1.17.2009

Perfectly Polished Tips 127 - Zoya's Color Lock System

Zoya's Color Lock System used to consist of Remove, Anchor, Armor, and Hurry Up Drops. They recently added Get Even Ridge Filler and Renew polish rejuvenator. I have heard that Zoya doesn't play well with some of the base coats and top coats that are favored on the MUA Nail Board and I did have an issue with Seche Vite and Zoya. However since dumped Seche and picking up Out the Door I haven't had an issue. Anyways, I gave the Color Lock System a try and I'm not sure what I think about it.

I love the Remove polish remover, it smells amazing and is ultra gentle on my nails and cuticles. I could do a dozen swatches at once and not have the dryness or redness that would result from using my usual Beauty Secrets remover.

For the manicure I did using the system, I used Jo from the Twist collection, Get Even Ridge Filler, Armor top coat, and Hurry Up drops. I don't have photos at the moment because I have been super busy with school, however I will use the system again and post photos in the near future.

I liked Get Even a lot, it dried very quickly and left my nails looking smooth and neat. It is white in color, I did only one coat but I would imagine that if you did 2 or 3 it would be opaque. That would make it ideal for use under sheers or streaky problem polishes. I applied two coats of Jo after and it looked flawless. My only beef is that after 3 consecutive manicure's using just Get Even as a base coat I got peelies, big time. In the future I am going to try Anchor underneath and if that causes peeling I will use my HG Color Club Vitabase first.

Armor top coat is suppose to protect nails from UV rays and prevent yellowing. It made the polish very glossy looking. I topped that with the reccomended one drop per nail of Hurry Up Drops. Zoya claims that nails will be dry to the touch in 5-10 minutes. 20 minutes later I had a dent in multiple nails. Out the Door has really spolied me, and I'm not if anything else will ever impress me the way OTD does. I reapplied Armor and used the drops after two days as the directions suggested.

By day 5 of my Jo manicure I had horrid tipware and chips. I read somewhere on the Zoya web site that this system is suppose to keep a manicure looking good for up to 2 weeks, which I didn't think was possible anyways. Since I love Zoya polish so much I am going to give the Color Lock system another shot. After I use the system again for photos I am probably going to add Out the Door into the mix. I am too impatient to sit and wait 20 minutes for my tips to dry. I wonder why Zoya hasn't made a quick dry top coat yet..hmmm.

I have the new Twist collection and will try to have photos up by the middle of next week. I go to school full time, and have an almost 3 year old so I don't have much free time right now. Please check back soon and thank you to those who are still reading!

6 comments:

Angel said...

I haven't tried the new Zoya ridgefiller yet but I have had had 8 days of wear with no chipping and just the tiniest of tipwear with the following combo:
1 coat Nail tek foundation 2
2 coats zoya laquer (Zara on now)
1 coat Zoya Armor
1 coat Seche Vite or Out the Door

This dries really fast and I don't need the drops.

Dee said...

Although I love the Remove, I didn't think that the Anchor and Armor did anything special. Like you, the Hurry Up didn't dry the polish, and it seemed to be many hours before I could stop getting nicks in the polish. Angel has an interesting suggestion, the Seche Vite over the Armor. Maybe I will try that.

Dami said...

Angel - I have had success with Color Club Vitabase & Out the Door w/ Zoya polish, but I am a huge fan of Nail Tek 2 as well.

Dee - A quick dry top coat really does make a difference. hope it works for ya!

contests and such said...

I did the same exact mani that u did! The color lock system with Jo! I found the same thing happened to me too. I used the drops and then I totally messed up my nails. It almost made them gooey. I think it would have been better if I didn't use the drops at all!
I think mine lasted a good 3 days b4 chips and I think that's the best I've seen (next to the Incoco strips).

Jennifer Mayer said...

I have a hard time getting Zoyas to stay on, but I, too, love their colors and finishes. The best combo I've found so far is to use the SH Quencher first, then the Get Even, the polish, and Armor. I also use the drops, and I haven't had any problem with them, but I use about 3 per nail.

Jamie D. said...

Bummer it didn't work for you. I haven't used the ridge filler - maybe that's the problem?

I use Anchor, 2-3 coats polish, Armour, and then after 5 minutes or so, the drops (usually 2 per nail though). I'm still pretty gentle with my nails until the next day though. I get 7 days wear with minor tip pull and no chipping.