A few months ago, I reorganized my entire nail polish collection by color. Doing so made it obvious that I own a lot of purple nail polishes that have glitter, sparkle or some other special effect. Even though these polishes are all different, I realized I just don’t reach for these shades when I go to paint my nails. I decided it was time to swatch a handful of the sparkly purple nail polishes in my collection to see what I can keep, and what I can declutter. This comparison post will review six purple polishes, and I will let you know which one I decided to keep for future use!
The products in this post were originally sent to me for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.
All of the swatches in this blog post were photographed in natural lighting. I used Holo Taco Peely Base as my base coat, and Zoya Naked Manicure Super Glossy Seal as my top coat. As it turns out, all of these polishes are from Zoya. I’ll let you know what collection they are from in each polish description.
Andrea
First up is Andrea from the Fall 2020 Luscious Collection. Andrea is a purple metallic polish with a green duochrome shift. It is opaque in two coats, and the formula is a bit streaky due to the metallic finish. I also had an issue where my top coat pulled the base polish a bit, which can be seen on my ring finger in the swatches. Andrea looks really cool, but I don’t really like how it looks on me. I knew right away I could declutter this polish.
Neve
Next up is Neve, which is technically a blue nail polish but certainly leans towards purple. Neve has a metallic formula that is opaque in two coats. I really love this polish. The formula is smooth and pigmented, and I love the subtle purple shimmer. Neve is from the Fall 2013 Satins Collection, and still performs well to this day. I love this polish, so I couldn’t declutter it right away.
Nisha
Shifting gears slightly, we have Nisha from the Holiday 2020 Intriguing Collection. Nisha is very similar to Neve, but with a deep purple metallic base shade rather than blue. This polish is opaque in one coat, and applies beautifully to the nails. It’s rare that I find a true one coat polish, especially a metallic formula with a shimmery base. I set Nisha aside to consider keeping.
Gardner
Next up is Gardner from the Fall 2018 Element Collection. Zoya describes Gardner as a deep periwinkle shade with a vibrant magenta shimmer in a foil finish. This polish is opaque in two coats. The formula is a little tricky, as it tends to bunch up during application. I do like how sparkly Gardner is, but I’m not a huge fan of foil nail polishes. As such, Gardner is a polish I am decluttering.
Isa
The next purple polish is Isa from the Summer 2015 Paradise Sun Collection. Isa has a metallic-pearl finish with an aqua shimmer. The formula is on the thinner side, but it is opaque in two coats. I did find that Isa was a bit uneven, but the top coat really helped to smooth out the look. I really like this polish, so I set it aside while swatching.
Adara
Last but not least is Adara from the Winter/Holiday 2023 Enchanted Collection. Zoya describes Adara as a lapis blue with rose gold and blue glitters, but to me it looks like a royal purple. This polish is opaque in two coats. It has a pigmented formula that is on the thicker side. While I think Adara is a beautiful polish, I personally wish it would dry to a more even texture. Even with top coat, it looks bumpy to me. For that reason, I am decluttering Adara.
Side by Side Comparisons
After swatching, I narrowed down my top three choices to Neve, Nisha, and Isa. I tried on those polishes side by side in that order. It immediately became clear to me that I could declutter Isa. While I do like how the polish looks on me, the formula just isn’t as good as the other two. In the end, it came down to whether I wanted more of a blue or purple polish. While I do really love Neve, I decided to keep Nisha since it does have a one coat formula. I also think the purple shade looks a bit better with my skin tone.
I’m so excited that I was able narrow down my sparkly purple nail polish collection quite a bit. While all of these polishes were unique from each other and not dupes, at the end of the day if I am in the mood for a glittery or metallic purple, I’m only going to need one. That being said, this post only featured a portion of the sparkly purple polishes in my stash. I could probably do another entire blog post with more! If you would like to see more comparison posts, either of dupes or just similar colors like this, please let me know in the comments.