Zoya Ultra Brites Collection - Swatches & Review

I have had the Zoya Ultra Brites Collection sitting in my polish racks waiting for me to swatch them for way too long.  They haven't gone completely unused as I have used them in a few nail art manis over the last few months.  But the time has finally come for me to actually swatch these.  There are six neon polishes in this collection which are designed to go over Zoya Purity (which is a white creme).  I don't have this polish so I have just swatched over another white creme polish.

Now to save me repeating myself, each of these polishes are really sheer and definitely need the white base.  They also apply really unevenly and probably look more uneven in person than they look in my photos.  As these are neon polishes they aren't 100% colour accurate as they freaked my camera out a bit.  All of my swatches shows two coats over white.
 

Bisca is described as a hot pink.

Cana is described as a neon fuchsia pink.

Erza is described as sunny neon red.

Evergreen is described as an electric green.

Juvia is described as a neon teal.

Mirajane is described as neon navy.

Given how patchy and uneven these polishes are I would have to say that I am not a fan of them as a full mani.  I also think Zoya missed the mark on the colour range in this collection.  Surely they could have added in a yellow or purple rather than having two pinks and a red.  All that being said, I do love the colours and the make for great nail art so I will definitely be hanging on to them.

What do you think of this collection?

Zoya Enchanted Collection - Swatches & Review

I can't believe that there is only six more sleeps until Santa comes!  I'm not sure who is more excited, me or my daughter.  Christmas with kids is seriously the best Christmas'.  Well, I think so.  Today I am changing gears slightly and sharing my swatches and review of Zoya's Enchanted Collection which was released for the Holiday season.  Feels like forever since I have had swatches on my blog.  There has definitely been a lot of nail art happening.

Alice is a periwinkle PixieDust with magenta and blue sparkles.  This is such a gorgeous colour and easily one of my favorites from this collection.  The formula is awesome and is opaque in two coats.

Elphie is a emerald green PixieDust with a green sparkle.  I think this is a great Christmas colour.  The formula is great and is opaque in two coats.

Lorna is a berry PixieDust with sparkle.  Such a pretty colour and definitely perfect for winter.  Again, the formula is great and it is opaque in two coats.

Olivera is multichrome that shifts from purple to green and is in an indigo base.  Now I personally didn't see any purple, however I can see the blue and green.  This polish doesn't shift as much as a lot of other polishes out there, but that could be because it is so dark.  The formula is easy to use and opaque in two coats.

Saint has a periwinkle base and magenta sparkle.  I really wish we had sun when I wore this one.  The shimmer in it is stunning.  I am a huge fan of the colour.  The formula is a little on the sheer side.  I used three coats for my swatch.

Waverly is a deep sapphire blue PixieDust with blue sparkle.  This is another great colour with a great formula.  My swatch shows two coats.

Overall I am a big fan of this collection.  I haven't really used many of Zoya's PixieDust's before but they are awesome!  I really need to use them more.  My personal favorites in this collection are Alice and Saint, closely followed by Waverly and Lorna.

Have you picked up any polishes from this collection?  Or are they on your wishlist?

Zoya Seashells & Sunsets Collection - Swatches & Review

While it may officially be winter here in Melbourne, my nails and I are going to ignore the cold and embrace all the bright summery polishes that everyone is releasing.  Who said summer polishes can't be worn in winter?  Anyway, today I have Zoya's Seashells & Sunsets Collection.  This collection consists of six creme polishes and six PixieDust polishes.  

SEASHELLS

This half of the collection consists of the six PixieDust polishes.  I hadn't actually tried any PixieDust polishes before this collection so to have such a range of colours is very exciting for me.  I quite like the texture of these polishes.  They aren't too rough to drive you mental or scratch things.  I found each shade was easy to work with, however they varied between needing two or three coats to be opaque.

