OK, now that you’ve all had time to salivate over the Zoya Downtown collection, here’s your peek at Uptown. I’m predicting red to be a big trend this fall. That it will be gracing the tips of all the Hollywood starlets. I’ve already seen it popping up on some. The Uptown collection has a red for everyone, even those afraid of being too bold.

Quinn, Andi, Chelsea

Tess has the same foil like finish as Kotori and Rea from the Downtown line. The color reminds me a bit of Kat from Zoya except it’s more of a cool pinky red than a warm orangey red. Tess is highly pigmented and because of the metallic quality I was being careful to avoid brush strokes but the polish evened out perfectly on its own.

Paige is a plummy red creme. Smooth to apply and opaque in one coat. It doesn’t have a high gloss finish but it’s not matte either. I think you could achieve either finish depending on your top coat.

As the name suggests, Coco is a browned red creme. I wasn’t very drawn to this one in the bottle but on the wheel, it’s yummy. I don’t know if I have the right skin tone for it but I’m going to give it a shot. Everything is worth a try, no?

I would describe Quinn as a blood red creme. Classic and vampy without being over the top. Is it a “Wow I must have it” color for me… no but, it’s one sexy red. One thing that really impressed me about both Quinn and Andi (below) is that they were very close to bottle color with one coat. Very atypical of reds. Normally you get that pink or fuchsia base color before the true red comes out.

Andi is a true red creme. A staple color for sure unless you have a ton of reds already. Then I’d only suggest picking up Andi if you’re looking for Big 3 Free or, as I mentioned above, a one coat red that you can slap on in a hurry.

Chelsea reminds me of a Macintosh apple. A juicy shimmery red. I think it would suit most skin tones and the shimmer will help hide any errors you make in application. That’s what I love about shimmers, they allow even the clumsiest person (myself included) to have a smooth pretty mani.

So everyone, what colors are must haves? Which lemmings are killed? Who’s saving their pennies to buy the whole darn thing?

I don’t have an official release date to give you but I believe these collections will start shipping out in late July or early August. I’ll keep you posted if I hear any different.

It’s here! It’s here! I just got the new Zoya Downtown collection for Fall 2007 in my hot little hands. I had to take a moment to wipe the drool from my mouth and catch my breath before I started playing with all the gorgeous shades. I am beyond wowed. Kudos to Art of Beauty on a most excellent collection.

So let’s get down to it…

Suvi, Rea and Lael

Freja is a gunmetal gray shimmer. Lighter than Lippmann Hit Me With Your Best Shot but darker than Essie Loophole. It is highly pigmented and practically opaque with one coat.

Indigo was thought to be a navy creme but it actually has this amazing multi-colored micro glitter that twinkles like tiny stars in the night sky. The glitter does add a bit of texture to the surface but it’s nowhere near being rough or bumpy.

Kotori has a smoky gray base filled with royal blue (almost teal) shimmer and glitter. It has a foil like finish (think China Glaze Stroke of Midnight) and goes on somewhat sheer at first. I had to apply 3 coats to get it opaque on my nail.

Suvi has a similar smoky base but the green pigmentation and shimmer are much finer than in Kotori. It is similar to OPI Jasper Jade but not as blackened. Suvi also went on a bit sheer but 2 thick coats or 3 thin coats will do the trick.

Rea (Ray) has the same foil finish as Kotori in this unique not quite purple, not quite pink shade. After I posted pics of my China Glaze Steppin Out mani I got a lot of inquiries as to where to find the discontinued shade. Unfortunately, it is hard to find but I think Rea is an excellent alternative. While they are not dead on dupes, they have very similar finish and shade qualities.

Lael is the only true creme of the bunch. I nice mid toned plum, this pic really doesn’t do it justice. Someone asked me if this would fall between OPI Lincoln Park After Dark and Orly Perfectly Plum. While I don’t have the Orly polish, judging from pics in the Community Nail Polish Gallery I’d say that Lael could be the child of those two. So FM, get your credit card ready girlie.

Oh and Uptown collection pics and reviews will be up soon. Keep your eyes peeled.