My Picks from Zoya Ornate

I didn't buy my first Zoyas until the end of this past summer, but I like the brand more and more with each shade I try.  Keeping my holiday polish streak going, today I have my picks from Ornate, Zoya's newest collection.  Their tagline for it is "turn nails into jewels," and the collection has three vibrant, sparkling finishes.  There are three scattered holos, two chunky metallic foils, and a bar glitter.  I picked up Aurora, Storm, and Logan with the Storm promo to reward myself for staying at work for 32 hours during hurricane Sandy.  ...if only more of that had been overtime, oh well.  I passed on Electra because I've only ever liked one bar glitter.  I was tempted to get Ziv, since I adore chunky foils, but I skipped it...for now.  I also passed on Blaze, the red holo, but might get it in one of their occasional BOGO sales.


Storm is pretty, but subtle as holos go.  It really only gets going when very well-lit.

As you can see, when it goes, it *goes*.  The black base is a great contrast for the scattered holo effect.  It brings back memories of my grandmother turning the lights out and taking her glasses off to look at the lights on the xmas tree all blurry.  I used to unfocus my eyes so I could see it too.  Storm applied terrifically, but I'm learning to expect that from Zoya.  Just don't expect to be dazzled by it all of the time.  In most lighting, including what passes for sunlight here in the Philadelphia area (that show's title is sarcastic- it's rarely sunny here), the effect is a silver or soft gold fleck with hints of rainbow...only hints.

I liked it this way too, but I'm not as holo-mad as many lacquerheads.  I have a quick comparison at the bottom of the post, if you're interested.


I didn't expect it to be, but Logan is my favorite of the three I have.

Breathtaking.  Love it so much!  Some foils take up to four or five coats for opacity and are complete beasts for cleanup, but Logan was a dream for both.  Two coats and the quickest brushing with acetone whisked the 'bloopers' right off my skin and left my gaps so clear.  My jaw literally dropped!  I'm in awe of this formula!  And the color!  The gold flecks do a little sparkling of their own, but at some angles they switch the green from cool to warm in a mesmerizing way.  There's also a soft shift to a tealy blue at times...so beautiful!  Sometimes you can catch both changes at once!

Aurora has far more holographic oomph than Storm.

In bright light it bursts out like fireworks!  The base is much sheerer than Storm's, which helps the holo particles shine, but it still hid my nail line in three coats.  It's actually slightly more blue-toned than my camera wanted to show, but this isn't too far off.  Aurora calms down a bit in lower light, but doesn't play it nearly as coy as Storm.

I wore this on a tense day and it really helped pick me up a bit when I looked at it.



...and I do have one comparison before I go.  Someone on the Makeupalley Nail Board asked if they could dupe Storm by putting a scattered holo topcoat over black.

ring is Piggy Polish Glitter-azzi over Finger Paints Black Expressionism

The effect with the topcoat is similar, but far from identical.  You can tell that the holo particles are on top of the base and not in it.  They're also larger, more regular, and brighter.  The combination out-shines Storm, but feels like a combination.  It seems less special to me.

ring is Piggy Polish Glitter-azzi over Finger Paints Black Expressionism

That being said though, I think every polish fan should have a holo topcoat or two and I really do like Glitter-azzi.

I don't know that I'd call any of these shades completely xmasy.  I think they're more versatile than a lot of more traditional xmas shades, but with enough sparkle to be ideal for holiday events.  I'd recommend all three, but with the caution that Storm isn't as in-your-face as I know some people would like.