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Zoya Fire & Ice Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Tiffany, Gloria, Crystal

Zoya Fire & Ice: Hot or Cold, It Works

For winter, Zoya has six new metallic shades: Tiffany (soft champagne sparkling metallic), Gloria (pink champagne sparkling metallic), Crystal (frosty blue sparkling metallic), Lisa (celebration red sparkling metallic), Sarah (possibly the prettiest sparkling red metallic ever!), and Valerie (deep purple baby in a sparkling metallic). You can purchase all six together for $40 or individual shades for $7 a pop. Not sure about a shade? Consider Zoya spoons, which cost $0.50 each, but the cost will be refunded in the form of a coupon that you can use on your next order.

  • Tiffany is a peach-copper color base with flecks of gold glitter pieces and peachy-pink shimmer. Two coats.
  • Gloria is a pinky-red jelly color base with flecks of shiny gold glitter and pink shimmer. Two coats.
  • Crystal is a medium sky blue foil with flecks of green-tinged gold glitter and light blue shimmer.
  • Lisa is a ruby red with pink-red shimmer. The bottle looks like there is gold shimmer in it, but I couldn’t detect it once applied. In the third natural light photo, you can see a little gold edging around the nail. Two coats.
  • Sarah is a deepend brown-tinged red base with pink and copper shimmer. It almost has a duochrome feel to it, but it’s very subtle. Two coats.
  • Valerie is a deep blackened burgundy color base with fuchsia-purple and copper-gold flecks of shimmer. I thought this was the most unique shade out of the collection. Two coats.

First and foremost, there is NO DUPE of MAC’s Bad Fairy. I’ve included swatch comparisons just to be absolutely clear about it, but Bad Fairy has a strong duochrome, while Zoya’s collection is more about a sparkling, metallic finish. Tiffany is incredibly peach in comparison, as well as lighter. Gloria has a very similar composition, but because it lacks the duochrome finish of Bad Fairy, it looks different on the nail; it is also less pink, more orange-red. I think the shade should stand on its own, rather than as a comparison to Bad Fairy.

Crystal and Valerie are my personal favorites out of the six; I think both shades are standouts. The way Zoya did a foil base with foil glitter flecks is fun, but I love that it’s a blue base with green-gold layered on top. I love duochrome polishes, and I don’t have anything like Valerie, so that makes it a winner in my book.

The formula was even, smooth, and not too thick or thin. Everything applied with ease, and I didn’t have any trouble removing them. The glittery shades like Crystal may leave some glittery bits on your fingers, but it’s not at all like removing a large particle glitter polish. I used two coats on all six shades, but Lisa, Sarah, and Valerie were quite pigmented in just one. I found to get a smooth, even distribution of shimmer/glitter, two coats were optimal.

P.S. — I can’t believe that Zoya still has common names like Lisa and Sara available in their arsenal!

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

  • Product: 29/30
  • Value: 8/10
  • Ease of Use: 4/5
  • Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: Great formula, fun shades, easy application–any of these are worth checking out if a shade catches your eye.

AVAILABILITY: Zoya

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Tiffany, Gloria, Crystal

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Tiffany, Gloria, Crystal

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Tiffany, Gloria, Crystal

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Lisa, Sarah, Valerie

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Lisa, Sarah, Valerie

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Nail Lacquer: Lisa, Sarah, Valerie

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Tiffany Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Tiffany Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Tiffany Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Tiffany Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Crystal Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Crystal Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Crystal Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Crystal Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Lisa Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Lisa Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Lisa Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Lisa Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Sarah Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Sarah Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Sarah Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Sarah Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Valerie Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Valerie Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Valerie Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Valerie Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria vs. MAC Bad Fairy vs. Zoya Tiffany (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria vs. MAC Bad Fairy vs. Zoya Tiffany (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria vs. MAC Bad Fairy vs. Zoya Tiffany (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria vs. MAC Bad Fairy vs. Zoya Tiffany (Natural Light)

Zoya Fire & Ice Collection
Zoya Gloria vs. MAC Bad Fairy vs. Zoya Tiffany (Flash)

79 Comments

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Comments on this post are closed.
Janet Avatar

I want all of these. Like right now. I’m dying to try Zoya, but I wish they were sold in stores… and I’m one of those people who’s never tried Remove +, but I’m dying to.

