Magic at your Fingertips — Check out the Zoya PixieDust Summer 2013 Collection

It’s been only a few months since Zoya introduced its first range of PixieDust lacquers, which feature a revolutionary formula that fuses together a matte finish with shimmering specks, thereby giving nails a fascinating textural quality. The response to these innovative nail lacquers was so positive that Zoya decided to up the ante, releasing a new six-color PixieDust collection for Summer 2013 that incorporates sunnier, more electrifying shades that capture the vivacious energy fo the beach-going season. Unlike the Spring 2013 Zoya PixieDust collection, which primarily consisted of pale cornflower blue, sage green, stormy gray and golden beige shades, the Summer 2013 Zoya PixieDust collection incorporates such bold hues as a perky orange, a punchy magenta, a mysterious azure blue, and so forth — each, of course, featuring a matte base encrusted with shimmering micro glitter in a similar hue.

The six shades in the Zoya Summer 2013 PixieDust collection are: Solange, a matte golden yellow; Destiny, a matte blood orange; Liberty, an azure blue shade; Miranda, a deep magenta pink; Destiny, a kumquat orange hue; and Stevie; a pale lilac with a matte finish.

Below, you’ll find swatches of all six shades in the collection, along with details on each. Trust me: these are more magical than anything Tinker Bell has in her bag of tricks!

SOLANGE

Here’s a metallic lacquer that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen! The Solange PixieDust shade features a foil-like 18k yellow gold base, and it boasts a matte finish, but the most remarkable thing about it is the way the shimmering gold flecks in the formaula capture and reflect light, thereby creating a two-dimensional effect that combines matte and metallic elements.

LIBERTY

This shade is among my favorites in the Zoya Summer 2013 PixieDust collection. The azure blue base is deep and mysterious — particularly given that it has a matte finish as opposed to the typical, lustrous versions of the shade that tend to abound in the hot summer months. And, since the formula incorporates aquamarine blue glitter, the color never falls flat but, rather, looks phenomenally modern. I like to think of it as a nail polish ode to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting.

The only thing that disappointed me about Liberty is that it stained my nails quite a bit. Since you shouldn’t use a top coat or base coat when working with Zoya PixieDust lacquers, there’s no way to protect your nail when applying really intense, richly pigmented shades and, therefore, when you remove the polish from nails, it can take quite a few go-rounds before the color is fully gone. In the case of Liberty, I found myself removing blue lacquer from my nails, cuticles and even fingers for almost two days! That being said, the color is so incredibly gorgeous that I think I may be willing to put in that extra effort during the polish removal period.

BEATRIX

Perfect for summer, the Beatrix PixieDust color’s tonality is reminiscent of a kumquat’s peel, so that the base color is a bit perkier and warmer than a tangerine orange. The golden and orange micro pearls in the formula, meanwhile, add an unexpected bit of pop to the metallic matte foil color. It’s so juicy, you’ll feel like walking through a citrus grove!

MIRANDA

The Miranda PixieDust shade is a deep magenta pink shade, a mid-tone rose color with purple undertones and a matte finish that is, in turn, infused with light metallic pink shimmer. This color is pretty fascinating in that, given the light, lavender-pink metallic glitter, it appears more fuchsia in certain lighting while, in dimmer environments, it has more of a raspberry tone.  But, whatever the lighting situation, this is the type of shade that brings out your inner Betty Boop!

STEVIE

This shade is another one of my favorites in the collection. It’s a lovely pale purple lilac shade with a matte texture and tons of silver sparkle to add the desired amount of shimmer.

As soon as I applied it to my nails, I gazed down at the color and was reminded of Stevie Nicks’ outfit on the cover of her Bella Donna album, of her peering out from underneath a hooded, pale lilac-tinged cape that twinkled as if it were made of tiny stars. Given the color’s name, perhaps the geniuses at Zoya are just as fond of Stevie as I am but, whatever the reason behind the lacquer’s moniker, there’s no denying that the color and finish create an ethereal, cosmic, magical effect.

DESTINY

This deep coral red is reminiscent of the inside of a blood orange, its vermilion color a perfect harmony of red and orange tones. Like all the other shades in the collection, it has a matte finish that’s married with a hefty dose of sparkle (in this case, light orange and golden shimmer) for a nuanced and multi-dimensional optical effect that relies heavily on the juxtaposition of seemingly incongruous textures.