Some nail polishes, like Zoya FeiFei from the NYFW Collection are absolutely stunning in person, but once you hold a camera up and try to snap its glory, something falls flat.
Perhaps this polish needs a ‘smizing’ lesson from Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model.
It’s really too bad. Despite me capturing it in sunlight, natural light, and with my camera’s flash, I still don’t feel like I did this polish any justice. So, you may have to just take my word – this is a spectacular polish that looks better in person.
Allow me to go into further detail…
Zoya FeiFei Pictures
Sunlight
Flash
Natural Light
Sunlight
Flash
Natural Light
Zoya FeiFei Ingredients
Zoya FeiFei Swatches
All swatches have:
- CND Stickey Anchoring Base Coat
- 3 coats of Zoya FeiFei
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Sunlight Photos
Flash Photos
Natural Light Photos
Claims: TRUSTED
√ Medium steel blue base
√ Heavy gold, blue & pink iridescent metallic sparkle
Key Notes
- Name: Zoya FeiFei
- Collection: Zoya NYFW 2012 Collection
- Press Release: Click here to see the Zoya NYFW 2012 Collection press release
- Colours Available in the Zoya NYFW 2012 Collection (Broken up into 3 Parts):
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by Zoya.)
- Where to Buy: Zoya website, NailPolishCanada & Trade Secrets
Zoya FeiFei Review
Colour
At first glance, you may just think this is your standard steel-blue foil/metallic/glitter polish. But you’d be so very wrong!
There’s so much going on in this polish that I wish I had a magnifying glass to examine it closer. Sure, I can blow up the photos I took, but it’ll get blurry. Maybe I should invest in a magnifying monocle? Hehe! 😉 Then, I may as well get a top hat to match.
The base of this polish is a cool-toned steel blue. (I’m not very good at distinguishing cool tones from warm tones, but this one is very obvious, even for me.)
There are fine glitter pieces that look blue, gold, and pink, but they are iridescent as Zoya claims because, at times, I think I can see green, red, and purple.
Finish
There’s glitter, but the finish is also a cool foil metallic. Because of this, your nails catch the light and twinkle like crazy. You must see this in the sunlight in person – it’s insane! You’ll be staring at your nails, walking into telephone poles, and tumbling over fire hydrants. 😉
It feels a bit gritty, but when I went to remove this polish, it came off relatively easy compared to typical glitters that you have to really scrub your fingers raw to get off. (By the way, I used my favourite polish remover ever, which has a fast-acting formula to begin with, so that may have also helped.)
Application & Formula
The first coat was a bit streaky, and the formula is on the thin side. Even though at 2 coats, it covered pretty well, I still went for a 3rd coat because sometimes with thin polishes, if you use Seche Vite on top, it’ll shrink the polish and give you premature tip wear. To avoid that (or at least reduce it), I like to add an extra coat of colour. This seems to help in a lot of cases.
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 9.5/10
From other bloggers’ photos of Zoya FeiFei, I already knew that this polish would be amazing, but when I wore it, it was even better. This is the type of polish that I feel photos don’t do any justice. It’s almost like it’s too incredible, and the camera freaks out.
What’s the most complicated nail polish you own? Would you put up with some grittiness if a polish looks spectacular on your nails?
Such a gorgeous shade!
Viktorija recently posted: China Glaze Urban Night
Hey Viktorija!
Wish that I could capture it better. To the naked eye, it has that WOW FACTOR!
I too have this polish and agree with you 100%! The pictures do it no justice whatsoever. I took a ton of photos too trying to get the right picture to show it off and couldn’t do it. This color is stunning and gorgeous and so much better in real life.
Hey Barb!
Okay, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who struggled to capture this beauty! Definitely anyone who isn’t wowed by this polish in photos needs to see it in person to understand why us nailphiles are going gaga over it. 😉
Haha, smizing… Tyra is so crazy. I haven’t watched ANTM since the All-Stars season when she sucked on Tyson Beckford’s thumb! I was on the fence about getting this one… but if you say it’s better looking in person than in pictures, I might just give it a try!
