I'm going to tell you the truth on this one. I really did NOT think I was going to like Zoya's Jem. I guess I thought it was going to be too much like Hard Candy Beetle or Orly Space Cadet. Not that I don't like those, but how many duochrome top coat polishes do you really need?
Boy was I wrong! This is nothing like either of those! It's not a runny "top coat" duochrome thing at all. It's a real honest-to-goodness opaque stand-on-its-own duochrom-y, metallic-y gem of a Jem. The thing it is NOT is easy to describe. My best attempt at describing it is that it's purple-based with metallic red/pink and gold shimmer.
I have lots of photos because, well, it's just really that awesome and THAT hard to describe. The light plays on it so wonderfully that it even takes on the appearance of different textures, even though it's as smooth as glass to the touch.
From the Mirrors Collection of Zoya's Smoke and Mirrors Fall 2011 Collection - two coats with no top coat in all photos...and as always, clicking on the photos enlarges them so you can see more detail. I urge you to do that on the last photo for sure!
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem |
 |
| Zoya Jem - click to enlarge to see the shimmers! |
Zoya Jem is available at Ulta stores or at
Zoya.com for $8.00.
Well you've heard my opinions - what are yours? Do you have it yet? Love it?
I don't own this, but it is now on my lemming list. This is stunning, and looks amazing on you!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what gave you the impression that this color was a duo-chrome top coat. I figured that it was exactly like Zoya Valerie, which is a polish I already have. I won this in a contest but gave it to a friend of mine who was interested in the color. I looked at a few swatches and they seemed like a 99.9% match so I didn't mind parting with it :)
ReplyDeleteStarification, I'm not sure! Just the way it looked in the bottle I guess. Glad I was wrong though. I don't have Valerie to compare though. But I'll be checking swatches for sure before I do buy it if they're that close.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning. This looks lovely on you!!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of buying Valerie, and this looked so similar in swatches. Now I may have to re-think. For anyone who has it, is Valerie runnier? I have Space Cadet and I'm not as crazy about it as I thought I was going to be, because it is rather sheer/runny. I want something more opaque. Is Jem a better option than Valerie?
ReplyDeleteCome to find out, I actually have Valerie on the way to me. If no one answers by then, I will do a comparison for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I decided to take the plunge on Valerie, but i would still love to see comparisons, and see if i still need Jem as well.
ReplyDeleteI have Jem and I love it, I think Im falling in love with all of Zoya's polishes hahahh. I stamped with my black Zoya polish last night and it worked, I was soo happy!! Your nails look awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteI have Jem, got it in the mail today, but haven't used it yet. It looks gorgeous!
ReplyDelete