Last month when Zoya had their 3 Beach and Surf polishes for $15 promotion, I went through the painful process of narrowing down my picks to just three, and ended up getting Wednesday, Carly, and Kimber. I can happily report that I was not disappointed by any of them!
Wednesday is an aqua cream. Usually, I hate anything blue, and cream finishes, but Wednesday is a smashing success. I think because it's quite green, it doesn't make my hands look as dead as blues usually do, and the Zoya cream formula (at least on this shade) is flawless. It was almost a 1 coater, and it practically applied itself. I barely had to do any clean up around my cuticles! Marvelous.
It's noticeably greener than Wet N Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint (a China Glaze For Audrey dupe), and I find it works on my skin better.
Carly is a rich, vampy, glowy warm purple. It is awesome. It has a foil-type finish, so cleaning up the cuticles is a bear, because the glitter is left behind, but it's so rich and vibrant that I can't complain! The formula is a little runny, so I had to be sure to let lots of polish run back into the bottle before trying to apply it, but overall it was fine. I don't have any colors quite like it in my collection, and now feel the need to find more vampy shimmery purples!
Kimber is a medium warm magenta (less coral than it looks above) with gold foil glitter. I already have a couple shades similar to it, but figured I could never have too many bright happy pinks, and knew the Zoya formula would be great. And overall it is, though it has the same thin formula as Carly. Here it is next to China Glaze Ahoy! and NYX Delectable.
They look more different in the bottle than when applied, but Ahoy! is darker and cooler and has glass fleck instead of gold foil, and Delectable is a mite sheerer and cooler and has larger pieces of foil. Ahoy! is one of my absolute favorite polishes, and I'm happy to add Kimber to its ranks (the NYX one has a formula that tends to chip pretty quickly, unfortunately).
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my choices! Zoya FTW.
Overview
$8 for 0.50 oz, available from Zoya (who often have promotions, so I highly recommend signing up for an account!)
Color: 9.25
Formula: 9.25
Pigmentation & Finish: 4.75
Brush & Bottle: 5 (I love Zoya brushes!)
Price/Value: 4.25 (4.5 or 4.75 if you can get it on sale!)
Grade: A(-)
I think Kimber is the weakest of the three I chose, but it's still a really nice polish. Wednesday and Carly are, imho, must-haves (though I've not tried any of Zoya's other dark, vampy, glowy purples, so I can't say if Carly is particularly noteworthy compared to them!). Did you pick up any polishes from the Beach or Surf collections? Which ones do you like best?
Left to right: Carly, Kimber, Wednesday
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| Wet N Wild I Need A Refresh- Mint (left) and Wednesday (right) |
It's noticeably greener than Wet N Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint (a China Glaze For Audrey dupe), and I find it works on my skin better.
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| L to R: China Glaze Ahoy!, Zoya Kimber, NYX Delectable |
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| L to R, 3 coats each: CG Ahoy!, Zoya Kimber, NYX Delectable |
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my choices! Zoya FTW.
Overview
$8 for 0.50 oz, available from Zoya (who often have promotions, so I highly recommend signing up for an account!)
Color: 9.25
Formula: 9.25
Pigmentation & Finish: 4.75
Brush & Bottle: 5 (I love Zoya brushes!)
Price/Value: 4.25 (4.5 or 4.75 if you can get it on sale!)
Grade: A(-)
I think Kimber is the weakest of the three I chose, but it's still a really nice polish. Wednesday and Carly are, imho, must-haves (though I've not tried any of Zoya's other dark, vampy, glowy purples, so I can't say if Carly is particularly noteworthy compared to them!). Did you pick up any polishes from the Beach or Surf collections? Which ones do you like best?
