Hey everyone! It's time for Zoya's Winter collection! Are you ready? This set is called Wishes, and consists of six polishes with varying finishes. There is one creme, two metallic shimmers, and three Magical PixieDust textured polishes.

Let's take a look!

First, here is Zoya- Haven:


Haven is a red-based purple shimmer that borders on deep orchid or plum.

Zoya describes it as a "true holiday plum liquid metal with a thin vein of orchid to ensure brilliance."  (I actually wrote my description before reading Zoya's official one, and I'm glad I'm not totally off-base considering this "orchid," haha!)

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Formula: It's on the thicker side, and is also extremely pigmented. Goes on the nail very smoothly, and is a one-coater! I used two for swatches, but wore one coat on my other hand and couldn't tell a difference. Excellent!
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Next, here is Zoya- Thea:


Thea is a purple textured polish with the Magical Pixie formulation, which means it has a jelly base and holographic hex glitter. I would say the tone of purple leans just slightly warm- not as much as Haven.

Artificial light, two coats:



I'm very happy to have this one in my collection. It's stunning, and I can see wearing it again and again (not necessarily in Winter), and am probably going to put it on my toes next. Just beautiful!

Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Formula: The jelly base is a bit sheer, but is not too hard to use. Your first coat will have sheerer patches, but the second really evens everything out and makes it wearable and opaque. Nice, but doesn't dry down completely matte like a normal textured polish would! (It's more like a glitter that just doesn't have topcoat yet.)   
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Here is Zoya- Imogen:


 Imogen is a soft black jelly base filled with holographic hex glitter: the Magical PixieDust matte formula.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Formula: It's similar to Thea with a sheer base and tons of glitter. The first coat is a bit tricky, and it's important to load your brush correctly so you won't have too much polish at the edges of your brushstrokes. The second coat goes on nicely, though, and is opaque!
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Next, here is Zoya- Nori:


Nori is a medium sapphire blue Magical PixieDust with a jelly base and holographic hexagonal glitters.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Sun:


Formula: Its jelly base seems more opaque than the others, and the polish overall seems less glitter-dense (specifically speaking about the larger holo hex glitter). This helps it to spread a little more easily over the nail surface, and it's my favorite formula of the three Magical Pixies here. Opaque in two coats!
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Here is Zoya- Prim:


Prim is a blue-leaning periwinkle with a ton of silver shimmer that Zoya describes as a "velvet blue metallic with a full coverage, high-density pigment."  The finish borders on a frost, but I don't think it's nearly frosty enough to be a true frost. You be the judge!

Artificial light, two coats:




Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Formula: It's nice! It's got a medium viscosity and paints on the nail so easily that it's tempting to rush with this one. But, since it's slightly prone to brush strokes, a careful application can make it look nicer in the end. It dries down quickly, and is a one-coater as well, but I used two for swatching purposes!
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Last is Zoya- Willa:


 Willa is a true black creme.  Ah, I love easy color descriptions.

Artificial light, two coats:




I know this is just a simple black, but I wasn't expecting to like it so much! I already did a Halloween-y manicure with it here.

Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Formula: It's fairly pigmented and creamy, and your first coat can be nearly opaque if you properly load the brush. Self-leveling and dries down quickly- opaque in two coats! I think I have a new favorite black creme! I'm excited to see if this one will stamp, too.
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Overall, this was a really interesting, forward-thinking collection, in my opinion. And, I think it has its ups and downs.

I love the color selection; it's very Wintery without being cliche (notice there's no cranberry, red, or green!). I also love how the colors pair with each other- for each of the PixieDust finishes there's a coordinating shade in another finish (Haven & Thea, for example).  For nail art purposes that simplifies things a lot! I really, really appreciate the inclusion of the black, here. It's so unusual for a Holiday release, but Zoya, to my knowledge, hasn't had a plain black creme until now (Raven actually has subtle shimmer), and Willa is a very high quality creme with a wonderful formula.

The disappointment for me really lies in the PixieDust polishes. They are all beautiful, don't get me wrong. However, the press release seemed to imply that one would be the original PixieDust finish, not the Magical version. Finding that all three were Magical was a let-down. I do like the holographic hex glitter, and these do apply more easily than some of the other Magical Pixies, but they still don't dry down completely into a textured finish. So, I'd end up top coating them anyway. *Sigh*

About the metallics: I was pleasantly surprised by Prim! Everyone seems to think it's too frosty, but I actually like it a lot, didn't find it too brushstrokey- and, I too am definitely weirded out by frosts. It's possibly the most Wintery-feeling polish in the set, and I was a little sad to take it off when I had to swatch the others. Haven is beautiful, has an awesome formula, but perhaps is a bit dupable.

I was also a little sad that we didn't get any of the wonderful scattered holos that Zoya has been releasing each Winter. Sorrow.


TLDR: Beautiful, cohesive colors, lovely formulas, but the Magical PixieDusts never fully dry down to a matte, textured finish.







*Disclosure: polishes in this post were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own.