Zoya Storm review and pics

Happy New Year!!!!

One of my resolutions this coming year is to make sure I post on here a few times a week as I literally spend HOURS each day reading other makeup blogs. Because of these awesome bloggers I feel so much better educated on what is worth buying and how to use it! I hope to keep that awesomeness online going by sharing my finds and feedback as well. 

Plus as a woman in her 40's I think it is so important to have blogs for all ages to share what works best in the different stages of our life. 

My first post of the New Year is to review one of my fave go-to brands: Zoya

I seriously never knew nailpolish could actually stay on me for a full week with minimal wear before Zoya came into my life this past year. And it is 3 Free! Read below from Zoya's website to see what the heck I mean by that:

Zoya Nail Polish has been awarded as the longest wearing natural nail polish by an independent panel in Women’s Health Magazine. Zoya Nail Polish is a nail polish free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. Nail Polish by Zoya offers over 300 gorgeous nail polish colors to choose from, plus 4 seasonalcollections of nail polish every year. Zoya Nail Polish was specifically formulated to deliver the longest wear possible on natural nails. Zoya Nail Polish can be found in better beauty salons, spas and online at www.zoya.com.

(pic from Zoya on Facebook)

When I saw the colour Storm online it became an obsessive must have for me. I luckily found the last bottle at my closest Trade Secrets and headed home to paint my nails. It reminds me of a starry sky or for some reason freshly laid asphalt. No idea why that makes me think of my childhood fondly but it does lol!!! 

My pics above are shown using 3 different light sources:

natural light source

natural light source with flash

flash light source

Verdict- Yes. Yes you MUST own this one. Go buy it now hee hee

Oh Zoya- you are one of my fave new friends of 2012. Here's to an awesome 2013 together xo

Nail Polish Review- Zoya-Noel and Maisie

I have become a nail polish addict. Hard core. I have gone from the girl who wore the same chipped nailpolish for months to lusting after all the pretty colours out there. And instead of straight from bottle to nail application like I previously used to do..I now do base, top coats and use drip dry. I don't know what happened to Ol' Chippy (aka old me) but I like this new 'polished' version of myself. Ha ha...I crack myself up...polished version..get it?? Okay I'll stop trying to be funny and get down to the good stuff hee hee. 

Zoya is a new to me brand and came highly recommended from my fellow makeup addict and bff Sarah. So she said it was yummy for the nails so of course I became obsessed with getting some to try for myself..like as soon as possible. 

I chose Noel due to my current interest in blue or teal nailpolish. It is a rich colour with silver streaks running through the bottle and a nice serving of shimmer. I then had to buy some 'flakey' polish which is where Maisie came into play. As a crafter I can't turn my back on a good glitter and this 'flakey' look was different and cool. 

I first applied my base coat. After some experimenting I have found that I really like Misa's top and base coats as I have previously had my manicures last barely a day without serious chipping and I can get a week with Misa's combo with a bit of wear only at the tips. I scored a buy the top coat and get the base coat for free at Trade Secrets- gotta love a good score!

When it was time to apply Noel I found I really liked Zoya's brush size. It covered my nail amazingly and had to only do a few strokes to cover a nail. I struggle with brands with smaller brushes so Zoya's size made me happy. I found the formula glided on smoothly and didn't tug or pull. Also I didn't notice much streaking but mind you the flakey layer would hide any imperfections. Like my crappy job at painting my nails lol.

Maisie- the flakey formula- also had a nice brush size and again glided along the nails nicely. I had to give the bottle a nice roll between my hands so that the flakes were nicely distributed along the top of the polish as at first I was mostly getting just the clear part. After recapping and rolling I got a nice amount of flakes in each swipe. 

After putting on my top coats- 2 layers- I followed with some drying drops from OPI that were used on me at a Salon and I loved how fast it sped up the drying process. I tend to knock my nails against something almost immediately so this really helped me get the most out of my mani. 

I forgot to take a picture of my nails when they were freshly painted so this pic was taken 3 days later. Which I actually think is a testament to Zoya and the accompanying products as you can see very little wear on my nails. Previously I would have only had a small bit in the middle of my nails left or at minimum some serious chips. 

Funny how seeing my old lady hands up close like this makes me realize I need to explore some deep moisturizing hand cream next lol!!!

All in all I found Zoya to be as excellent a polish as Sarah had indicated. So now I need more OBVIOUSLY ;). I would give this polish a 8/10 overall. 

Cheers, Andrea