Hello ladies! I hope you are all well. I was sick all last week and was just getting back into some semblence of a routine when we had a death in the family. So a normal posting routine may be a couple weeks off still. But I knew no one would want to wait on a review of the Zoya Neons. Zoya didn’t send out blogger samples of these so I snatched them up as soon as they went on sale. Let’s jump right in because I have a ton of pictures and it’s going to be a lonnnng review…
Zoya has mostly stayed away from neons due to issues with 5-free cruelty-free neon pigments; or at least that is my understanding of it. With over 500 shades I’ve only known of 3 neons (charisma, paz, ali) until now. So how do these stack up? Well let’s see.
First let me start by saying that for all of these swatches I used 2 coats of white, 1 sticky base coat, 2 coats of color, and a glossy top coat. Yeah that’s a lot of layers.
Zoya Mirajane
Mirajane is described as a classic navy neon creme. I used 2 coats of Mirajane over a white base for these swatches. The formula is quite sheer, like a jelly, but it didn’t build well and I still have some splotchy areas.
Zoya Erza
Erza is described as a classic red neon creme. Or as I call it, an orange coral jelly. These all had a very jelly like formula. Zoya recommends a white base “for an extra pop of color.” But what I found is that the white base is essentially required unless you like a lot of VNL. I do love this color though!
Zoya Cana
Cana is described as a bright neon fuchsia creme. This is the first color that truly felt neon to me, and I also felt it covered better with a little less splotchy-ness. Again 2 coats over white with glossy top coat.
Zoya Juvia
Juvia is described as a summery teal neon creme. Or as I call it, a cornflower blue jelly. My least favorite of the bunch. Juvia is very splotchy, and well it’s not neon – or teal. A third coat might have helped even it out, but that would mean 5 coats of polish plus a regular base and top coat. But, as they say… ain’t nobody got time for that!
Zoya Bisca
Bisca is described as a hot pink neon creme. Now admittedly this leans more pink in real life than my camera seems to think. I still wouldn’t call it pink though, and it’s similar to Erza. Very similar. But not pink, not a creme, and not really neon.
Zoya Evergreen
Evergreen is described as an electric green neon creme. I love this color, and it’s sorta neon. The coverage was smoother but you can still see a bit of VNL even with 2 coats of white and 2 coats of color.
My Thoughts: First I will say that it really pains me to write this review. If you have been following my blog for very long you know I am an avid Zoya fan. It’s the brand that started my love of polish, and my extensive Zoya collection is nothing short of a prized possession for me. I wanted so much to like these, I swatched and swatched and re-swatched hoping to find some magic bullet. I never found it.
So if you are looking for a good set of neon cremes these will fall short. The 4-5 coats required for each one might be worth it for an amazing neon color pay off, but I didn’t even find that. There is just far too much effort required for me to reach for these repeatedly, or much at all.
However if you are looking for some bright, yet sheer jellies, for sandwhich manis or leadlighting then you will likely love these. They certainly aren’t without uses, I just don’t see them being a go to set of neon cremes. They won’t be my go to set for neon cremes, they might be my go to set for bright jellies though.
Oh Zoya, I’m making my best sad face. Although I’m hoping (not to mention hearing and seeing) for much better things ahead for fall. So many options to redeem yourselves!
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Until next time, stay polished!
