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Zoya Ooh-La-La for Summer 2009

As I’m sure you know by now, metallic polishes and I aren’t friends. Why? Because for the most part, metallic = brush stroke madness. So you can imagine my disappointment when I heard that one of Zoya‘s two collections for summer, Ohh-La-La, consisted entirely of metallics.

I decided to reserve judgment until I got my mitts on them and I’m so glad I did. With the exception on one or two problem children, brush strokes are nowhere to be found. Overall, the colors are fun and bright, I just wish they were more pigmented. The majority required three coats though I’ll take that over a thick gloppy polish. Check them out after the jump!


Midori is the shade I was most excited to see. This green lover can never get enough. A lovely grassy hue packed with golden metallic shimmer, Midori reminds me of a perfect green apple. Though it’s not entirely unique. It’s actually a dead on dupe for last summer’s Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Glow. In person, you can’t tell the difference.

Katy is a stunning hot pink shade with just a subtle hint of shimmer. Unlike the rest of the shades in this collection, Katy looks like a creme away from the bright sun. What I love is that is has a touch of rosy-ness that keeps it from being neon. I think this will be a knockout pedi shade.

Goldie was one of my problem children due to brush strokes but it wasn’t horrifyingly bad. It has to be the most gold bar-like shade I’ve ever seen. It’s very vibrant. I predict that this one will be a shade you either LOVE or HATE. There’s no middle of the road here.

When I saw the promo pic of Ginessa I was hoping for a sparkly white instead of a foil-like light silver. I’m all over whites for summer. Though the lightness of Ginessa keeps it from being disco ball silver. I just wish it applied better. It went on streaky, pulling at my cuticles, requiring three coats. And when I removed it, it left little sparkles all over my cuticles that were such a bitch to get rid of.

Emme was my other problem child. Think of her as Bender from The Breakfast Club. Rebellious and a royal pain in the arse. Emme’s warm pink hue is very bubblegum, which I love however, the brush strokes were unbearable, which I DON’T love. I know some people can deal but my perfectionist side can’t. My mom, on the other hand, loves this type of finish and will give Emme a great home.

Tallulah is my “must have” of the collection. It has this gorgeous cornflower base that is electrified with bright blue shimmer. It’s yet another unqiue blue to add to my stash. What really pleased me was that it applies a bit darker than how it looks in the bottle because side by side, it looked like an identical twin to yet another Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine shade, Flash. But as you can see below, Flash doesn’t even come close.

The Zoya Ooh-La-La collection retails for $6/ea and is on sale now at Zoya.com and in salons across the country.

What do we think? Who’s already hauled from Ooh-La-La? What did you get?

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There Are 21 Brilliant Comments

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  1. cidell says:

    I have Midori coming with my polish exchange. That was about the only one from this collection I went for. But, I must say, that blue is gorgeous.

  2. Phyrra says:

    I have Midori drying on my toes as we speak. It’s gorgeous.
    I have Katy on my ring fingers, and Calypso (not this collection) on the rest of them.
    Katy and Midori are awesome, and Tallulah looks gorgeous!

  3. Lacquer Laine says:

    I got Tallulah, Midori and Goldie. Green and gold are my favorite colors! Not just polish but everything! And I looooove Tallulah! I needed some more blues and she is a perfect addidtion!

  4. Charlene says:

    Heyy this is gorgeous. I have a green like that one but it goes on so sheer, what can i do to build the colour? so its more opaque? thankkks!

  5. anotheremptysky says:

    oh thanks, I was going to get Midori but I already have Glow!!

  6. Emily says:

    Wow.. I NEED that blue! Gorgeous! I can’t seem to find these polishes anywhere, I don’t think Zoya.com ships to Canada.

    I posted my MAC wishlist on my blog:
    http://emilysallowance.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-mac-wishlist.html

    It has some new polishes that I’m loving. I think you’ll love the bright purple on my wishlist.

    Thanks for the awesome review!!

  7. shoesgal says:

    Goldie is finding its way to me now! I was going to get Katy but decided against it last minute as I have so many hot pinks. But now I kinda regret seeming your swatches. And now I also want Tallulah!

