Zoya Stevie Review, Swatches and Photos

Zoya Stevie Nail polish available for S$ 13.50 (Singapore Dollars) from www.nailvibe.com

Zoya Stevie is part of the much loved Zoya 2013 Summer Pixiedust collection.  Zoya has come up with a beautiful range of textured nail polish called Pixiedust.  Textured nail polish feels rough to the touch – something like a thick glitter without the top coat. Zoya calls them “matte, textured and sparkling”While a lot of companies have come up with these textures, Zoya is one of the few that has a shimmer in all of the shades.  Some of the other global firms that have come up with these are OPI (Liquid Sand) and China Glaze (Texture).  I don’t have any OPI, but between China Glaze and Zoya, Zoya is definitely my favourite. They have come out with 3 Pixiedust collections, consisting of 6 polishes each.

Color – Zoya Stevie is from the Summer 2013 collection.  It is a light lilac colour with a silver shimmer running through.  While the colour is definitely not unique, it is the silver shimmer running through, and the texture that gives it a lot of depth.  It pushes the normal colour, just a little over the edge and makes it special.

Formula and Application – In the bottle the polish looks like any other polish albeit a little on the thicker side.  If you have worn any thick glitters, then you will be familiar with the texture.  It goes on very very easily.  I found the dry time to be quite good as well.

Zoya suggests that you do not use any base coat for this, for the texture to truly come out.  You also need to wait between coats as the first coat has to dry completely, before you put the next one on.  If you hurry the application, the textured effect is not that visible.  Zoya Stevie is a little on the sheer side, the first coat goes on sheer, but the second one gives it enough opacity. Some people may prefer to put 3 thin coats, I personally prefer two coats.  All my swatches have two coats.

Again, you can add a top coat, but that defeats the purpose of the texture.  Stevie looks gorgeous without topcoat.

Once fully dry, the finish is rough, something like a cement, rough and bumpy.  I was a little worried that it little threads etc would get caught in my nails, but its not that rough to create any kind of hindrance to normal functioning.  I couldn’t help touching my nails constantly though!

Staying Power – Zoya Stevie lasts really well.  I had it on for a week and there was only a little bit of tip wear.  On the other hand, it is a little difficult to remove.  If you use an acetone free remover, then you may need to soak a cotton ball in it and keep it on the nail for 30 seconds just to let it soak in, before any polish comes off.  I normally use an acetone based remover and that goes a lot faster, though not as fast as a normal cream.

Overall Thoughts

I love the “new age” polishes with a twist, far more than the normal staid boring cream finishes.  That being said, Zoya Stevie is sometimes difficult to carry off something a little less ordinary like a texture on your fingers.  Zoya Stevie is perfect if you have doubts about using texture.  The colour is soft and feminine and the finish is visible from close only.

Rating: 4/5

The only reason it didn’t mark it 5/5 was the level of difficulty in removing it.  I can’t use it more often because the removal method takes a toll on my nails.

 *Written By Dela