Laynie Avatar

Zoya is sold in some stores. My local Whole Foods has a small Zoya selection. Not many interesting shades, but still a nice range of lovely colors. I spent about 20 minutes just picking up bottles, looking at the way they react to the light, and putting them back down. My husband walked off to look at other things TWICE!

These polishes are so, so amazing… I hope Santa brings them for me this year!

Sweet Tea Avatar

I’m just gonna say it–for people like me, who don’t really get into the nuances of nail polish, Gloria IS a dupe for Bad Fairy. Just my opinion of course. I can see how nail polish aficionados may see some differences, but overall I think Gloria would be a perfectly acceptable dupe for Bad Fairy. I can dissect the minute differences in blush and lipstick all day usually, but here I don’t really see much of a difference. Just thought I’d throw that out there for people like me:)

Christine Avatar

I guess because what makes Bad Fairy so popular IS the duochrome (just like the Orlys) that without it, you really aren’t getting a dupe. And again, I think it’s unfair to compare the two just so that Gloria can be loved on its own 🙂

Sweet Tea Avatar

Also, this has got me thinking about what constitutes a dupe–an identical match? a remarkable resemblance? strong similarities? LOL I’ve always thought of dupes in terms of what could pass for a color/finish and not necessarily what is identical. That may be an interesting topic to ask about Christine! I’d been interested in hearing reader’s thoughts!

Christine Avatar

I actually did ask about this a month or two ago 🙂 Most people consider a dupe really, really close. A dupe to me is about 95% similarity. If there is a difference in finish or undertone, then it can never be a dupe. This is why when I talk about any dupes or similar shades, I qualify how they differ so that people can decide whether it’s close enough or not at all.

Christine Avatar

Hey Maisie,

Most of the story is embodied in this post: http://www.temptalia.com/opi-burlesque-collection-for-holiday-2010

But to summarize: OPI threatened legal action if bloggers didn’t remove images (which we are happy to do), but they tried to intimidate by using a lawyer rather than just politely asking – to me, this shows a lack of understanding what bloggers are about. I’ve chosen to no longer to blog about OPI until they do *get* it.

Princessflttrby Avatar

Hi! Just thought I’d weigh in since I own Bad Fairy & Wing It. They’re nothing alike. Wing it is a brighter cooler pink jelly with blue violet glass fleck. Bad Fairy is a copper rose plum multichrome phenomenon 😀

Nadine Avatar

Zoya Gloria/MAC Bad Fairy/Zoya Tiffany together look like a harmoniously intentional gradient manicure! Thanks for the comparisons and — as always — the beautiful swatches from multiple angles!

Amy Avatar

It’s amusing, in some of your comparison shots it almost looks like the Bad Fairy finger was a stripe of Gloria over top of Tiffany 😀 Though Tiffany isn’t quite orange enough.

I don’t know why, but none of these colours are really calling out to me. I suppose my wallet will be happy about that… I’ve bought way too much nail polish lately 😛

knownever Avatar

There is definite resemblance to the Mac venomous villains polishes. Couldn’t justify the $11 for a nail polish so maybe i’ll have to try to get my hands on one of the dupe-ish zoya ones.

Lea Avatar

I’m really getting into glitter polishes again (after only wearing creams for the longest time, maybe it’s the colder weather?) and these look fantastic!

Alyssa Avatar

Zoya Crystal reminds me of Absolutely Alice by OPI. I just purchased MAC Bad Fairy and practically the whole OPI Burlesque collection. It looks like MAC Bad Fairy and OPI the Show Must Go On are dupes. I will know soon, as my order from Transdesign should be in any day now :). Have you compared them?

Amanda Avatar

I was thinking the same thing about Absolutely Alice! It looks from these swatches that Crystal might be a bit lighter blue and more yellow, would be interesting to see the differences in person!

