Keep the Textured Nail Trend Going Strong with Zoya PixieDust Fall/Winter 2013 Collection

Ever the innovator, Zoya has been among the trend-setting brands spearheading the textured nail look that’s successfully transitioned from fashion runways and magazine pages to streets and sidewalks over the last two years. First, we had China Glaze and OPI popularizing the “crackled” look. Then Ciaté wowed consumers with its Caviar Manicure Kit, making beaded looks one of the most popular DIY looks among nail lovers, and following with a Velvet Manicure Kit that left women everywhere stroking their soft, smooth nails in fascination. And Zoya, which had already amassed legions of fans with its incredibly adventurous and chip-resistant nail lacquers, launched its own game-changing formula with the release of its first PixieDust collection last spring, a range of six matte nail lacquers with a gravelly, almost sandpaper-like texture and sand-like grains of sparkle. At first, the PixieDust collections were relatively timid — from NYX, a grayish, cornflower blue, to Vespa, a light sage green — but they began to intensify as the summer season approached, with bright orange hues like Beatrix and Stevie, a purple lilac, being released around May 2013. And, right at the end of 2013, Zoya released yet another assortment of PixieDust shades, this time deeper and more intense than ever before.

The Fall/Winter 2013 Zoya PixieDust collection incorporates six nail lacquers ($10 each at Zoya.com) and it stands as perhaps the most well-rounded PixieDust collection thus far, incorporating dark blue-based tones, gem-like purples and greens, a fiery orange shade, and even a soft white gold hue. And, though the collection was released in the last quarter of the year, the shades therein can be worn year-round — in other words, they’re not so vampy and moody as to seem unfitting for spring or summer.

While spring is around the corner and Zoya has already unveiled some beautiful new collections, before getting to those, I wanted to make sure to give you the scoop on these PixieDust polishes. After all, given that we just endured another massive snowstorm in the Northeast, it’s hardly time to break out the sundresses just yet. So without further ado, check out all six polishes in this beautiful collection!

CHITA

As you can see, Chita is a deep forest green shade that will remind you of the pine trees we decorate during the Christmas season, the branches of which we twist to form garlands and wreaths. But, in true PixieDust form, this polish has a fascinating texture — when you stroke your fingernails, it will feel a bit like sandpaper and this gravelly texture will be plainly visible. Moreover, it has a matte finish and yet is encrusted with tiny flecks of sparkle, fusing together two seemingly paradoxical elements and giving nails a bit more dimension.

DHARA

This sunny shade is reminiscent of the Destiny PixieDust polish unveiled for Summer 2013, but this one has more of a definitive orange hue as opposed to Destiny, which incorporates coral red tones. Also, the Dhara PixieDust polish features golden specks that give it more of a fiery feel. Just looking at the shade on your nails will bring a smile to your face!

SUNSHINE

The PixieDust Sunshine polish is Zoya’s darkest blue today, a mysterious, inky, indigo shade reminiscent of a midnight sky. The glittery specks encrusted into the matter formula, meanwhile, are a lovely silver shade — the perfect choice to lend the hue that feel of a starry sky in the cold winter months. Inside its bottle, Sunshine isn’t necessarily the most alluring shade in the collection and yet, on nails, it’s an absolute stunner!

CARTER

I am so smitten with this shade! It’s a deep amethyst purple that’s beautifully deep and regal, and it features metallic, pink-tinged purple sparkle to liven up the shade and give it even more of a gem-like feel.

ARABELLA

Almost every nail collection incorporates at least one obligatory pink hue and Arabella is this one’s. That being said, it’s not the most inventive shade nor is it particularly charming. A deep, cool-toned, matte fuchsia pink shade with light pink sparkle, Arabella is perhaps the best “bella” of the Fall/Winter 2013 PixieDust shades. Still, it’s hardly an ugly shade — just very run-of-the-mill (save, of course, for its texture).

TOMOKO

Whereas the PixieDust Solange polish is a deep Etruscan gold hue and the PixieDust Godiva shade is a golden nude hue, the Tomoko polish explores the middle ground between these two shades. It’s clearly a golden tone, but it’s more of a white gold shade as opposed to a deeper yellow gold — some have even ventured to call this a silver shade, but I find it to be more of a champagne gold. And, given the season when it was released, a champagne hue does seem rather fitting! This polish is probably the sheerest of the lot, so it will take at least three coats to achieve a nice amount of coverage (in the pictures here, I’m wearing 3 coats and, clearly, I still hadn’t achieved full coverage), but the final effect is elegant, festive but demure.

As with all PixieDust polishes, you should apply these to clean and dry nails — without using a base coat. Typically, two coats will be enough to yield full coverage but do keep in mind that this formula can take longer to dry than that of standard Zoya polishes, so do make sure to wait a few minutes in between those two coats. Also, Zoya warns against using a top coat with its PixieDust shades since it can alter the effect. One last warning: because of the texture of these PixieDust polishes, which leave the nail’s surface feeling pretty rough and uneven, be careful when applying tinted moisturizer, foundation, or concealer since, if it manages to get onto your nails, it can be incredibly difficult to remove (the makeup will seep into those tiny crevices in between the grain-like bits of PixieDust polish). Besides that, enjoy a long-lasting manicure with an unusual and fascinating feel!