Bay is described as a sky blue, textured PixieDust with fine silver and gold glitter creating a dreamy effect.  I found that this one was a little on the sheer side, especially on the first coat.  If you have shorter nails or don't mind polishes being a little sheer at the tips indirect light then you can definitely get away with two coats. My swatch shows three coats (and is still slightly see through at the tips in direct light).

Cece is described as a full impact green, textured PixieDust with a thin vein of gold creating a fizzy lemon-lime effect.  This one is quite sparkly in person.  I used two coats for my swatch.  It was still a little through at the tips in direct light.

Levi is described as a beige gold, textured PixieDust with medium holographic hex glitter.  I think this one in particular will be great as an accent nail.  This one did surprise me with how opaque it is.  In the bottle it looks like it would be base heavy but it wasn't at all.  I used two coats for my swatch.

Linds is described as a cherry red, textured PixieDust with red and fuchsia glitter to mimic the look of maraschino cherries dipped in sugar!  This one to me seems more matte than the other shades.  I'm not sure if that is intentional or not.  It is opaque in two coats.

Tilly is described as a starry grey, textured PixieDust with a small holographic glitter interwoven with a darker gunmetal.  I quite like this one.  There is just something about it.  My swatch shows two coats.

Zooey is described as a classic pink, textured PixieDust laced with a fine thread of gold and medium sized holographic hexes for an added layer of dimension.  Such a pretty polish.  I used two coats for my swatch.

SUNSETS

This half of the collection consists of the cremes.  Now these are advertised as being one coaters.  Personally I don't think they are.  Some you can get away with one coat (particularly if you have short nails) but others I think you definitely need two coats.  They all are really easy to use and have a great formula.  All of my swatches are of two coats.

Brynn is described as a popsicle pink creme.  Such a pretty colour.

Cam is described as a deep, fully saturated orange creme.  Now this one isn't as red as it appears in my picture.  It's definitely orange.  

Dixie is described as a juicy watermelon red creme.

Dory is described as a vibrant cornflower blue creme.  Gorgeous colour.  This is one of the polishes that you can definitely get away with one coat.  It also has one of the best formulas in this collection.

Liv is described as a fun-filled purple creme.  Love this one!  Not only is it a really pretty colour but it also has the nickname of my daughter.  She also loves this one.

Ness is described as a softened jade green with a hint of blue.  This one isn't as bright as it appears in my picture.  It also has a slightly dustier look to it.

I am a fan of this collection.  While I am not the biggest fan of all the colours (not that they are bad colours, they just aren't my type of colours) I do love the formulas, especially the cremes.  My personal favorites are Levi, Zooey, Tilly, Liv, Dory and Brynn.

Zoya Petals Collection - Swatches & Review

Well hello Zoya!  Welcome to my blog!  Who would have thought that I would be a year into blogging and this is the first time doing a Zoya post?  It seems crazy to me.  I actually own a few Zoya polishes but haven't really purchased any new ones mainly because they are a little hard to come by online.  Anyway, I saw some pictures of the Petals Collection and it looked so girly and pretty that I had to have them.  Of course, I now have to share them with you.

Aster is described as a fresh periwinkle with flecks of fuchsia to create a dewy finish, mimicking the look of spring flowers in the morning.  I quite like the colour of this one.  The formula is a little sheer but it's easy to work with and applies evenly.  I used three coats for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Azalea is described as a classic spring pink with a captivating white and fuchsia flash.  Another pretty colour with a good formula.  My swatch shows three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Laurel is described as a warm pastel pink with the slightest hint of sheen to mimic a petal soft finish.  This one applies unevenly so needed three coats to even out.  The colour also isn't as washed out as it looks in my pictures.  My camera just didn't like this polish for some strange reason.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Leia is described as a sheer, opalescent white with flecks of fuchsia, green and gold.  There is plenty of swatches out there now with this polish on it's own (I have only even seen swatches with a very visible nail line so I am going to assume that this polish doesn't build up to be opaque) and over the other polishes in this collection.  I decided to put it over black so you can really see what is going on in this polish.  It is absolutely stunning over black!  The formula is easy to use and it applies evenly.  I used one coat over black for my swatch.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in light box

