POLISH FOR YOUR POLLEX: The Zoya Ornate Collection

Hello,

This post marks a new branch in the Polished Makeup tree - Polish for your Pollex! For those wondering, your Pollex is your thumb! (or big toe... but don't worry... no big toe photos, I promise!).

Polish for your Pollex is where I will group my ramblings about polish (a bit like how Under the Microscope is for makeup). As this blog was to include polish too, I thought it was about time to kick things off a bit more seriously rather than just show you what colour I've painted my nails!

Todays PFYP will be on the Zoya Ornate collection. This has been out in the US for a little while, but I was lucky to pick it up at Salon Melbourne (I am a qualified Nail Tech for those curious!). It is a winter-marketed holiday collection, that was released around October/November in the US (which is an Aussie spring/summer). I was a little sad I couldn't get it over here at the time becuase I feel it's perfect for Christmas time! Nonetheless, It'll be good for the Aussie winter that is just around the corner!



Zoya Ornate

Very eyecatching in the pack! I'm pretty sure I squealed with excitement when I saw it! You know what else is awesome about it?... HOLO'S!! This is the first time Zoya have done holo's and in the bottle they look pretty amazing! There are six colours in the Zoya Ornate collection (sorry but you get them swatched on a nail wheel becuase my poor cuticles wouldn't be able to cope with all the acetone! lol):



(L-R: Electra, Ziv, Logan, Storm, Blaze, Aurora)

Electra: A holographic silver bar glitter! BAR GLITTER!! Awesome! It's not often polish companies come out with bar glitter (though Zoya did with their Gems & Jewels collection a year-or-so ago!). It reminds me of OPI's Save Me (minus the blue of course). Would be good for layering also! (But it is dense enough to get it solid if you want to!)

Ziv: A beautiful gold foil! Nice golds are hard to come by (let alone foils!) but this one is nice and not too yellow! It almost leans a little bronze! It's a real glam colour!

Logan: If Charla and Ivanka had a little polish baby, I think this is what it'd look like! While it's not as bright as those two (you can definitely notice the darker undertone) you can definitely see the Charla-esque influence! A beautiful green with a streak of blue foil-y gold shimmer!

Storm: HOLO! A shiny black with a scattered holo. It's good if you like black but a solid black polish isn't your thing! The holo definitely gives it more interest! I am still a bit sad Zoya called this one Storm and not Ebony! (maybe next winter I'll get lucky...)

Blaze: Another holo! I have seen others describe it as red, but I would call it burgundy. I feel it's too dark and you can see too much pink to call it red! This one has got really good depth to it, I think the base and holo particles get along well in this one and make it look like it's got some red glitter going on! I have already worn Blaze and I was suprised to see it went on much darker than I was expecting!

Aurora: The final holo of the lot. A beautiful mid-purple! This one has the most holo of the lot and is super sparkly! I'm pretty sure your eyes would fall out if you saw it in the sun! LOL! It reminds be a bit of the OPI DS Original that is no longer available! (I'm pretty sure they aren't even close but any purple holo I see I think of DS Original! lol).

All of these swatches are painted with three coats. For Blaze and Aurora I could have got away with two but I thought I'd keep things even! And for some close-ups:

(L-R: Logan, Ziv, Electra)

(L-R: Storm, Blaze, Aurora)

PHWOAR! Check the holo! Super pretty! Zoya have defintiely done a good job of this collection! Zoya make great polishes and they are the big five-free! (No formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP or camphor! All nasty ingredients you don't want in your polish!). What I love most about Zoya is their range of colours and finishes! They always try to come out with something a bit more original when they release a new collection! Zoya brushes are thinner than OPI's (for those that have never used Zoya) and a few from this collection did have a stray hair (first time I've had that happen) but they are perfectly easy enough to work with!

My picks: Logan (I can't go past a good green!) and Aurora/Storm (for awesome holo-y goodness!)

In terms of availablity, Zoya is rather hard to get in Australia. The collections are usually a few months behind the US (mostly becuase they are seasonally aimed!). I buy most of my Zoya now from Art Of Beauty Australia (www.zoya.com.au). The new collections (including Ornate) aren't up on their website at the time of posting but I imagine you should be able to ring up and place a phone order if you wish. I have also ordered Zoya before from Aussie company Salon Style (www.salonstyle.com.au). The retail price for Zoya is AUD$19.

Have you used any Zoya's previously? Which are your faves?

Until next time,

Be kind to your Pollex!

Love,

Your PM x