March 24, 2014

Zoya Spring 2014 Awaken Collection & Monet Special Effects Topper - all shades - pics, swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

Zoya has come out with another pretty collection. This is their Spring 2014 Awaken Collection with the Monet Special Effects Topper. The Awaken Collection includes the typical 6 shades that they normally release in any collection, but then also a Special Effects Topper that can be used alone or over any of the Awaken collection (or any other polish). In this collection I have some favorites (like Dillon and Hudson), but I also have some I wasn't thrilled with. Check out all the product info, along with my full review, after the pics!

Zoya Spring 2014 Awaken Collection
& Monet Special Effects Topper
Shades: Monet, Dot, Cole, Hudson, Dillon, Rebel, Brooklyn
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.







Zoya Monet Special Effects Topper
Shade: ZP726 Monet







Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP720 Dot







Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP721 Cole






Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP722 Hudson







Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP723 Dillon







Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP724 Rebel







Zoya Awaken Collection
Shade: ZP725 Brooklyn







Zoya Awaken & Monet Collection Info & Review:
Cost/Availability: $9.00 each for the Awaken polishes and $10 for the Monet polish (0.5 fl oz full size). Available on the Zoya website, at Ulta, and everywhere else Zoya polishes are sold.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses

Product Info...

The Zoya Spring 2014 Awaken and Monet Collection includes 6 shades of the Awaken collection, and the one shade from the Monet collection. Below are the shades descriptions, as well as their undertone (cool, warm, neutral), color family, finish, and their opacity level from 1 to 5 (1 = sheer, 5 = opaque).
  • Monet - a multi-colored, cellophane holographic special effect topper. Has a neutral undertone and is in the purple family. Special Effect finish. Opacity level 1. 
  • Dot - a full-coverage pink petal cream (originally released as Dot for fashion designer Zang Toi's SS14 Collection). Has a cool undertone and is in the pink family. Cream finish. Opacity level 4.
  • Cole - a full-coverage peach whisper cream (originally released during NYFW as Stella for Peter Som's SS14 Collection). Has a warm undertone and is in the orange family. Cream finish. Opacity level 4.
  • Hudson - a full-coverage purple orchid metallic with silver shimmer. Has a cool undertone and is in the purple family. Metallic finish. Opacity level 5.
  • Dillon - a full-coverage green mint metallic with a silver shimmer. Has a warm undertone and is in the green family. Metallic finish. Opacity level 5.
  • Rebel - a full-coverage blue sky metallic with a silver shimmer. Has a cool undertone and is in the blue family. Metallic finish. Opacity level 5.
  • Brooklyn - a full-coverage white-gold shimmer metallic. Has a warm undertone and is in the gold family. Metallic finish. Opacity level 5.


My Review...

I was super excited for this collection because I am more than ready to see spring shades hit the shelves! The colors are very spring and very pretty. There are two cream shades, 3 shimmer/metallic shades, and one metallic/satin shade in the Spring 2014 Awaken Collection. Plus the Monet special effects topper.

I'll start by talking about the shade Monet. I was super excited for the Monet shade, which is a topper, and I used it in a NOTD - which I posted on my Instagram - over top the shade Dot from the Awaken collection. I find it to be very thick and gloppy - unlike other Zoya polishes in consistency. It's still usable, and best with just one coat or it gets very thick and will make your nails look a little thicker than they should. I used two coats in that NOTD on Instagram. I think it looks best with two coats because you get the most iridescent pieces on your nail. I also used two coats in the swatch photo showing it on the nail wheel. Even though this was maybe the one I was looking forward to the most, I find it my least favorite to apply.

Now let's get into the Spring 2014 Awaken Collection, talking about each shade...

Dot - This is a baby pink cream shade that is a bit more sheer than the metallic/shimmer finishes in the collection. It needs two coats for sure - and depending on how thick you apply your coats, you may need a third depending on your preference. I loved this pink shade and it's also the base shade I used in my NOTD I posted on my Instagram.

Cole - This is a creamsicle like orange shade; very spring and even summery orange. Just like Dot, this also isn't quite as opaque as the metallic/shimmer finishes in this collection. It needs 2 coats as well. I like this one too!

Hudson - This is a gorgeous deeper lavender shade with a shimmer/metallic finish. Opaque in 1 to 2 coats (I use 2 just out of preference, but you may be happy with 1 coat). It's not a typical pastel spring lavender, but it's not a purple-purple either. It's somewhere right in between, and it's gorgeous. I love the shimmer in all the shimmer shades from this collection.

Dillon - This is probably my favorite shade. A gorgeous seafoam green! I'm not a big green polish fan, but this leans more seafoam in tone than it does green. It also has that same gorgeous shimmer to it, and is also opaque in 1 to 2 coats. Love it!

Rebel - This is a gorgeous blue shade. I was trying to think of the right way to describe it, but I really couldn't think of the right words. A tropical blue? A blue with a teal undertone? I'm not sure - but it's pretty and just like Hudson and Dillon, it has gorgeous shimmer and is opaque in 1 to 2 coats.

Brooklyn - This was my least favorite shade. While it's pretty -- it's a pale gold -- I'm not a fan of this kind of metallic/satin finish. It shows every brush stroke really pronounced, so it's hard to get an even look to it and I don't have time to fuss with it to get it how I would prefer.


To sum it up, my top three favorite shades are: Dillon, Dot, Hudson and my least two favorites are Brooklyn and Monet (and Monet is only a least favorite due to the formula, because I love how it looks).




Final Thoughts...

I think this is a pretty collection from Zoya that is perfect for spring. It's like a breath of fresh air when I've seen so many darker shades for the past few months. I'm not sure this is a collection I would recommend buying the whole set of, because I'm just not a fan of the shade Brooklyn (plus, Monet is sold separately as well). I also don't know if I'd recommend buying Monet only because of the formulation - it was just too thick and gloopy. But I would definitely recommend all three of the shimmer/metallic finishes: Hudson, Dillon, Rebel - and I may even say the two creams are good too (but I feel like Dot is a pretty standard shade, and Cole may even be pretty standard, but it seems a bit more unique).


Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of this nail polish collection? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

3 comments:

  1. Dillon is so pretty! :D Too bad about the formula for the glitter topper. ><

    ReplyDelete
  2. @LauraLeia: I know right?! It's such a pretty topper -- looks more delicate over a light shade like dot, but really pretty over a dark shade like a navy blue or black. I just wish it wasn't so gloopy. One coat is the only way to roll with it and I just don't like the coverage from one coat.

    ReplyDelete

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