Alyssa Avatar

Crystal also looks a lot like Reflecting Pool by OPI. If you have Reflecting Pool and Absolutely Alice is it possible for you to swatch them next to Crystal? Thank You.

Christine Avatar

Hey Amanda,

Most of the story is embodied in this post: http://www.temptalia.com/opi-burlesque-collection-for-holiday-2010

But to summarize: OPI threatened legal action if bloggers didn’t remove images (which we are happy to do), but they tried to intimidate by using a lawyer rather than just politely asking – to me, this shows a lack of understanding what bloggers are about. I’ve chosen to no longer blog about OPI until they do *get* it.

Tiffypixy Avatar

Well Tiffany is a must since that is my name, as it is to many other wonderful women on here. And I mind as well get the others. I dont want to hurt the other nail polishes feelings. LOL. This will be my first Zoya NP.

Christine Avatar

Most of the story is embodied in this post: http://www.temptalia.com/opi-burlesque-collection-for-holiday-2010

But to summarize: OPI threatened legal action if bloggers didn’t remove images (which we are happy to do), but they tried to intimidate by using a lawyer rather than just politely asking – to me, this shows a lack of understanding what bloggers are about. I’ve chosen to no longer to blog about OPI until they do *get* it.

Uupy Avatar

That’s too bad that they sent out the lawyers, but maybe they are dealing with a LOT of bloggers and it’s hard to control the info on their collections with the internet. I wouldn’t take it personally. Instead I would think that every image is copyrighted and I wouldn’t use it without knowing that it was ok and got permission BEFORE I blogged about it. OPI also probably is trying to send a message to other companies since there are so many dupes coming out and industry leaks. Really if they create a unique product and other companies dupe it before the collection even comes out then it’s not fair or following intellectual copyright laws. Imagine if your blog posts were copied and posted on another blog or your idea or invention was copied even before you released it and could sell it?! That has to be frustrating.

Christine Avatar

Hi Uupy,

Here’s the thing – I don’t work with OPI in any capacity. The images were out on 50+ blogs for a week or two, and there’s no real way for me to know they’re not supposed to be out. While I certainly don’t take it personally, I do take it as bad form when you’re working bloggers. There are brands who have had asked for images to be removed, but they said a polite email and don’t cause a frenzy of bloggers to worry if they need to hire lawyers. I had one blogger call me *crying* because she thought she was being sued – do you see what I’m saying?

As far as I know, brands aren’t planning collections in 2 months – they are planning and testing 8-16 months in advance. By the time promotional imagery is shot, it is too late for a company to simply change their entire collection so they can copy another brand. But in actuality, they have all of the means to control their information. It is their job to disseminate it appropriately and stop leaks before they happen – that is on them.

I have nothing against removing images, but it has everything to do with the manner before and after that has to do with it.

Uupy Avatar

Zoya formula is so much creamier and you don’t need to coat it on layer by layer like the MAC formula. Also MAC is way overpriced. Don’t pay $14 for it.

Sarah B, Avatar

Glorious pictures Christine!!
Have you ever thought about making them huge? Would that eat too much of your bandwidth?

Best swatches so far! And I lurved this collection 🙂

lola Avatar

love the swatches…these colors are great! im thinking to just get all of them…just no way to pick a favorite. but their site says they are 40? bummer since all their other sets seem to be 36. maybe its an error so ill wait on it 🙂

Sarah Avatar

Such a pretty collection! I love sparkly polishes, so all of these are absolute LOVES. <3

I just can't pick a favourite, and I'm glad Sarah is such a nice sparkly red!! Haha.

Ani_BEE Avatar

With all these similar shades coming out from different brands I feel like the Beauty World or CIBS cosmetic industry conference had some nice pigments advertised last round for nail polish use. >_<

Amarie Avatar

Thank you for the swatches. They are beautiful, but how difficult were Tiffany and Valerie to remove? Are they as chunky as Zoya’s sparkle collection? I had a really tough time removing some of those polishes.

Trina J Avatar

Valerie is not my name, but that polish has my name on it! I love the Valerie shades. Not so excited about the other shades even though I use alot of Zoya polishes. Thanks for sharing :))

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