Product Review: Zoya Gems Trio Nail Polish

I love how this time of year provides a built-in excuse to wear all things sparkly, glittery or sequinned without provoking snide allusions to Liberace. In particular, glittery nail polish like Zoya's Gem Trio ($24 for the set at SpaBoutique, or $9 per polish) strikes just the right festive note. The three lacquers--Rina (green), Kissy (pink) and Twila (blue)--reached my desk just in time for a holiday season product review.

A quick primer for those who've never heard of Zoya: This natural nail polish brand is free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP, and is purportedly the longest-wearing natural nail polish on the market according to Women's Health. With over 300 shades to choose from and multiple seasonal collections, Zoya is meant to appeal to fashion lovers and nail polish addicts as much as it appeals to the health-conscious.

I applied two coats of Twila on my nails with a base coat and top coat on Saturday and I've managed to make it to Thursday with only one chip. The polish seems a bit viscous compared to conventional formulas, but it's nothing that decent application technique can't overcome. As with other glitter polishes where the glitter floats in clear nail polish, it takes two or three coats to completely cover your nails. (On the other hand, if you just want to add some sparkle to a solid-coloured manicure, one coat is plenty.)

Although the colour itself is eye-catching and has received many compliments so far, I like the unusual shape of the glitter too. Imagine tinsel on a dollhouse Christmas tree. Now imagine taking that tinsel, grinding it up and throwing it into a nail polish, and you can get a sense of what the glitter looks like. It's definitely different from the round confetti-like sparkles in most glitter polishes. Overall, I quite like this product so far.

Have you ever tried Zoya nail polish? What do you think of it?