Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox

Hello again!

Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today I have a long post covering the limited edition Birchbox Blogger Trio of Zoya polishes. This trio is comprised of three jelly polishes--one with shimmer! The three are fabulously coordinated and great for summer. These are bright and fun and I love them.

First we have Zoya Kate. Kate is a grapefruit pink jelly. This one was the most opaque of the bunch. For the two photos below, my index finger has one coat, middle has two coats, and the rest have three coats. I used Sinful Colors Nail Hardening Base and no topcoat for these as well. At three coats, this wasn't quite opaque, but the color saturation was nice.

Zoya Kate. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Zoya Kate: Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Next is Zoya Coraline. Coraline is an orange jelly, which reminds me of Tang (nom!). As above, this is Sinful Colors Nail Hardening Base on all fingers, one coat of Coraline on my index finger, two on my middle finger, and the rest have three coats. I found Coraline to be the sheerest of the three, and it seemed slightly murky to my eye.

Zoya Coraline. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Zoya Coraline. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Finally, we have my favorite of the three, Zoya Belle. Belle is a fantastic light pink-based jelly with gold and pink shimmer. I also used the same Sinful Colors base coat and left my index finger with one coat, middle with two, and the rest have three coats, so you can see exactly what this polish is like. Belle is so gorgeous! Even at only one coat, I thought this was glamorous.

Zoya Belle. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Zoya Belle. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 Formula on all of these was great to work with; they are sheer, as you would expect for a jelly finish, but they build nicely. The polish flows smoothly onto the nail, and I did not have any issues with pooling. They dry very glossy all on their own. I have worn Kate as a full mani, and I recall that wear time was about two days before tipwear became an issue. However, I just used Coraline for a mani, which lasted four or five days just fine. Perhaps, topcoat has something to do with it?

These are great for layering--both over eachother and other polishes. Here I've compared two coats of Kate to three of Coraline.

Coraline on the left, Kate on the right. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

 I also slapped a coat of Belle over two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out for kicks. It definitely highlights the shimmer! These are one coat of Sinful Colors base and: Coraline on my ring finger at three coats plus one of Belle; Kate on my middle finger at two coats plus one of Belle; Sally Hansen Black Out on my index finger at two coats plus one of Belle.

Belle layered over (L-R) Sally Hansen Blackout, Zoya Kate, Zoya Coraline. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Belle layered over (L-R) Zoya Coraline, Zoya Kate, Sally Hansen Blackout. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

And again indoors under artificial light. No flash.

I really hope that Zoya will add these awesomes polishes to their permanent line-up. It was great to see the Gloss Collection, which is three darker jelly polishes that Zoya introduced for fall. I can't wait to get my hands on those, but Saturday's little excursion ate up my polish budget for August and most of September. No more pretties for me until October! Wow that seems so far away... but, just as well, my current polish organization system (a two tiered tote) is full. No vacancy. I can't squeeze another polish in there, nor do I want to--I need a new solution because that tote is definately not beefy enough to handle the weight of all those polishes I put in it--it bows alarmingly when you pick it up. All those little bottles sure do add up!

Zoya Kate, Coraline, and Belle are part of the limited edition Birchbox Blogger Trio sold exclusively at Birchbox.com (here is the product page). Last I checked, it was still available, but who knows how long they will last since they have been out for some time now. 

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^