Monday, June 15, 2009

Limited Edition Zoya Matte Velvet Collection

Wow. Just... wow. These are even better than I had hoped for.
Zoya's MatteVelvet Collection for Fall 2009.

Dovima. Matte black shimmer. This is super matte. Much more than I had anticipated. I LOVE IT. It's so sexy and industrial looking. The shimmer keeps it interesting, it really reminds me of rocks or granite. That's what it is! Granite! Or perhaps graphite. This shade of black is also a little bit lighter. I wouldn't call it grey, but it's not a deep, saturated black either.


Loredana. Matte grey shimmer. Again, super matte. Not even a hint of shine here! This is a medium charcoal/grey- it reminds me of unpolished metal. Or frozen concrete. This is going to look amazing with all the clothes you wear during fall. I don't normally coordinate my outfits with my polish, but this makes me want to wear a black turtleneck.


Posh. Matte red velvet shimmer. This is posh, indeed. It reminds me of antique and expensive Victorian furniture, red velvet and satin fabrics, sophisticated but almost a little spooky. If dracula was a chick, he'd wear this. I am not a red-lover by any stretch of the imagination, but I am infatuated with Posh. I can't get over how insanely beautiful it is. It looks like every nail is covered in red stain fabric.


And, because I couldn't resist... I added some Seche Vite to see what they look like glossy.


Dovima. Ridiculously sparkly.

Loredana. This looks like it's filled with broken glass!



Posh. Look at that depth! It's even more complex than I thought it would be!


The formula on these is perfect. Some of the best matte formula I've ever used. It's smooth and not too thick- a lot of mattes tend to be as thick as glue, but these aren't. They're really opaque- Posh only needs one coat and Dovima could use one thick coat, but I did two coats on all just to be safe. They dry lightning fast. They were dry before I even started snapping pictures. I did have some staining from Posh, but it stained my skin and not my nails.

Since mattes are quite different than normal polish, I think it's wise to give a few application tips. Here's how you should apply mattes:

Start with a lot of polish on the brush- enough to do the entire nail plus a little extra to keep the brush wet. Fan out the bristles at the base of the nail and then in one smooth motion, 'push' the excess polish toward the free edge (this will remove the excess polish from the nail and leave it on the brush). You want to try to cover your entire nail in as few strokes as possible. Zoya's brush lets me cover my entire nail in one stroke if I fan the bristles, but if you have larger nails you may need to do two.

This does start to dry as you're applying it, so the faster you can work, the better. Be mindful of creating a smooth, even surface because the matte finish will show any flaws in application. This is why I recommend starting with lots of polish and using only one to two strokes.

Honestly, I was expecting these to be good, but not quite as good as they are. I was expecting them to be more of a satin matte or semi-matte, but these are REALLY matte. I have not had them long enough to determine how well they wear or how basecoat effects them, but I'll be testing them out all week.

I'm just positively thrilled with these. I love mattes a whole lot. I think they're edgy, sexy, mysterious, bad-ass and a little masculine. They're non-traditional. They fit me. I am extremely happy that Zoya and other companies have decided to do mattes. They're also great for men, and I've heard from a couple polish-wearing dudes that the matte finish is easier for them to wear.

These are limited edition, but I don't know exactly how limited. They're not officially released until July 1st, but they're available now for pre-order on Zoya.com.

Thank you, Zoya. You've made this matte-lover very happy.

43 comments:

  1. Those are amazing! Matter than I thought they would be too.

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  2. Thanks for the review! I'm so EXCITED!! They are gorgeous.

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  3. Oh WWWWOOOOOWWWW!!!! You are so right Scrangie - these are amazing!
    The matte finish is just so different and cool - it looks like is was freeze-dried as it went on!
    I am definitely going to try these - well maybe not the red since that might not looks so cool on a guy...
    Thank you for the great swatches!!

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  4. You swatches look amazing! Thanks for sharing them.

    I lik Dovima and Loredana with the Seche and Posh without. I am not really into the matte trend, but Posh does look fab!

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  5. If only they made a matte green...is that so much to ask? A nice, matte forest green...sigh.

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  6. holy. crap.

    NEED.

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  7. Whoa, these are awesome! Posh is HOT!

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  8. Love Loredana.
    And you read my mind, I wanted to see it with a topcoat on =)

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  9. Amazing pics as usual! These look wonderful, maybe even backup worthy.

    So what did OPI do to that made there's so flat and in general, unappealing. I can't wait to see your take on them.

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  10. "If dracula was a chick, he'd wear this."
    I just love you :)

    Amazing swatches. Thank you!

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  11. Wow! The shimmer! :O

    Are mattes (or at least, the Zoya mattes) easier to apply than glossy nail polish? I like opaque polishes and tend to have trouble with glossy nail polishes in general.

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  12. I think if I get any mattes, these will be the ones.

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  13. Those are amazing! I can't wait to try them out.

