During the holidays, Zoya had a number of really good sales. I took advantage of one that was 50% off and free shipping, there must have been a minimum.
I bought three polishes and a topcoat. I already wrote about Zoya Cathy, a neutral pink-peach cream (reviewed/swatched here). And I seem to have misplaced my favorite, Tawney, and the Zoya Armor topcoat, but I hope they’ll turn up again soon.
Zoya Mona is a lovely winter shade. Zoya describes it as a deep burgundy plum cream. I think it’s a raisin shade. It looks darker in ambient light, and redder in the sun. Once I put it on my nails, I noticed how close it is to Zoya Claire, a burgundy-brown cream, that I got back in October (here). Wish I had noticed that before I placed my order! Below is Mona:
Below is a photo with Claire that was taken under yellowish artificial light, unfortunately. Mona is more cool-toned than Claire, but they are still very close.
I have to remember next time I use Mona to make sure that I have time to apply it carefully and to let it dry completely. When I applied it today, I was in too much of a rush. I don’t now if it was the shade or just the bottle I got, but it is a very thick formula. One coat might have covered, but I did apply a second coat. The second coat made it too thick, took forever to dry, and ended up with dings. Tomorrow, off it comes and I’ll try again.
I love Zoya’s polishes but I don’t love the brush quite as much – The brush is rather thin and stiff, and for most shades I don’t find it too difficult to work with but with. But with a thick, dark shade like Mona, I found application a little difficult. (I need to get a macro lens. Sorry for the blur.)
I wish I could have found the Zoya topcoat because it did a very good job helping the Zoya polish last longer than when paired with another topcoat.
Zoya Mona is priced at $10. Check it out on the Zoya website. Zoya is 10 free.
I love vampy burgundy shades– probably my favorite color family for nails! I wonder if he thicker formula was intentional, or if you got a slightly off bottle.
I definitely think it could be an old or off bottle.
Love a good Zoya creme. This shade is stunning – I love a deep red-brown. I agree with you on the brushes, they are thin and stiffer than most.
The Zoya brushes basically suck 🙁
I have one Zoya nail polish and it’s amazing! I finally able to load your site properly! Yay!
Thank you so much, Shireen, for trying again today! I added your IP address to the allow list a few days ago, and maybe that’s why it worked.
This is a lovely, smecksy burgundy shade!
Now that’s a new to me word “smecksy” lol
Claire seems a bit more red ham Mona from your photos, so that totally justifies both 😂😂 Lol! Mona is angoegeous winter shade, so classic!
LOL, I’ll go with that justification, Judy! Thanks for making me feel better 😉
I have a love/hate relationship with Zoya. They make the prettiest shades but they don’t last that long on me. Makes me sad.
I hear you, Marcia. It chips after a couple of days for me, too. But I had better luck when I used the Zoya Armor Topcoat on top of Zoya polish, and now I misplaced it, ugh.
I like the vampy nail color. It looks sexy
I was surprised to discover just how many of these dark, vampy polishes I own!
That is such a pretty winter shade!
Oh Allison, I love that color all year, and I am a Zoya fan, they last well with a good base / top coat.
Mona is a really nice color! I have that polish but still haven’t used it.
I don’t think it’s just you, darker Zoya shades always seemed thicker to me. Still, they wear so well that I don’t mind.
Since I find dark shades so difficult to apply and clean up after, I really want them to wear forever 😉
THIs is a pretty shade!
I agree! Gotta try it again when I have more time to apply it carefully and after I find the Zoya Amor Topcoat
I love it! It’s very similar to the shade I have on my nails now. Zoya makes really nice polishes.
Oh, how cool! I took Mona off, and I need to find the misplaced Zoya Armor Topcoat so I can try it again. I love Zoya’s shades!
This is the perfect winter shade and Zoya makes some great polishes.