Zoya Mod Mattes, Summer 2011 swatches

This never-ending overcast weather has me all sorts of blah, so I thought I'd post my swatches of the Zoya Mod Mattes collection from this summer as a pick me up.  I grabbed the mini set on amazon, but these are also available directly from Zoya.  All Zoya polishes are 4-Free (including camphor) and vegan friendly.  Zoya is known for its collections of matte polishes, so I had pretty high expectations for these polishes.  These polishes are gorgeous, but they are kind of a pain to apply.  However, the great colors make up for it in my opinion.  Another bonus with this Zoya mini set is the bottle.  Unlike the terrible OPI mini bottles these seem to have the same flexible brush as the full size bottles and have a bottle and grip that doesn't make application hard.  Since these are so pretty I applied top coat to each to see the shiny versions.  These pics look great full size - if you click the images you can see for yourself.  Enjoy!

Pheobe

3 coats Pheobe, natural light, no top coat

Pheobe is a light neon-ish blue creme with a silvery shimmer.  It dries to a matte finish on its own, so the shimmer adds a pretty cool effect.  Pheobe reached opacity in 2 coats, but I needed a 3rd to even things out.  These polishes need to have time to try in between coats or you will get some serious dragging.  I'm not exactly known for being patient, so I obviously rushed between coats and had to do some repair work.  Look at this beauty with top coat!  The color on this is great.

3 coats Pheobe, natural light, 1 coat seche vite

Mitzi

3 coats Mitzi, no top coat, natural light

Mitzi is a bright apple green matte creme.  I used 3 coats again to keep things even, but you can definitely get away with 2 coats.  Mitzi is way easier to apply than Pheobe, but was pretty darn difficult to remove.  I had bright green cuticles that would not quit.  The color on this is really unique, but I can't decide if I like how it looks on me.  What do you think?

3 coats Mitzi, natural light, 1 coat Seche Vite

Lolli

2 coats (by luck) Lolli, natural light, no top coat

Lolli is SO pretty and by far the easiest to apply of this trio.  It's a bright barbie-esque pink matte creme.  By some miracle I pulled this off in 2 coats.  I love that feeling of applying a polish that flows onto the nail the way you would hope.  This is definitely a polish that gives that feeling.  If you are looking for a matte, but are concerned that you don't have the application skills to apply one evenly, this is the polish for you.  It evens out very nicely.  Lolli also surprised me with the color.  I didn't expect I'd care for such a bright pink, but I really think it's great both matte and shiny!

2 coats Lolli, natural light with 1 coat seche vite

Verdict? While I'm not so sure I love Mitzi on my nails I am going to be keeping this trio stashed.  Maybe it will look good on a friend?  Maybe I'm a hoarder?  TBD.

What are your favorite Zoya mattes?  Can someone send me some nice weather?  K, thanks.

-Shbecky