Zoya Intimate Collection Swatches

Yay! My Zoya Intimate sampler came on Friday and I spent that night swatching! Love this collection (the first time I've purchased a complete collection, now that I think about it)! Here are the swatches and some comparisons to other polishes in my stash.

Zoya Dove - The formula on this was pretty good, but a little thin. Here's three coats.

Someone asked me what it looks like against the gray in China Glaze Anchors Away collection, Pelican Gray. Have a look for yourself:

Comparison: Zoya Dove and ChG Pelican Gray

Pelican Gray has shimmer in it, while Zoya dove is a creme. The formula on the China Glaze is really great, two fabulous coats.

The only other light gray I have is DC Concrete Jungle (which itself is a dupe of RBL Concrete Jungle). You can see that Zoya Dove is warmer than Concrete Jungle.

Comparison: Zoya Dove and DC Concrete Jungle


Zoya Marley - A shimmery light lavender that is really opaque; two coats here.

Before I ordered the collection, I was slightly concerned that Marley might be a dupe for Essie St Lucia Lilac (which is in my Top 20).

Comparison: Zoya Marley and Essie St Lucia Lilac

The base color of both polishes are very similar, but the shimmer in Zoya is much more apparent than in Essie (yes! there is the faintest of secret shimmer in the Essie, but you'd never see it on the nail. Ever).



Zoya Gemma - I was really looking forward to this polish, and it did not disappoint :D The formula is quite good, and is mostly opaque in 2 coats; here's 3 to ensure no VNL.

This polish is really unique, and the only other green I have that's even remotely similar in base color is American Apparel Army Jacket. Peep it out:

Comparison: Zoya Gemma and AA Army Jacket

I usually shoot my pictures with a diffused flash, so here's a pic with no flash.


Zoya Caitlin - Lovely formula, just 2 coats here. I've read that this may be a dupe for Petites Periwinkle.



Zoya Dannii - I was a little worried that this would look awful on my skintone, but I actually like it! Really pretty. I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats, but I didn't have any problem with the application of this.




Zoya Jules - Love this shade! Nice formula and I'm happy it doesn't clash with my skintone ^_^

It's not dupish to anything in my stash, but here it is against a couple gold-ish colors I have.

Comparison: Zoya Jules and SH Fedora


Comparison: Zoya Jules and SH Gilty Pleasure

So happy I got this collection! My picks are Gemma, Jules, and Caitlin.

Hope this helps! :)

Color Club Fashion Addict, Love 'em Leave 'em, Revvvolution

I tried to intercept my Zoya package at my USPS office yesterday while I was sending out some packages, but they didn't want to dig through a pile of boxes for me LOL. Oh well, worth a shot right? It should be delivered today, though *crosses fingers*.

I have been reading about a lot of dupes in the Intimate collection... here's hoping they are not true haha.

Surprisingly, I have yet to post my 3 Color Club polishes. I got these at Harmons last year during my first in-person haul :)

Color Club Fashion Addict - This was the first holo I ever wore, and it really surprised me how much I liked it. It's not too outrageous, so I didn't feel out of line wearing it to work. Very pretty colour...





Color Club Love 'Em Leave 'Em - I bought this last second at the cash register at Harmons, but I was a little apprehensive because it looks so frakking orange in the bottle! However, it is much more nude coloured on the nail, which is a good thing!





Color Club Revvvolution - Everyone needs a black holo, right? While it's probably not as nice as the holo-MPJ, this one is easier to find. However, beware dud bottles that have been appear recently!

NOTD: China Glaze White Cap layered over China Glaze Pelican Gray

Still waiting for my Zoya order to get here! It will be here tomorrow, I think :)

I've been wearing the new China Glazes I got from Anchors Ahoy since I got back from Cali. Yesterday, I wore Pelican Gray by itself. Last night, I layered White Cap on top:

China Glaze White Cap layered over China Glaze Pelican Gray

Avon Olive Green, Cotton Candy, Tweed

Slowly working through my stash and uploading the swatches :) I can't wait until this weekend when I'll have time to swatch all my new pretties! My Zoya Intimates order just shipped so I'm hoping it gets here in time ^_^

Here are some Avons I own. I ordered them last fall when there were some free shipping codes floating around and the polishes were 2/$6. I'm not sure if this code will still work, but if its your first time placing an order, the code "FIRSTREP" should work (but you need to select a local representative and purchase through their site; no worries about someone coming to your door though lol). If that code doesn't work, take a peek on retailmenot or other coupon code sites and I'm sure there are other free shipping codes around :)

Avon Olive Green - I purchased this because it is a well-known dupe for RBL ONS. The formula is seriously to die for. A 1 coater, but I did 2 for the pics. I really like the brushes on these Avons: they are larger than normal, but not huge like Sally Hansens or OPIs. They are a similar shape, but about 2/3 the size. I definitely recommend getting this polish...