    - sybelle

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  14. they're just as freaking perfect matte and with a top coat!!!! AHHH

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  15. these are drop dead gorgeous!
    I CANNOT wait to pick these up for myself :) Much more satisfying looking than the OPI matte collection

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  16. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!! Let us know how wear time goes with these, esp w/o a topcoat. How do the first two compare to Manglaze? Thx!

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  17. Poshe looks gorgeous! That's a matte polish that I can see myself wearing:D And of course- you rock mattes!!!

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  18. Indeed there's something a little masculine that I particularly love. Posh is the one that attract me the most. Matte makes a nice constrast with red in general which is such a traditionally "woman" color on nails. I very love the red, so I will probably get it (if I find it). Excellent review by the way. :)

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  19. Omg, I really didn't think that I'd like matte nailpolish this much!! I love it! <3

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  20. Wow... I'm not a fan of red polish either, but Posh... I could definitely wear that! Actually, I HAVE to wear it at some point... *hurrying off to make local dealer bring them to me* ;D

    The others... Look great, but I'm not entirely sure if I need them now that I own both available Man Glaze polishes..?!

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  21. Wow! Im so going to have to buy these! They look up-to-par with ManGlaze. Wish there would be more colors like KO though! LOVE OX Blood and the mint green one! (just not the price!)

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  22. I like the swatches even better than the promo pics!! These look way better than OPI's. I'm excited to see Orly's mattes now!

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  23. I TOTALLY agree with your description of mattes...a little masculine, edgy, and SO interesting/different! I am in love with the matte trend and I already pre-ordered all 3 of these. :) Thanks for your beautiful swatches! Can't wait to see your review of the OPI Mattes!

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  24. I am definitely getting these. Trade Secrets carries Zoya, which is great given that artofbeauty.com doesn't do international shipping! They look awesome on you Scrangie, and I agree that Posh is a huge surprise!

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  25. I don't wear red, and I just ordered all three of them. That's how excited I am by these! They look SO MUCH BETTER than the OPIs...

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  26. Wow, these look nice.
    Scrangie, what happens to the polish if you wash your hands? Or if you use hand lotion or Solar Oil?
    :)

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  27. gorgeous. I can't wait anymore!
    :c)

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  28. oh my gosh. i've always loved all things matte - the texture looks amazing! and Posh is just beautiful!

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  29. Wow. I didn't think I would like this matte craze. There is nothing that does not look good on your nails Scrangie!! Amazing.

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  30. oh my god!
    the matte version is really cool. i've never seen something like that before.
    added with a top coat, *faints*.
    those are amazing! i really love the red and the black.

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  31. Zoya Posh
    with the seche vite
    the second picture
    on the second nail
    [middle finger]
    it looks like a couple kissing by the door.

    Or atleast that's what I see, lol.

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  32. Thanks so much for the tips on how to apply matte nail polish, Scrangie! Very helpful! :)

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  33. dude, they look so goood!! i wasn't sure how i felt about the matte explosion esp since they most likely not last as long without the top coat as a sealer--but zoya (and Scrangie) has now made me an official fan. i must get me some!! u have to test them out and let us kno the life expectancy on these, lol.

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  34. Hi Scrangie. Thanks for the great pics and review. I am definitely going to try to get my hands on Posh - just for a start! Did you test the wear on these? Michelle from ALU found the wear wasn't great. I would like to hear what your experience was.

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  35. These look wicked and sick with top coat as well!

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  36. I hate red shimmers! But OMG, I love Posh.
    -DanaCerise

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  37. Hi,

    My name is Jas and I want ask you a question that was there a collection ever named "electric shock" by china glaze because I went to sally's one day and they had display with the name "electric shock" on it. But the nail polishes were from the ink collection. So help me please.
    Thank you

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  38. Hi,
    My name is Jaskirn and I have a question that was there ever a collection named "electric shock" by china glaze b/c I went to sally's oneday and they had dislayed of china glaze nail polishes of that name but the nail polishes belonged to the china glaze ink collection. So I am confused.
    Also, I love your blog.

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  39. Thank you again for this great review - I just got my bottle of Posh in the mail and I just had to put some Seche Vite over it to shine it up!

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  40. Scrangie, I jsut received a bottle of Loredana and tried it last night. The micro-himmer in it really makes it pop!
    I agree with you that it goes on really smooth (no brush strokes either) and looks awesome with and without a top coat.
    I stil think that Man Glaze is a little smoother and cooler looking, but Zoya has many more colors!
    I'll be looking next for a matte dark blue and green from Zoya!

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  41. I think I'll be getting a bottle of Posh just to use with top coat.

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  42. Theeeyyy'rrrreeee baaaacccckkkk! lol! But these are labeled as LE's, so I suggest you ladies go and get them NOW before you loose your chance! :) There's 4 up for pre-sale: Posh (red), Dovima (black), Veruschuka (deep green), and my fave, Savita (purple). They go for $9 each ($4.5 for pros) or you could save a few bucks and buy the Gift Set Trio (Posh, Veruschuka, and Savita) for $24 ($12 for pros). But if you get the trio, don't forget that they black is NOT included - so you may want to buy that one seprately. Good luck! :)

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