Zoya Ciara

Zoya Ciara is among one of my first Zoyas I ordered as part of their three free polishes promotion, a process that involved agonizing over which three would make the cut. Then I get it and swatch it and--hey doesn't it kind of look like.. ? Crap.

If you couldn't tell, the colour on the ring finger is just slightly different from the others. That's because it's Violet Vixen from L'Oreal Colour Riche (as seen here).

I really, consciously try to avoid buying polishes that seem too close to ones I currently own--it's not the best use of my money and takes up room in a polish drawer that is getting just a bit tight. I am a bit disappointed because there were so many pretty Zoyas I could have bought instead, but let's just call it my sacrifice for science LOL.

Zoya Ciara is a deep berry creme, just on the edge of vampy. It's opaque in two coats with a formula that flows easily over the nail. L'Oreal Colour Riche Violet Vixen leans a teeny bit more purple and is slightly not as deep, but I swear the two are indistinguishable unless under bright light and close examination. I think it's safe to say we have a dupe on our hands, folks.

Here comes the next question--which one should I buy? Overall the brush on L'Oreal Colour Riche polishes are not my favourite and make the polish more challenging to apply, so I prefer Ciara for easier application and a more opaque formula (Colour Riches usually seem to need three coats). Zoya polishes are $8 USD while L'Oreal is $6-8 USD/CAD so the price difference is minimal unless you catch L'Oreal on sale. However, Zoya is harder to find in Canada (unless you buy online) so if you love the deep berry look, get Violet Vixen. It will still look great, you just need to get used to the brush.

Do you see the difference? Tell me what dupes you've found so I can avoid wasting money in the future.