Swatch Review of Zoya's Tao and Freja

So this post will be brief because I'm really behind on school work.

This week's challenge is supposed to be galaxy nails, but with school winding down and my grandmother passing away this week, when the time came to change out my polish I just didn't have the energy to attempt anything more demanding than a full color.

So, I decided to make the most of it and do a side-by-side swatching of Zoya's Tao and Freja like I've been meaning to do for awhile.

Since I've worn full-Freja before, I decided to make Tao the main color with a Freja accent nail on the ring finger. Here are some shots that I took this morning in the sun.

Tao and Freja
Color Family: Grey
Color Finish: Metallic

Tao is a stoney-grey from Zoya's Downtown Fall 2007 collection while Freja is a darker steel-grey from Zoya's Smoke and Mirrors Fall 2011 collection.

Application: Both applied nicely and were opaque in two coats. Shown is three coats for kicks and giggles. Freja tends to show the brushstrokes but it's not super-obvious unless you're looking at it close-up. Tao goes on beautifully and is quite lovely all around. I'd give Freja a 4 of 5 and Tao a 5 of 5.
Color Intensity (Initial): The first coat of Tao looked kind of iffy to me. I worried about it evening out (2 of 5). I don't remember much about Freja's first coat but I want to say that it was initially closer to opaque-ness than Tao was (4 of 5).
Color Intensity (Final): The second coat was pretty magical - Tao did end up being opaque in just two coats! Shown above is three just for good measure (5 of 5). The same can be said about Freja - opaque in two coats, shown with three (5 of 5).
Additional Comments: If I had to choose one, I'd go with Tao over Freja. I'm just really impressed with it's even and easy application. It's nice not having to worry about perfect brushstrokes.! But I'm glad to have both in my collection, and it really depends on the look you're going for - stone or steel?