  8. Anonymous says:

    I have tried so hard to love Zoya but for the life of me- it never works. I own 10 bottles of it and every color causes me problems. Raven is goopy. Eva will never dry. Indigo is practically solid. Vivi pulls at the cuticles. Don’t even get me started on using the color lock system. Hello to dents 3 hours later? Brush strokes from the clear polish?? Love the colors but can’t deal with the system :(

    CHg and Essie with a seche vite topcoat never seem to cause me such pain!!!

  9. HeidiB says:

    Midora and Talllulah look amazing, I think those are the only ones I’m going to get. Ginessa also looks tempting but what you said about the little sparkless in it makes me hesitate..

  10. Cali369 says:

    Bender may have been a PITA but boy was he cute, gotta love a bad boy! I was so disappointed when he turned up in some sitcom a few years back and hadn’t aged well…

  11. vbie3714 says:

    TYFP! Could you compare Tallulah to Essie Mesmerize?? :D

  12. melsh says:

    I must have Midori! and maybe the blue, lol.

    I have had very good luck with Zoya. I wore Juno on vacation & only had to polish my nails once in 15 days! No chips very minimal wear after 6-7 days. I wore it with RBL's 3 step & poshe top coat maybe that is why it lasted so long.

  13. Sara says:

    Its Really gorgeous. Really appealing especially the way you have set the pictures in your post.

  14. Belle says:

    I got them all! Will see how I will find them. I’m just afraid of the brush stroke issue.

  15. Jason says:

    This is too cool! I just yesterday ordered Midori from Zoya because I also thought it looked awesome. Talluah is simply gorgeous!

    I particpated in the Zoya exchange program recently where you send in old polishes and they send you new ones (your choice) for just $3 each. What a deal! Someone’s toes are going to get a major treat!

  16. CincyFan says:

    Cidell – Yeah, the blue is worth checking out.

    Phyrra – Katy surprised me. I wasn’t expecting much from it but it has such depth.

    Lacquer Laine – I agree, green and gold look great together. I think Goldie and Midori would make a fun funky french or be a great mani/pedi combo.

    Charlene – You can try layering it over a similar shade or use a creamy ridgefilling base coat like Seche Base.

    Anotheremptysky – You’re welcome. Gotta save $$$ where you can. This way people who missed out on Glow last summer can still get that awesome shade.

    Emily – I don’t believe they ship to Canada but there may be salons that carry their products. You should call around in your area or email Zoya.

    Shoesgal – Sounds like you’ll be making another order. :)

  17. CincyFan says:

    Anon – Some brands just don’t work for people. You can’t say you didn’t try. It could be your climate, your nail chemistry, a number of factors. What a shame.

    HeidiB – Yeah, those remaining micro-glitter metallic pieces drive me batty.

    Cali369 – I hear ya. He was a total hottie back in the day. Then he popped up on Suddenly Susan with Brooke Sheilds (yes I watched that lame ass show) and I was like, whoa, what happened?

    vbie3714 – I’ll try to swatch them for you this weekend.

    Melsh – Wow, that’s great wear. I’m glad it works so well for you. So you added Poshe on top of the RBL top coat? Did you reapply top coat during the trip?

    Sara – Thanks Sara! Any fave colors?

    Belle – Like I said, only two of them really showed up and Goldie’s are acceptable just not how I like my polish to look.

    Jason – sounds like you’ll be rocking some great colors this summer. The exchange is a good deal if you’re willing to make the effort to ship your old polishes in. I’m not that proactive.

  18. melli says:

    Thanks for the pics Michelle! Many lemmings are born from your pictures!!

    For Emily and my fellow Canadians, Zoya is available at Trade Secrets in Canada. If you order online, I think Beauty of a Site may ship to Canada, but you should double check. I tend to buy mine at TS, as it is cheaper than the price with exchange. Hope this helps!

  19. Dara says:

    Great post! I only wish I had found your site a week ago! I own Sally Hansen Glow and just did the Zoya Exchange and ordered Midori! Ahh well…you can never have enough polish.

  20. MoonChaii says:

    o my! I love Tallulah. Yet another polish to put on my list of “i want i want i want but can’t have”

  21. Kellie says:

    I just ordered Midori and 5 other colors!! WOO HOO! But, I want Katy and Tallulah so bad. *hmph*

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