Mystery Solved!
Almost two weeks ago, I posted about a mystery vintage Zoya polish that I found in my mother’s things (you can read the original post here). Discovering one of my mother’s polishes from when she was a nail tech was special in its own right, but it was particularly exciting because Zoya is one of my fave polishes.
I contacted Zoya. I owe a big thank you to Kathleen. She posted my request on the internal employee Zoya blog and within less than an hour, I had my answer. The bottle is an original. They speculated the color was Carmen which is the very first Zoya color ever created (ZP001)! Kathleen arranged for a color spoon to be sent to me right away so I could do a comparison. (If you don’t know what a color spoon is, then check out this link. It’s a neat Zoya program that allows you to test run a color before you buy it.)
The spoon came and I knew instantly it was a match. I ordered Carmen to be absolutely sure (like I need a reason to buy polish!) The color spoon seemed to match my original bottle even better than my new bottle.
But once I compared the two side-by-side…they were an exact match. [click to enlarge]
The picture below is from a Zoya blog post in 2010 showing the evolution of the Zoya bottle. The shape of my mother’s bottle was used until 1997. At some point the word ZOOM came off the label (my vintage bottle has ZOOM on it)…but I don’t know when (I have some sleuthing yet to do!)
Evolution of the Zoya Polish Bottle: (L to R) Original, 1997, and 2005
My mother did nails for only a short time during 1995, so I’m guessing the bottle was purchased during that year. Can you believe it? The bottle was stored in a box in my parents’ garage from 1995 to 2007 when my mother died and then it was in my garage from 2007 until just a few weeks ago. It polished perfectly; proving positively that good polish never goes bad.
So I’ve taken my original Zoya bottle in the original Zoya color and hung it in a shadow box in my office. I’ll pull it out once a year to wear on Mother’s Day (but maybe just one coat!) If Zoya is taking suggestions for polish names…then my mother’s name, Victoria, would be nice.
Thanks again to the folks at Zoya who helped me track this down. It’s no surprise to find great people behind a great polish. Thanks again!
Disclosure: I have no material connection to the products used in this post.
Comments (23)
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Sites That Link to this Post
- Freshwater | work / play / polish | June 28, 2012
- Memory Lane: My 100th Post!! | work / play / polish | August 29, 2012
- The Mani Cave: Still workin’ the basics | work / play / polish | November 21, 2012
- Solve a Vintage Zoya Mystery | work / play / polish | November 21, 2012
This is not only a lovely colour, but what great customer service from Zoya as well. I wouldn’t expect that sort of treatment as a customer and it really reflects well on the company.
Also, I think wearing this colour once a year for your mother would be a lovely personal tribute.
I agree. It makes me like Zoya even more than before! Thank you for the kind note. I get emotional even thinking about this polish! :)
What a lovely story and what an amazing treasure to find after so many years. Zoya is a great company and it makes me happy to know that my business goes to a company that actually cares about their customers.
Z
Zoya Nail Polish in Carmen – a red classic! Lovely and still available in the modern bottle :) So happy to be a part of this touching story.
Zoya is such a big company. I can’t believe they would help you with this! That is true customer service. I love Carmen. It has and always will be my favorite red!
What a touching story! We at Jane.tv love manis as much as the next girl, and now we have a new favorite polish! How special that Zoya would go above and beyond the typical customer service experience to help you solve this mystery and in turn feel closer to your mother. Just goes to show that “classy” never goes out of style. We’d love to talk with you more about this experience.
What a wonderful story. From finding a vintage Zoya polish, the fries help to your Mother’s Day ritual (one coat of polish). Very sweet. May Victoria RIP. I vote that Zoya Garment be renamed Zoya Victoria on Mother’s Day.
What a wonderful story. From finding a vintage Zoya polish, the faries help to your Mother’s Day ritual (one coat of polish). Very sweet. May Victoria RIP. I vote
that Zoya Carmen be renamed Zoya Victoria on Mother’s Day!
It’s a lovely story. I think the shadowbox idea is great. I’m very surprised that the polish still works. The longest I was able to keep a polish was about 6 years. Also glad that Zoya has such good customer service, really shows what the company is all about.
Thank you all for taking the time to comment on my story. It’s been a neat few weeks…from the amazing discovery of mom’s still-polishable polish to the solved mystery to a post on Zoya’s blog and finally a chat with Jane.tv. Mom would be dumbfounded with all the fuss! Many thanks for a great experience!
What a fun story, it’s neat that Zoya helped you out so quickly!
I think I am going to cry…i hope they name this polish after your mom…she was a classy lady…and so beautiful.
Sorry to hear about your Mom… but the story about this polish is great. I agree with julia, I hope they name a polish after your Mom. That is a great red btw.
I know I’m late but I loved this whole story, thanks for sharing!
Awwww. Never too late. Thanks for reading!
What an absolutely beautiful story!!!! Thank you for sharing!
Crying. Again. <3
And what an honor and thrill if they do name a polish with “our” name. Every time I’d wear my name, I’d think of your mom!
That’s a beautiful story, so touching !
And, of course, hats off to Zoya…