Ali and Renee are electric pink shades. They appear to look similar in these photos. Ali is a true 1980's neon pink. If you grew up during this time period, you owned something in this color. It is very retro and fun.

Renee is more wearable for the masses. It is an easy on the eyes shade in comparison to Ali.

Dita is aptly named. It is a pin-up retro lipstick red. It is more blue based than orange. America is more cherry pie-like. A very tart red.

The shimmers are in the Ooh-La-La collection. Tallulah is a swimming pool blue. It is calming and so darn pretty. Midori is an Easter basket grass green. This shade will be wildly popular with the green polish junkies on Makeupalley.

I am currently wearing Emme from this collection. This is a very pretty petal pink. I wanted something feminine after two weeks of wearing MAC's Peppermint Patty.

Ginessa is an ultra shimmery white. Sparkle power is great. Could be a great bridal color.
Goldie is a burnished gold metal shade. I was impressed with it's softness. It has a great bronze summer vibe.
Katy is a blue based raspberry shade. I am currently wearing this on my toes. It has garnered compliments from co-workers to random construction workers. It looks very lovely with my kelly green heels.

Each polish retails for $6. Each set retails for $36. Visit http://www.zoya.com/ or call to order at 1-800-659-6909.

Let us know what colors you sill be sporting for your summer manicures? Post the answers in the comments.

Disclaimer: A press sample of this product was provided by Zoya