Zoya Kimber
Kimber was released by Zoya as part of the Surf collection for summer 2012. Surf was a great collection of foils and shimmers that brought us favorites like Carly, Meg and Zuza. Zoya describes Kimber as a "rich, bright and saturated medium magenta pink with strong gold metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish." I can't agree with the magenta part of this or the foil finish business either. To my eye, Kimber is a medium intense strawberry pink or red-leaning hot pink with superabundant golden shimmer that gives the color a coral lean. The shimmer is definitely metallic, but I see it as more of a particulate than a foily flake shimmer. If you look at polish blog reviews of Kimber, you'll see how richly varied it can look depending upon the circumstances in which it's viewed/photographed. Red, orange, hot pink and coral vie for predominance in the blend. About the only thing that most people seem to agree on is that it's a great color for a summer pedi.
Application was very nice. The consistency of Kimber is fluid and light -- a little less dense than the typical Zoya formula -- with a smooth, easy flow over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. Pigmentation is very good -- completely even opaque coverage is delivered in two coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with no trace of staining left behind. Kimber dries naturally in good time to a slightly redder shade than bottle color and a smooth shiny finish. Topcoat really pops the gold shimmers, which adds a fiery quality to the look of the polish on the nail.
Photos show two coats of Kimber over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.
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It's interesting to compare Kimber and yesterday's polish, China Glaze Ahoy. They are both reddish pinks with gold component shimmers, which are metallic in Kimber and glass fleck in Ahoy. The nature of their shimmers makes a big difference in these two polishes. Kimber's gold metallic shimmers are largely responsible for the blood orange/coral leanings this polish shows on the nail. Ahoy's golden glass flecks are more easily influenced by the base than the base is by them, which keeps the orange out of its appearance. It's also a deeper, redder pink to begin with.
Are you bored with the parade of reds and pinks here lately? They are my tribute to Valentine's Day, which reached its zenith of importance in my life during grade school, so I'm kind of over it. But I still have a couple more to do... though they are less like what you've seen so far, though, and more unto themselves as polishes. If that makes any sense.
love,
Liz
When this collection first came out, I remember wanting Kimber so badly, but then time passed and I forgot why... until now. It is just so darn PRETTY. I'm always looking for cart-fillers during the 3/$12 Zoya promotions, and no matter what my brain insists about having enough pinks already (it never ever says this about oceanic seafoam shades, my favorite and most common polish shade), Kimber is going in the cart next time :)
ReplyDeleteYou keep the pinks and reds coming!! I love the Valentine's Day festivity around here. Some of my fondest Valentine's Day memories involve bedazzling my Valentine boxes in holographic wraps and glitter for elementary school Valentine collection purposes. It really was a nice day back then, with no real love life bitterness out in the ether to cloud the occasion :) Nobody was put out with the holiday's commercialization and contrived sentimentality then; we were all just pleased with the enormously improved availability of chocolate, and that was that, haha.
The question is, would you wear Kimber as a summer pedi? ;)
DeleteYou're a natural Valentine giver, Marisa. I'm betting you send them out all year round, disguised as other things. I'm not one to dis the day and it's been a great excuse to trot out a lot of the pinks and reds in my swatching chute. I did forget one, Lesbihonest by Manglaze, which would have been a perfect addition to this series. Drat!
Arrggh, reply no go through?! :( What I was trying to say was, absolutely!! Pink is my pedi mainstay. I love pinks but don't wear them as much on my nails (so busy with all the other colors, you know), so I get my use out of them on my toes.
DeleteAnd also, that I actually do greatly enjoy finding and gifting little spontaneous things, and I LOVE the idea of them being undercover Valentines!! I vote that Lesbihonest get her day anyway :) But then, I'm over here just hoping to wedge in a few more Valentine posts before the end of February... so that's my timeline, dancing on the razor edge of relevance ;)