Hey MC!
Hahaha, yeah, the All-Stars cycle was pretty terrible, I’ll have to admit. I felt like Tyra couldn’t think of a fresh theme and/or didn’t want to recruit all-new females, so she just went the lazy route and slapped on an All-Stars title.
I’m watching the current cycle, and it’s the college edition. There are all different types of beauties, so I’m finding it very interesting.
Yes, definitely take a look at this polish in person – it’s waaaay better than in photos!
Those are some of the best swatches I have seen of it online – it somehow captures all the complexities of FeiFei. I finally got this one last week and after seeing it on my nails, your pics really do it justice very well!
Dawn recently posted: Don’t Blink!
Hey Dawn!
Oh. My. Gosh. Thank you so much! 😀 That’s a huge compliment because there are sooooo many awesome beauty bloggers out there. You made my day! Hehe, but I don’t think I fully captured its beauty completely. On my nails, to the naked eye, it looks way cooler. 😉
I had the same problem trying to get FeiFei to photograph! Pictures just can’t capture it’s beauty! Your pictures are really great, the shimmer really comes to life! FeiFei was my first Zoya and I don’t know if any others can compare to it, haha 🙂
Jenn recently posted: OPI A Roll in the Hague (& TIFF!)
Hey Jenn!
FeiFei is not the best model…haha! She must be a diva or something because lots of people try to photograph her, but she won’t let her true beauty shine. She probably storms off the photo shoots, too. 😉
gorgeous! Waiting for someone to compare this to Estee Lauder Chaos. Do I need both?
Hey Lorraine!
That’s a very good question. Unfortunately, I don’t own anything by Estee Lauder. So I would only be able to look up online swatches and compare, which isn’t always very accurate. :S
If any of my readers see this and have that polish, please let Lorraine know by replying to her comment! 🙂
OMG! I need this polish! It is so gorgeous!
Danny recently posted: OPI – I Brake for Manicures
Hey Danny!
For me, this definitely makes it into the must-have category. It’s very different than others with a similar colour. It’s the glitter and colour combination that make it special.
Hm, maybe it would show in a video? I would love to see its full color spectra! 🙂
Gelic’ nail art recently posted: Teal blue geometrical sloping funky french
Hey Gelic’ nail art!
Maybe! That would be cool to see all the angles and how each piece of glitter sparkles and shows off a different colour. I’d watch a clip of that!
Idk what my most complicated polish is but as for your grittiness question- it depends on how “gritty” we are talking about. A little gritty… fine. I don’t even care. Plus, I just drown it in seche and mega shine. If its super gritty, like taco glitter, snag your clothes, sand down some cabinets w your nails gritty… Then no. This polish I’m sure falls into the earlier category so it wouldn’t bug me at all. I have zero zoyas and the more I see ones like this, the more I think I need to add some to my collection. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this with us. 🙂
Nicole McMerrick recently posted: Lady Gaga Nails- Day 1, Yellow and Black Animal Print Nails
Hey Nicole McMerrick!
Yes, when you put Seche Vite over this, it makes everything pretty smooth and it didn’t seem to ‘eat top coat’ like a lot of reallllly intense glitter polishes tend to.
Aside from this one, which other Zoya polishes were you thinking of starting your collection with?
There’s a yellow one called like Cream or something that I really liked, I really want the glossy polishes that I see are out now, and every once in a while I see a really pretty one but I don’t follow and memorize all of the names like I do OPI. 🙂 Any that you’d recommend?
Nicole recently posted: Day 3: Yellow Nails
Adina is cool because it’s a duochrome with pinkish purple and green. 🙂 (Haha, you shouldn’t be surprised that I mentioned that one, right?)
I have not put in a Zoya order since their fall line came out but this one has settled in my mind as a gotta have…so soon will be putting in an order – I missed out on the last big offer – darn Zoya – wish they would send out email alerts as I don’t ever see their blog and I have no time nor patience for FB.
