Howdy everyone, and welcome to a new week!
Today I have swatches of Zoya's Fall 2015 Focus collection of cremes to share with you! If you missed the other half of their Fall offering, Flair, it's right here!
First, here is Zoya- Charli:
Charli is a dusty, olive-taupe. It dries down quite a bit darker than liquid bottle color.
Artificial light, two coats:
It can look greener or more brown/olive/taupe-y depending on lighting. Love this neutral though, and it wasn't entirely unflattering on my skin!
Watermarble accent:
Sia, Desiree, and Charli with Charli* as base. (*Note: having a non-white base does affect the color-accuracy of colors on top)
Formula: Amazing! It's thick, self-leveling, pigmented, dries down super quickly for a creme, AND it's opaque in one coat! That's right, folks, a one-coat-wonder! I did two coats for swatches on most nails, but one nail just has a single coat. Can you discern which? I'm not telling!
--
Next, Zoya- Desiree:
Desiree is a rich, cool-toned brown creme. It dries down slightly darker than bottle color (but not as much as Charli) and a little more cool-toned as well.
This one didn't intrigue me in the bottle, but once I got it on my nails...so luscious! Really love! I want to eat it?
Artificial light, two coats:
Formula: Very similar to Charli, but ever so slightly thinner (some people might prefer), and maybe slightly less pigmented also. I had one coat coverage on one nail with a thicker coat, but that nail ended up with slight bubbling, so it's safer to do two normal coats with this one. TL;DR: Very nice, opaque in two coats!
--
Here is the blue, Zoya- Sia:
Sia is a saturated, medium royal blue creme. Really a vibrant and crisp, wonderful blue!
Artificial light, two coats:
Formula: It's definitely thinner than the first two, but still what I think most people would consider a medium or medium-thick formula. It's insanely pigmented too, and I nearly had it opaque in one coat, with just some thinness at the tips. Two easy, self-leveling coats were perfect, though! Creamy and perfectly workable! A++
Zoya does note that you should protect your nail beds with a good base coat for this one, since its high level of pigmentation can lead to staining. That's always a good idea, but for what it's worth, I didn't experience any issues just swatching or removing it.
--
Here is the first of two reds in the collection, Zoya- Hannah:
Hannah is a medium, neutral-toned red creme. In some lights it looks warm-leaning, and definitely pulls warm red on me, but I think it's still fairly neutral. Zoya describes Hannah as a "classic" red, and I think it is! I think it would look pretty nice on most skin tones.
Artificial light, two coats:
Thumb:
Formula: It's very creamy and smooth- with a hint of a crelly feel. (And it is sheerer than the others.) It self-levels instantly and is very easy to apply! It builds well and is about 95% opaque in two coats, so I left it there! Super nice texture!
--
Next, the other, deeper red, Zoya- Janel:
Janel is a darker red creme with slight warm undertones. It could be because it's darker, but it looks cooler-toned than Hannah does to me. And, there is almost a milkiness or dustiness to it.
Artificial light, two coats:
This would not be a red I'd choose for myself, but it will look great on most people with neutral or warm undertones.
Watermarble accent:
Lidia, Hannah, & Janel with Hannah as base
Formula: It's just as creamy and easy to apply as Hannah, and maybe slightly more pigmented too. Self-levels, builds well, dries quickly- opaque in two easy coats!
This one (and Hannah to a lesser extent) does want to stain the skin and surrounding cuticle area upon removal. That's pretty normal for pigmented reds, but just thought I'd mention it.
--
Finally, the purple, Zoya- Lidia:
Lidia is a warm-toned (red-based), deep purple creme. It can look nearly black in very low light, but mostly you always know it's a purple. Still very vampy, though!
Artificial light, two coats:
Formula: It's smooth and creamy like the others, but the viscosity is a bit thinner- not too thin, though- and it's also slightly sheerer than some here. The second coat feels a lot thicker since it clings to itself so well, and it builds to perfect opacity in two easy coats!
--
Overall, I love this collection merely for the formulas alone! I think these are the best creme formulas Zoya has ever put out! They really seem high-quality: pigmented, self-levelling, nice viscosities! All were easy to use and apply, and that is amazing across an entire collection!
Color-wise, I'm really digging Charli for being different, and Sia for being so saturated as a medium blue. Desiree was also a surprise favorite! The two reds are OK, and I'm sure they will appeal most to some people. Lidia is probably fairly dupable, but still really lovely.
Oh yes, and they all watermarble well! Sia and Lidia, especially, spread super nicely in the water!
The single criticism I can think of is that a couple of these (Charli, Desiree) dry a bit darker than liquid bottle color, so what you end up with may not be exactly what you're expecting. That's not really a big deal to me though when the formulas are so excellent, and actually seems to be a fairly common occurrence with certain creme formulas.
Thoughts?
Will you be trying any of these Focus polishes?
*Disclosure: polishes in this post were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment