Zoya Ivanka Wear Test
The vast majority of you raved when I posted the Zoya Sparkle collection (shipping April 1st) but a small minority of you expressed concern about chipping and quality of wear with Zoya’s formula. This is not the first time I’ve heard this. In fact my salon told me they stopped using Zoya because of this issue.
Personally, I’ve never had anything but fantastic wear from Zoya polish using either their Color Lock System or an outside brand of base & top coat. A long time ago I showed you a wear test using the Zoya system but I decided it was time for an update using non-Art of Beauty products. See the results and discover what ingredient could be at the root of your problems, after the jump! |
I applied Zoya Ivanka, rather sloppily, before a party a little over a week ago. Using Nubar Foundation Base Coat and Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat I wore Ivanka for SIX DAYS! In fact because I am just that lazy I’m still wearing it and on Day 10 and I only have two minor chips and a little tip wear.
So what’s the key? It’s something I posted about in my original wear test almost three years ago. It’s all about an ingredient called CELLULOSE ACETATE BUTYRATE. Any base coats containing it will prevent their polish from adhering and top coats with the ingredient must be carefully formulated to work with Zoya lacquer. Any guesses what ingredient is in the majority of quick dry top coats?? Ding, ding ding!!
I did a quick inventory of my base & top coats and the only base coat I can find containing Cellulose Acetate Butyrate is Orly Tough Cookie so for the majority of you with Zoya wear problems, it’s time to start looking at your top coats. Seche Vite and Poshe both contain the ingredient as does Dazzle Dry, China Glaze Fast Forward, CND Air Dry and butter London Hardwear.
The majority of my top coats are either quick dry or they don’t have labels so the ingredient list went with the box but here are a few top coats to try: Color Club 0-60 Speed Dry Top Coat, China Glaze No Chip Top Coat, CND Super Shiney and of course there’s always the Zoya Color Lock System.
I find that using a slower drying top coat with drying drops always gets me better wear but I understand that time and patience are not in abundance for most of us nail girls, thus my mass quick dry top coat collection but if you love the Zoya colors and want the color and wear without the frustration it’s time to change up your top coat regimen.
I’m wearing Zoya Charla with a generic base coat I got in one of those holiday make-up kits many years ago, and a top coat by Sally Hansen that is older than me and contains nylon. I’ve been wearing it for a couple days with no chips much to my delight. It has withstood work, messing around under the hood of my car, and gardening with no chipping. It’s the first polish to hold up this long without chipping on me. Before the record was held by most China Glaze polishes at 3 hours.
I agree 100% about Orly Tough Cookie. I haven’t found anything that it didn’t fight with and peel terribly, so I never use it anymore.
I pretty much stick to one base/top coat combo that works well with every brand of color I use (Zoya, China Glaze, OPI, Nicole by OPI, Orly, Sally Hanson, Essie, Sinful, and others). The combo is almost always Zoya Get Even ridge-filling base coat and Color Club Vivid color-intensifying top coat. I get really long wear from this combo and rarely use other base or top coats. I just checked their labels and Vivid does include CAB, surprisingly.
After using Zoya color, Get Even, and Remove+ for years, I ordered my first full color lock system this week (thanks to the current freebie promotion). I’m eager to finally try Anchor and Armor. [I've also been using another top coat lately that IS CAB-free, with good long-wear results -- Revlon Just Tinted Shiny Top Coat. It's thinner than Vivid. It came with a set of sheer brights.]
Have you ever heard of Liquid Glass? It’s a top coat I used in the ’90s and I’d get two weeks out of even the most peel-prone cheap polishes with a super-glossy, thick, rock-hard finish. I wish it was still available, but it was probably loaded with nasties. LOL I’m always looking for something similar to it, and I think Vivid is the closest I’ve gotten.