Zoya Sunsets - Swatches and Review

Today I have some swatches of the new Zoya Sunsets collection! When Zoya announced their new summer collections - Sunsets, a set of six bright one-coat cream polishes, and Seashells, six brand new pixie dusts - I only had intentions to pick up the latter collection, but then Zoya's latest BOGO sale happened, and I couldn't resist getting both.

As mentioned, all six polishes in the cream collection are advertised as saturated one-coaters. Do they live up to this claim? Somewhat.



In the individual swatches below, I've used one coat of Zoya Anchor base coat and one coat of polish for the one coat swatches and one coat of Anchor, two coats of polish, and one coat of Zoya Armor topcoat for the two coat swatches. All photos have been edited to most accurately depict how I perceive the polish colors in real life.

To see the application of each of these polishes, you can watch the swatch video I made here:

First up we have Dixie, which is described as a watermelon red cream. The association with watermelon perfectly sums up this color for me, and I honestly wasn't expecting to like it much, but it's actually one of my favorites in this collection. The color looks stunning in person, and it's bright and cheery to represent exactly what I expect for a summer polish.

Here is Dixie after one coat:

Zoya Dixie - One Coat

This one's a bit lighter with just one coat, but it isn't streaky or patchy, so it's definitely passable as a one-coater for me. A second coat does darken the polish and make it richer, though, as seen in the two-coat swatch below.

Zoya Dixie - Two Coats, plus topcoat

While I'd consider applying only one coat of Dixie if I was planning to add nail art on top of it, I'd personally prefer two coats when wearing it by itself.

Next up we have Brynn, which is a bright pink cream. I have a strong aversion to most pink polishes, and, while the polish itself is nice, I can't see myself wearing this one unless I'm using it for nail art.

Brynn after one coat:

Zoya Brynn - One Coat

I'd consider this one a decent one-coater. Like Dixie, Brynn applied smoothly and didn't appear streaky. However, my nail line was definitely visible in certain lighting, so it'd be better to go with two coats if you want to avoid VNL.

Zoya Brynn - Two Coats, plus topcoat

Color-wise, there wasn't that much of a noticeable difference after the second coat, so I'd consider the application on this one up to personal preference. 

The third polish in the collection is Cam, a deep, bright orange, which actually looks much lighter in person than the photo on Zoya's website would suggest. Orange is my favorite color, and this polish is my exact favorite shade of orange. Add to that the fact that every orange cream I've ever owned has taken three or four coats to be opaque, and you'll see that I had pretty high hopes for Cam. Surprisingly, I wasn't disappointed.

After one coat:

Zoya Cam - One Coat

I think Cam was probably the thinnest out of the six creams, and it was fairly sheer and patchy in spots with only one coat. However, a second coat leveled the polish off and left a smooth finish.

Zoya Cam - Two Coats, plus topcoat

While a thick coat could possibly make this one into a one-coater, I'd still recommend using two - which, for me, still makes Cam the preferred orange cream in my polish collection.

Next up is Ness, which Zoya describes as a "softened jade." I imagined this one as more of a mint color, but it's actually much greener, almost like a lighter version of Josie, with an added touch of blue. I typically love green polishes, and this one's no exception.

One coat:

Zoya Ness - One Coat

This one wasn't as opaque as Dixie and Brynn, and there were some streaks, but the second coat fixed this.

Zoya Ness - Two Coats, plus topcoat

While you could likely use one thick coat to pass Ness off as a one-coater, I still preferred it with two coats.

The fifth cream is Dory, a softer version of the typical bright summer blue. Judging from Zoya's website photo, I expected this one to look similar to Robyn, but I was pleasantly surprised that that wasn't the case. Dory is much more muted, and I think that I personally prefer it over Robyn.

After one coat:

Zoya Dory - One Coat

Like Ness, Dory is a bit on the streaky side and could benefit from a second coat, but it isn't so sheer that you couldn't manage it with the application of one thicker, more even coat. As with the others, it does reach full opacity after two coats.

Zoya Dory - Two Coats, plus topcoat

Similarly to Cam and Ness, I still prefer this one with two coats.

Finally, we have Liv, a lighter, red-leaning shade of purple. This one isn't one of my favorites, and, like Brynn, I don't see myself wearing it on its own very often. It is a unique shade, though, as I don't think I have anything this exact color in my collection.

With one coat:

Zoya Liv - One Coat

Liv was mostly opaque in one coat, but there were some patchy spots that are particularly noticeable on my pinky nail. This one could probably be a one-coater if you applied a thicker coat, but a second coat definitely helps to make the polish application look more uniform.

Zoya Liv - Two Coats, plus topcoat

Again, I prefer using a second coat with this one, but it'd still look fine with only one.

Ultimately, I'm really glad that Zoya decided to do a sale on these polishes, as I really love the collection overall. While not all of the polishes were one-coaters on my nails, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can't be one-coaters if you have shorter nails, use thicker coats, or apply the polishes a bit more evenly than I did. 

On the plus side, the Sunsets polishes are bright, shiny, and, best of all, I didn't have any problems with staining, despite the high saturation of the colors. With the exception of Brynn, I actually liked all of the shades, but Cam and Dixie are definitely my picks!

Are you planning to pick up any of these new summer colors? Are there any comparisons you'd like to see between these and pre-existing polishes? Let me know in the comments!

Also, stay tuned for the Seashells pixie dust collection, which I'll be swatching over the next few days!