Avon Cotton Candy - This polish was sheerer than I'd hoped. This is 3 or maybe 4 coats? It's a cute colour though... I'd pass though.


Avon Tweed - An amazingly gorgeous jelly. I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats, though. Regardless, the application was really good for me!


Definitely recommend it.. unless you already have a dupe:

Comparison: Avon Tweed on index and ring, Essie Masquerade Belle on Middle and Pinky



I honestly bought the Essie the weekend after my Avon Tweed came in the mail. Aghh! I think I actually slightly prefer the Avon, because of the brush; however, I think I will keep the Essie... only because it cost more -.-

StrangeBeautiful for Anthropologie

I have been busy hauling lately and am going to need a couple evenings just to swatch my new pretties! :)

In the meantime, here are some polishes I picked up a few weeks back when Anthropologie was having their 25% off clearance sale. I found a basket of StrangeBeautiful nail polish duos that were marked down to 7.99 but rang up 3.99! I alerted NB to this amazing deal, but only a few girls were able to track down these polishes. I believe these collabs were done last summer.

As far as I know, these are not "names", but inspirations behind the colors. The formula on these was really smooth and slightly jellyish.

StrangeBeautiful Borscht


StrangeBeautiful Eau de vie macerated fruit


This one is really pretty and plummy. No dupes in my collection, but here it is next to Zoya Pinta.

Brucci polishes

I'm having a great Friday so far! I got the good news that I passed a major exam I wrote in October and I couldn't be happier about it. I was fully prepared to accept a failure and now I still can't believe it! I'm walking around the office with a spring in my step! :)

I don't think I posted these Brucci pictures. Brucci is a brand you can find in the North East (perhaps only in the NYC-area?) that is pretty cheap! I got these at a local pharmacy for $2.49 each and I had a coupon for the store as well :) These smell pretty bad and don't mention anything about being B3F on the back so... XD

Brucci Black Emerald - I'm generally not a fan of duochromes, but this is just gorgeous!




Brucci Blue Sapphire - A pretty blue, but I have yet to wear it as a full mani :O



Brucci Amelia's Amethyst - This is a vivid purple, very pretty! This reminded me of Zoya valerie, but they are definitely NOT dupes.



Brucci Grape Galaxy - A cooler toned purple which reminded me of Zoya Julieanne, but with smaller flake/glitter particles. It has a similar formula: their bases are sheer on the first coat, but looks opaque at two coats.



Brucci Elizabeth's "A Natural" - A neutral creme that has a great formula! Opaque in two coats with no streaking!


Brucci Gianna's Rockin' Blue - Very bright turquoise! Again, great coverage at two coats.


I've been really impressed with these Bruccis, other than their smell and the occassional squeaky sound you get opening and closing the cap, hehe.

Some Canadian polishes for ya: Joe Fresh and GOSH

Over the holidays, DBF and I drove back to Canada to visit his family. Mine are also in Canada (usually), but this year they flew down to California to see my brother and the new baby. We were going to fly down too after we drove back from Canada, but the blizzard that hit the northeast cancelled that plan!

Anyway, we made a quick stop at Loblaws to get a few things and of course I had to look for Joe Fresh polishes! They are $4 each or 3/$10 so I picked three. There were others I'd seen swatches of online, but I didn't find them in store. Next time I'm in Canada though - watch out!

Joe Fresh Jade - I thought this looked a bit like Essie Pretty Edgy when picking it out, but it's actually quite a bit darker. I forgot to upload the comparison pic with that one though!


Here is it compared with some other greens, though:


Comparison: Joe Fresh Jade and OPI JitNB


Comparison: Joe Fresh Jade and Essie Going Incognito

Joe Fresh Gunmetal - pretty opaque in two coats! It's almost taupe-ish.




Comparison: Joe Fresh Gunmetal and OPI Brand New Skates

Joe Fresh Peacock - at least I think it is; there was no sticker on this one. There's a very slight duochrome, but it's pretty!




Surprisingly, I don't have anything similar to this! To help you get an idea of the color:


Comparison: Joe Fresh Peacock and ChG Emerald Fitzgerald

We went with DBF's mom to run some errands the day before Christmas and stopped at Shoppers Drugmart for some milk and other essentials. I miss Shoppers! I think their points system is a lot better than what they do here in the States (Registered Rewards / Extra Bucks). I went to look for GOSH polishes and was happy to find them only to be $6! There was only one that interested me (I almost got Gasoline too, but decided against it).

GOSH Golden Dragon - This polish is nice, but a little brush strokey! It still looks amazing though!



Nothing close to it in my stash, but here it is compared to Zoya Ivanka.


Comparison: GOSH Golden Dragon and Zoya Ivanka

I went to look at the other polishes in SDM, and found out that Essie sells for 11.99 CAD! That's insane and unfair! My poor fellow Canucks :(

Oh, by the way, I've heard that some Duane Reades in the city sell GOSH as well. I'm not sure for how much, but I need to make another trip soon... tough life being a bridge and tunnel girl LOL.