Hey beachgal!
You’re really lucky that you CAN put in a Zoya order. I really wish that their official site shipped to Canada. Haha, but then I think my wallet would be in a world of hurt! 😉 But I agree with you – they have fantastic deals and lots of bogos, too!
HOLY BANANAS!
This polish was not only smizing at me but it was strutting its stuff down the catwalk!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a unique finish on a polish… How absolutely LOVELY!!!!
But tell me… how does Zoya name a shade “FeiFei” and there still is no “Marta” shade!? *sigh*
Marta recently posted: Cult Nails Deceptive Collection Wrap Up
Hey Marta!
Hmph – what a show-off this polish is!
Zoya FeiFei: “Listen, I’m not here to make friends! I’m here to be America’s Next Top Model!” 😉 SNOB! (*Sigh* But I can forgive its attitude. It’s just so darn pretty!)
You need to write to Zoya. Haha, there should definitely be a Marta shade. Oh, and I don’t even think there’s a Mary shade yet. They have one called Mary J I think and also Marry, but no plain Mary! What’s up with that? 😉
*drool* This is so gorgeous. Huge lemming for me. And I think I might have said this before, but I really love your nail shape!
The Lacquer Tracker recently posted: Pirate Polish – Halloween Collection!
Hey The Lacquer Tracker!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😀 That makes my day to hear it because there was a time when I was self-conscious of my nail shape. But after blogging and interacting with my lovely readers like you, I feel much better about it. Your kind words and those of other readers have helped me accept my nail shape finally! 🙂
I’m glad- because it looks great! And not only that, but it’s also a refreshing change to see more rounded nails in a sea of square ones. 😀
The Lacquer Tracker recently posted: Pirate Polish – Halloween Collection!
Thankssss! 😀 Although…hehe, I still drool over square and squoval nails on others. The few times I tried shaping my nails like that just didn’t look right. Sometimes nature knows best!
Hi Mary,
I am a huge fan of your blog (and nail obsessive) from the UK.
After reading this post I had to buy this polish – my first Zoya!
Managed to get hold of it on eBay UK today.
Loving your work… Jo
Hey Jo!
Thank you sooooooo much for taking the time to leave me a sweet, encouraging comment. I really appreciate it. Comments like yours motivate me and remind me why I’m doing this. Sure, I like doing it for myself, too, but it’s always much more rewarding when others enjoy it with you. 🙂
YAY! You won’t be disappointed with FeiFei. After you wear it, please let me know what you think of it. I bet you’ll agree that it’s even better in person than my pictures can convey!
Am going to try it next week!
By the way, have you tried a UK brand called Leighton Denny? I have about 40 of his colours, I find them great quality and unusual shades too.
Woo hoo! I’m so excited for you. I just know you’re going to fall head over heels for it.
No, I’ve never even heard of that brand before. Is it very popular in the UK? Do you have any photos of your favourite manicures using them or even of just the bottles? I’m curious to see the colours.
Check out http://www.leightondenny.com/
He has a big following over here, it’s quite a high end brand, sold in Harrods/QVC UK/Spas etc. and has a facebook fan page. He’s a celebrity manicurist and does TV appearances. I discovered him last year and had a collection of his polishes within 6 months – not good for my wallet! 😉
Thanks for the link – I’ll definitely check it out. Haha, yeah, not good for your wallet, but it’s reallllly good for your nails. 😉
Just a quick update on ‘FeiFei’ – once I tried it I found out that I already had this colour and that it’s a dupe of ‘Micha’ by Andrea Fulerton!
I must buy similar colours without thinking!
Pity as it cost me 3 times as much as ‘Micha’, but have decided to keep FeiFei and pass Micha on…
Haha, yes, the same thing has happened to me before. Sometimes you REALLY love a colour and are just drawn to it, so you take it home, only to find out that you have something really close or an actual dupe. Oh well, at least you have a ‘back-up’ of this lovely shade. 🙂