Zoya's Summertime and the living's easy! (Part One)

Due to my complete lack of time as I practice like a maniac for the upcoming World Irish Dance Championships, I'm going to do only three of the new Zoyas at a time. The first three I have for you today, Sooki, Tamsen and Kieko, are total WINNERS. Read on!

Zoya Kieko

I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but I was most excited to try the Summertime collection, which are all cremes! I got these polishes on Friday night after I returned home from work, and it was too dark to swatch and photograph them, but I put Zoya Kieko on my toes almost immediately! Zoya described Kieko as a "warm, red toned dusty light purple with berry tones with an opaque cream finish". This may sound like a lot of words thrown together, but I think it's a pretty good description. This is not your typical cool-toned, blue-based purple. This is the exact purple that has been in my head for awhile now, but I couldn't seem to find it! I wanted a red grape type of purple and I love the dusty quality this one has. Although I have pale skin, I have really strong warm undertones (more so in my face than my hands), so I always prefer the look of warm colors. I do think Kieko would be really flattering on any skin tone or color though.

Zoya Kieko

Kieko applied like a dream, like most Zoya cremes, and this is only two coats! I usually do three coats, because polish tends to look more sheer in pictures, but there was no need with these three polishes. Two was perfect! Zoya really does purples quite well, I must say. Remember I wanted to marry Dannii from the spring collection? Well... we might have to have an open relationship, because Kieko is stealing my heart! (P.S. do you know anyone named Kieko? Wasn't Kieko the whale that Free Willy was based on?)

Zoya Kieko

Zoya Tamsen

Next up is Zoya Tamsen. Zoya described this one as a "medium warm brick red with strong orange undertones" and I think they nailed the description once again. This is definitely a warm brick red creme and I think you can see the orange undertones best in the indoor pictures below. Tamsen is different than other brick reds I have seen. Most brick reds look a little dull to me, but Tamsen is nice and bright, not dusty at all.

Zoya Tamsen

Zoya Tamsen

This is only two coats again. The pigmentation on these is just fantastic. If you were short on time, you could almost do one coat. I'm sure my mom will wear these as one-coaters. Tamsen was maybe a tad thicker than some Zoyas, but still nice and easy to apply.

Zoya Tamsen

Zoya Sooki

OMG... Zoya Sooki.

Zoya Sooki

Whoa, could you just look at this bright beautiful red?!?! Zoya described it as a "cool cherry red creme with a subtle jelly finish", but I have to say I don't think it's overwhelmingly cool-toned at all. I think this is the truest red I have ever encountered. Interestingly, my previous favorite red polish was Zoya Kristi, which I thought was a real true red. However, I did a comparison of Kristi and Sooki, and Kristi applies a little on the blue/pink side when you see it next to Sooki! Sooki is just SO bright RED! No pink or blue or magenta. Just RED! I love it!

Zoya Sooki

Zoya Sooki

Sooki could be one coat also, but it is kind of a jelly finish, so you might have more VNL at one coat than you'd like. It's very cool and squishy-looking though! Application was lovely and I see myself wearing this a LOT. Sooki has definitely replaced Kristi as my favorite red. I thought Kristi was bright, but Sooki makes it look almost dull!

Zoya Sooki

Zoya Kristi on left, Zoya Sooki on right

I took a comparison picture of Kristi and Sooki, but the sun was going down, so I think I'll have to redo it. You can see, though, that Kristi is not as bright and that it has more blue in it than Sooki. Both have great application and serious pigmentation, so they are both great red choices. I'm glad I own both! On a side note, does anyone else say Sooki in their head in Bill's voice? "SOOKEHH!" No? Just me? OK...

Overall, these three Summertime polishes get a 10/10. All three have perfect pigmentation and application. Kieko is my dream purple creme, and Sooki beat out my previous favorite red creme! I can't ask for much more!

The Zoya Summertime collection is available online at Zoya.com.

These polishes were sent to me by a PR agent for Art of Beauty. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.