So yesterday when I swatched Purple Reign from Pure Ice I mentioned that I’d be comparing it to a Zoya polish today. I am a Zoya fanatic, they pretty much always impress me & leaving me scrambling for their next collections. Is it any surprise I commonly hold more accessible polishes to the Zoya standard?

What I wanted to show with this comparison isn’t the shade (duh, not blind!) but the “lit from within” quality. After wearing Purple Reign for awhile I realized I had another purple that was similar…in a shimmery sort of way! Zoya’s Tru was from their Spring 2012 collection & I’m still in love with it. #1 its purple. #2 it has shimmer. #3 it has a perfect application. Here’s my original shots. The swatches have 1 coat of WnW Fast Dry Top Coat.

So clearly, they aren’t the same purple. Purple Reign is much more red-based while Tru is a bit more medium toned. I think this appears even more distinct because despite Purple Reign being crazy pigmented it is also slightly dusty. Such a complex shade! Tru always looks like it has copper shimmers in it to me but it definitely looks more golden next to Purple Reign in person while Purple Reign looks more bronzed. Both are opaque in 1-2 coats.

So? What do you think? Do you have any “lit from within” purples?