Zoya Ultra PixieDust for Fall 2014

Press Sample

I have a love-hate relationship with textures. Sometimes I love them and sometimes they make me want to scream. I have a different opinion at any given second haha! When I received this fall's trio of Ultra PixieDusts from Zoya I swatched them all on a nail wheel just to get an idea of what I was working with. I noticed the next day that they had all dried a little different and decided that a full-on wear test was in order for these so my swatches would be more accurate. Below are my fully-dried swatches.

Zoyas from left to right:
Noir, Arianna, & Oswin

A couple notes on my swatches. I wore Noir and Oswin for a full day before taking pictures. All swatches show 3 coats, no basecoat or topcoat because Zoya told me not to (well, not me personally but I decided to do it how they recommended this time around). I started with a first thin coat to get close to my cuticles, did a second thick coat, and dabbed on the third to fill in any barer spots. Leave plenty of dry time between coats. This fall's Ultra Pixies feature big and small metallic glitters embedded in that sugary pixie texture Zoya is known for. Lets get to the full swatches now!

Zoya Noir
Fall 2014 Ultra PixieDust

I will start with my favorite and the one I wore first, Noir. Noir is a dark plum texture, nice and vampy for fall. This one dried down like a heavily glittered jelly and felt smoothly bumpy (omg does that even make sense?) like the skin of a avocado. I liked this one so much--the unique look that wasn't a tactile nightmare, yay! The bad news: Since I didn't wear any basecoat I had two big old chips on my right hand by the end of the day. Next time I will wear it with basecoat, and there will be a next time.

Zoya Oswin
Fall 2014 Ultra PixieDust

Oswin is a red textured polish, true red like blood. The texture is very sugary and matte, it feels like sandpaper on your nails. Something you must understand at this point: I HATE sand paper, chalk boards, chalk, terracotta, dusty concrete or decks... omg just thinking about them gives me goosebumps. I knew this one was going to be tough for me to wear but I didn't realize how tough. As soon as they were dry and I started getting ready for bed, I wanted to rip my nails off. They caught on my fuzzy blanket which was highly annoying, like static cling on your nails, but I do have to admit they didn't ruin any fabrics I came into contact with. At work I wanted to scream every time I had to touch paper (which is all day). When I got home to photograph them I noticed that they looked a little worse for the wear, too. The matte polish had worn off some of the texture which was showing through silver. I did a couple touch-ups before photographing. I wanted to love this red texture but I'm sorry... I can't. Don't hate me. (Bonus points if you get that reference!)

Zoya Arianna
Fall 2014 Ultra PixieDust

Arianna is a pinky-red texture. The texture is more on the sugary side but not quite as sand-paper-y as Oswin. Unfortunately I just couldn't make myself wear Arianna to work after my day with Oswin, but I do plan to try it for a weekend of lounging instead of paperwork haha. I let it dry for an hour before photographing but after a few more hours it will get a little more matte. I do like the look of the glitters glowing in the texture in Arianna and Noir!

So, bit of a mixed review there. Thoughts on textures? Personally, I will stick to my texture pinky accent and Noir.

Products:
Zoya Ultra PixieDust

Have you loved your cuticles today?