Zoya Kiki

All the while I've been swatching jewel toned, autumnal and darker (for me) colors, I've noticed a small but insistant nail polish itch growing in the back of my mind. I couldn't even identify it for the longest time, it was just present and persistant. And then an ebay win came in the mail a couple of weeks ago: Zoya Kiki. The moment I saw this intensely pink stunner I knew I could scratch that itch! 

So if you think you hear groans of satisfaction while perusing this post, it's not your imagination. It's me.

Zoya describes Kiki as a "vivid hot pink with strong blue-violet duochrome and flecks of silver shimmer." It is a well-saturated intense bright blue-based azalea pink with a an ethereal blue flash, shot through with fine silver shimmer. 

Application was trouble-free. Kiki has a light liquid consistency that is easily controlled. It is less self-leveling than I would like but the fantastic color more than makes up for such petty quibbles. Pigmentation is very good, with excellent color achieved even at the first coat. I had some stubborn blue staining at the base of the free edge behind the nail from removing Zoya Charla, and it may have been a trick of the light (I was applying at night by lamplight, not the best scenario for judging coverage) but I swore I could still see it. So I applied two more coats to be sure of covering it completely. Kiki dries naturally in good time to a semi-matte, slightly textured finish, so it must contain some neon pigments.

Photos show three coats of Kiki over treatement and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite for a smooth glossy finish. This was a difficult polish to photograph. Because of the neonesque qualities of the pigments, my camera kept turning out images that were too hot. In person, Kiki does have some of that radioactive neon look in certain lighting, such as incandescent, but in diffuse natural light it is not so much neon as it is simply profoundly saturated.

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

Zoya Kiki

This is a fierce pink! At the same time, though, it has a beautiful almost delicate floral quality to it that just goes right to your heart. I think that's why people love it so much. It's just so pretty and so full of sweet girly happiness! It's not a color you could use just anywhere, either. It is unusually and perfectly suited for nail adornment. I love the silver shimmer in this polish. In combination with the blue flash it has an effect similar to a glass fleck.

Beautimus!

love,
Aunt Liz