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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Zoya Jana, Petra, and Neeka

Hey guys! Hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was very low-key and lazy... as usual.

Early last week, I caved and ordered 3 Zoyas using the 2-free-polishes code (the promotion is now over!). I didn't plan on it. It just happened. You know how it goes.

I ordered Jana, Petra, and Neeka. They are all from Zoya's fall collection, Smoke & Mirrors.

I placed the order on Tuesday, it shipped on Thursday, and arrived on Saturday. Do you know why? Because it shipped USPS First Class Mail. None of that Fedex Smartpost crap that usually happens with my Zoya orders. WOOHOO!!

Before I post the pics, apologies for a) the uneven nail lengths and b) the lack of clean up.

I accidentally cut the free edge of my pink nail last week, so had to nubbinize it to the quick. The rest of my nails looked way too long, so I filed them down as best I could. Unfortunately, I have a long nail bed on my index finger, so that is protruding (rudely) in these pictures. Since I will need to reswatch these again anyways, I decided to be lazy and not clean up! But then I wanted to share the comparisons... so here we are. I hope you can forgive me O_o

Ok, disclaimer aside, here are the pics:

Zoya Jana - 2 coats, nice formula


I was hoping it would be a dupe for SH Concrete... I mean, bottle pics look promising, amirite?


Comparison: Zoya Jana and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Concrete


Um, no, wtf?! The Zoya dries SO much darker than bottle colour >< More than usual!!

It's actually closer to Revlon Stormy / SH Commander in Chic / Rimmel Steel Grey / Confetti Moonstruck / China Glaze Below Deck / Essie Merino Cool / ... you get the picture

Comparison: Zoya Jana and Revlon Stormy


Since Revlon Stormy is basically my HG taupe, I don't need to keep Jana in my stash. I don't like it when taupes pull purple on me (without being straight-up purple) so out this goes.

Zoya Petra - 2 coats, the formula is a little thinner than Jana, but it's still pigmented. Sorry about the cuticle drag on the middle finger. I was antsy.


So this, I was hoping would be a dupe for Nina Never Glum Plum, my only Nina polish. I don't like having single bottle brands in my stash, so I was hoping to replace it with a Zoya! Tell me I'm not crazy for thinking this way.

Comparison: Zoya Petra and Nina Never Glum Plum


I don't think it shows in the pics, but Petra is a tiny bit darker and more purple than the Nina. The formulas are nearly identical, but I prefer the colour and brush on the Nina. So no luck getting rid of that single bottle!!

Essie Smokin' Hot and Sally Hansen Grey Area should both be very close to Petra as well, so I would pass on this if you have either of those (or the Nina).

I have already swapped my bottle of Zoya Kelly, but it's really different from Petra. Here's a comparison at Haute Lacquer if you can't find a comparison!

Okay so... 2 are already in my swap pile. *facepalm* BUT, not all is lost...!

ZOYA NEEKA!!! - 2 beautiful, smooth pigmented coats.


HOLY SHEEZ, MOFOOOOO, AMAZEBALLZ, etc.


As you probably realized, pretty much all my pics are taking with diffused flash, so it shows off the polish a bit better than under regular lighting.

However, I took a pic with my new P&S camera to show you that even using a worse camera and under awful lighting, the polish is still very special:

(Ugh, I swear, this picture looked perfectly exposed on the LCD, but then I transferred it to my computer and it looks like this dark, broody mess! Sorry guys!!)


So yes. I whole heartedly recommend Neeka. I was going to compare this to RBL Catherine, but I have already swapped it. This is better than RBL Catherine, just trust me on that.

23 comments:

  1. *shakes fist* I just put on Elianto Glittery Nickel. I will not buy Neeka. I will NOT. >.<

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  2. neeka.... neeka.... drooling with this mantra... neeee eeee ka.... XD°°°°

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  3. Neeka is SO gorgeous! It's insane how pretty it is. Seeing your swatches makes me want to wear it again.

    Thanks for the mention by the way! (:

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  4. YES! I ordered Neeka and Yara last week! Thx for swatches :>

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  5. I got Yara and Neeka from the new collection.  And Neeka is gorgeous!  Your pics turned out much better than mine.  I also love that you do all the comparisons!  Saves me from buying polishes that look similar.

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  6. lovinn the shine in these photos, all zoyas are gorgeous!!!

    <3 BB

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  7. Whoa, Neeka is gorgeous - I must give Zoya another go

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  8. Neeka is WOW.
    Just wow wow wow.
    And I like Petra too, although I guess I have to skip her. 

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  9. Cool! I swear sometimes it's like you read my  mind. I got my order yesterday, and put on Petra almost immediately. I've been thinking that it looks a lot like the Nina Never Glum Plum, and wondering if it was close enough to Essie's Smokin' Hot that I could be satisfied with Petra. I'd still like to see a head to head comp, but I think I'll stick with Petra anyway. :)

    I got Petra, Jana, and Cynthia. I love Zoya promos!

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  10. Did you mean Sally Hansen Grey Area? Cuz I just googled the hell out of "Essie Grey Area" and couldn't find any info. And instead of getting rid of the Nina polish, I say just pick up some more of their polish! Mossy Britches and Purple Xing are AWESOME!

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  11. lots of the colors from that collection seem dupable. I agree on Neeka, very nice

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  12. Oh yes! I did! Thanks for catching that typo, I just fixed it! I'll check out those two Ninas, thanks for the suggestion :)

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  13. Hopefully someone will do a Petra vs Smokin Hot comparison, but in the meanwhile, have you seen this comparison by Karen D? http://thekarend.blogspot.com/2011/03/essie-smokin-hot-comparison.html From her text, it sounds like Essie Smokin Hot is a bit darker than Nina Never Glum Plum, so Petra is probably closer to the Essie than the Nina. 

    I love Zoya promos too, although I wish people could be more appreciative sometimes! There's always a lot of complaining on their facebook page, and even nail board, about the promos not being good enough!

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  14. Yep. Too many dupes of that colour... it's charla-esque now. 

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  15. :D I always wished there were more comparisons when I first started buying polishes. I almost got Yara too, but I was afraid it would be too yellow-toned. Aghhh. 

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  16. :D I'm always keen to share a good comparison, haha! 

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  17. I fell for that sale as well! I got these two-but not jana-too light! I love this collection

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  18. I totally understand not wanting that one bottle brand in your stash!

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  19. Neeka is so fun! I just got it and Yara, but I haven't had a chance to wear either yet. I love the finish!

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  20. I hadn't seen that blog, so thank you for linking me. I think, after looking at the pics, that Petra is close enough to Smokin' Hot, and I can be satisfied.

    I'd bought OPI I Brake For Manicures last week, and was very disappointed. On me it was a dark mud brown, and didn't look anything like the swatch pics I'd seen. I took it back a few days later. Petra is what IBFM should have been: dark, grayed plum  with slight taupe tones.

    Zoya promos are generous. What other company even HAS promos, let alone buy one and get two free? My mind boggles. lol  When they introduced the Smoke & Mirrors collections, I waited to buy because I was hoping for a promo. Money's very tight these days. I thought they'd have a BOGO Free sale, but never thought  it'd be a BOGT Free. Hehe. (buy one get two)

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  21. Ooooooh.....I LOVE this shade! I don't think I've ever see a murky mauve with gold glitter in it before - so original!  Looks really great against your skin toe, by the way! :)

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  22. Omg.. I cannot get enough of your comps! Gotta thank you for doing them all the time, always such a great help to me! :)

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