Zoya Awaken Collection with Monet Topper

After a teaser of warmer weather here in southeast Michigan in recent days, there was snow on the ground this morning, so I am in extra need of looking at pretty colors like the ones that Zoya has released for Spring 2014. They sent their Awaken collection and coordinated special effect topper for review. Left to right: Dot, Cole, Brooklyn, Dillon, Rebel, Hudson, Monet.



There are two cremes in the collection. Cole is a soft pastel orange and Dot is a pastel pink. I used three coats of each for my swatch.



The other four colors in Awaken are shimmers; before I swatched them on their own, I decided to use them for a dotticure over the cremes, using a design I'd pinned from Paulina's Passions for my inspiration. My version fell short of what I'd hoped to create, in part because I didn't actually look at Paulina's post before I started but instead worked from memory, which was more vague than I thought. Next time, I'll aim to make my dots closer together so the concentric rings of color stand out more.



I distracted myself from my not so successful nail art by turning, as I so often to, to glitter. Monet has color shifting transluscent medium hex glitters in a very sheer purpley pink base.



I alternated Cole and Dot on my nails then added two coats of Monet plus topcoat. The base of Monet is on the thick side; I didn't have too much trouble applying it but did get a few bubbles. Thinning it might be a good idea. I quite liked the effect, though, with the glitter showing slightly different colors over the different bases but still coordinating really well and pulling together the whole look.



Brooklyn is a pastel golden yellow shimmer with definite frosty tendencies. I used two coats for my swatch.





I wasn't that crazy about Brooklyn on its own but thought adding a couple coats of Monet plus topcoat might improve things. I did like it better with the glitter (but did not like the bubbles I saw forming in the Monet layers due to the thick formula).



The last three colors in Awaken are all flecked shimmers similar to some of the colors in the Zoya Surf collection from 2012 or Lovely from last year. I liked that finish, and I liked these three as well. Rebel is sky blue; Dillon is mint green, and Hudson is lilac.













Rather than trying Monet over Rebel, Dillon, and Hudson individually, I did almost-Skittles with them and then added Monet. The result is what I'd call a perfect spring manicure—all my favorite colors plus glitter, all looking soft and pretty. I didn't even notice any bubbles in Monet, whether due to the flecked shimmer hiding them or because I'd gotten better at applying the thick formula at this point I don't know.





Obviously the Monet and the cool-toned shimmers are my favorites. Monet reminds me a lot of Lilacquer Bohr-ing, which is long since discontinued (though the Lilacquer had a better formula). Cole and Dot are fine cremes, very well behaved for pastels; I just don't find them as interesting as the flecked shimmers. I think Brooklyn is skippable; Piaf from last year's Lovely collection is not the same color but it doesn't show any brushstrokes and would fit the bill of a soft golden shimmer (see comparison of those two plus other Zoyas on The Silver Nail).

The polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.