Tulip is described as a pure pastel salmon cream with the slightest hint of sheen to mimic a petal soft finish.  This is quite a pretty polish.  The formula does apply unevenly on the first coat and evens out on three coats.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Zahara is described as a brilliant shimmering coral made modern with an opalescent effect.  This one is quite sheer.  I found that even after three coats (shown in my pictures) that there was still a visible nail line in direct light.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

Overall I like this collection but I don't love it.  The polishes are a little sheer for my personal taste but the colours are quite nice.  My personal favorites are Leia and Aster.

I am not too sure where the "best" place to buy the Petal Collection is but I purchased mine from HB Beauty Bar.

China Glaze The Great Outdoors Collection - Comparisons

As promised, I am back with some swatch comparisons of the latest China Glaze collection - The Great Outdoors.  There are a few in this collection that I don't have anything close to colour wise in my collection so I have left those polishes out.  That's not to say that there isn't anything similar to them out there, I just don't own them.  Others, I have included were either requested or because I thought they may be of interest (eg. Gone Glamping and it's comparison to OPI Just Spotted The Lizard).  If you are interested in seeing my swatches and review of this collection, you can see it here.

 

China Glaze Change Your Altitude vs Essie Take It Outside

No dupes with these two.  Change Your Altitude is slightly darker and is more grey toned in comparison.  Formula wise they are very similar.  I used two coats for both polishes.

Picture taken outside in shade

China Glaze Check Out The Silver Fox vs OPI Haven't The Foggiest

These aren't exact dupes but this is a polish that I would say you don't need both of.  Formula wise they are both very similar but the China Glaze is slightly lighter in colour.  I used two coats for each polish.

Picture taken in light box

China Glaze Gone Glamping vs OPI Just Spotted The Lizard 

I know these aren't dupes or really that close but I had have seen some comments from people questioning the difference between the two (and all of the dupes for Just Spotted The Lizard).  So here is it.  Formula wise they are pretty similar and both need three coats to be opaque.  I think it is worth having both in your collection, if you are a fan of these types of polishes.

Picture taken in light box

China Glaze My Lodge Or Yours vs Zoya Rue vs Zoya Brigitte 

No dupes between any of these polishes.  The closest is Brigitte is slightly darker and more purple toned than My Lodge Or Yours.  I used two coats for all three polishes.

Picture taken in light box

China Glaze Pondering vs OPI Peace Love & OPI

Definitely no dupes here.  Both are really pretty and I think are worth having in everyone's collection.  I used two coats for both polishes.

Picture taken in light box

China Glaze Sleeping Under The Stars vs China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You

These are definitely not dupes but I was asked to compare these collections.  Personally I prefer Choo-Choo Choose You because I think it's much pretty (the shimmer in the bottle of Sleeping Under The Stars looks stunning but it just isn't obvious enough on the nail).  I used one coat for Sleeping Under The Stars and two coats for Choo-Choo Choose You.

Picture taken in light box

Picture taken in direct sunlight

China Glaze S'more Fun vs China Glaze Trip Of A Lime Time

No dupes with these two but personally I don't think you need both (but that could be because this is not my type of colour).  I prefer S'more Fun because it has a nice formula to work with and only requires two coats.  Trip Of A Lime Time requires three coats to be opaque.

Picture taken outdoors in shade

China Glaze Wood You Wanna? vs OPI The World Is Not Enough

Definitely not dupes but The World Is Not Enough is the closest in colour that I own.  Both are equally pretty.  Formula wise they are very different.  Wood You Wanna? only needs one coat to be opaque (and it stamps) where The World Is Not Enough is on the sheer side and needs three coats.

Picture taken in light box

There is definitely no dupes in my collection with China Glaze's The Great Outdoors Collection.  I love when I have new collections are different to previously released polishes.  Means it's more worth while having all the polishes.