Zoya Giada should move in with The Royal Family because a dark, glossy purple this impressive deserves a crown and a majestic title like “Her Royal Grapeness, Concordia van Winereesa!” But, okay, Zoya Giada will do.

You know the feeling you get when you’re in the close proximity to a polish that you’re itching to wear? Your pupils dilate to focus on the sheer beauty, your palms get a little sweaty, and you even start to plan the next day’s outfit to complement your fresh manicure! (Any fellow nailphiles relate to this? Hehe!)

Giada was one of the nail polishes in the Zoya Flair Collection that caught my attention when I saw it in person.

While it’s dark and vampy, this purple doesn’t tip-toe into black or near-black territory. Instead, it frolics after hours with the fairies a few minutes before the stroke of midnight, so it remains purple and doesn’t sway to liquorice.

Yes, I saw them frolicking. I got in trouble for trying to Instagram the secret event.

They saw me peeking from behind a giant red-spotted mushroom in the enchanted forest, and the Fairyland Mayor (who wore the cutest olive-green suede jumper, by the way) approached me sternly, and told me to leave the premises. He said that the fairies’ rituals were not to be documented on Instagram, so unless I was a board member of the Secret Magical Society and had a rare press pass, I had better take my business elsewhere! 😉

He softened up a little when I told him that I blog for SwatchAndLearn.com and when he learned that green was my favourite colour. (When he smiled, his cheeks bunched up, and I felt the urge to pinch them, but wisely refrained from doing so.) He said that in order to preserve the magic of nail polish, I had to leave.

So…just trust me when I say that there’s magic in every bottle of nail polish! 😉 Hehe!

P.S. Remember, the Zoya Black Friday promotion is still going on until November 30! If you want some colour inspiration, click here to see all the Zoya nail polishes I’ve featured on my blog.

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Some things that are fast: Usain Bolt as he gloated towards the finish line, buttery popcorn that sounds like mini fireworks in the microwave, and Zoya Yves, a too-cool-for-school blue nail polish from the Matte Velvet Collection!

If you’re ever in a pinch and need to slap on some quick colour that dries quickly before you rush out the door, Zoya Yves is a good choice. (It’s designed to be worn without a top coat.)

There’s just one thing that you should be aware of. What’s that? Find out later in this post!

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When I went to the Contessa Awards 2016 on the Sunday that just passed, I wore Zoya Hannah from the Focus Collection. (Yes, 2016, not 2015. No, I didn’t go ‘back to the future,’ Marty McFly…although just drop the ‘t’ and you’ll get MARY McFly. It has a ring to it, don’t you think?) 😉

Red is a nail colour that isn’t my first pick in the bunch, but I’ll occasionally get the strong urge to wear a spicy red, especially closer to Christmas.

If you followed me on my social media, particularly Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat (under the username ‘swatchandlearn’), you’ll remember that for the Contessas, I wore all black, except for my gold statement necklace.

I reserved the pop of red for my lips with MAC RiRi Woo (which is extremely close to MAC Ruby Woo), and for my nails with Zoya Hannah.

As I get older (“Hand me my cane there, Sonny Boy!”), I find myself enjoying the combination of black and gold in my wardrobe a lot because wearing bright and bold lip and/or nail colours becomes more dramatic!

While in the car in the parking lot, about to walk over to the Westin Harbour Castle for the Contessa Awards, my friend, who I invited to join me, noticed my red nail polish. Haha, he’s not the type of guy to comment on nail polish (at least not with me), so I was somewhat surprised that Zoya Hannah caught his eye. (I say ‘somewhat’ because the colour red is psychologically known to attract attention. That’s why you’ll notice it strategically used for call-to-action prompts in marketing campaigns.)

He grabbed my hand and inspected my nails suddenly and unexpectedly. (Whenever people do that, whether they’re friends or strangers, I always feel shocked. I’ll never get used to that, and I never grab people’s hands, unless I’ve asked first.)

After studying each nail at an unforgiving three-inch distance, he asked me if they were press-on nails! Hahahahahaha! I laughed so hard and told him that they are my natural nails. He replied, “But they’re all so perfect!” He looked at me like I was telling a tall tale before carefully inspecting my nails again.

I told him that there are most definitely imperfections. And, as I always tell my readers, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about being happy, trying your best, and learning how to get better! 🙂 (I don’t really believe in anything being ‘perfect’ because I don’t believe that anyone should stop trying to improve.)

I’m sure that if he were to look at the photos in today’s blog post that are magnified to larger-than-life proportions, he’d easily see the flaws on each nail…and I am totally comfortable with it.

P.S. If you haven’t already entered, you still have until Friday November 13, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST to participate in my Canadian giveaway for your chance to win 12 Hard Candy nail polishes!

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