Zoya Remove + V.S. Cutex Advanced Revival

Today's post is a little different than you are used to from me. BUT It's still nail related :] However, I warn you that it is longer and more wordy than most of my posts! But worth it!

Cutex Advanced Revival (left) , Zoya Remove + (right)

I don't know if you guys have heard of, or received a sample of, the new Cutex Advanced Revival. I received a sample felt pad last month and I was pretty impressed with it so I decided to give a bottle a shot!

Now, why the comparison? BECAUSEEEE it reminded me and a few other girls I've talked to of Zoya Remove + and because Zoya is $9.99 for a 8oz bottle and Cutex is $1.96 (EDIT: at Walmart) for a 6oz bottle.

So jump over and take a look at my comparison research of these two removers:


First off, I want to compare ingredients:

Zoya Remove + (ingredients on the far, top left)

Cutex Advanced Revival, ingredients toward bottom

You can tell by the ingredients, Zoya R+ has significantly LESS ingredients than Cutex AR. I also want to point out that although Zoya R+ does NOT list "acetone" specifically as the first ingredient, Cutex AR does. BUT, don't be fooled. "2-propanone" is just a fancy way to say acetone, if you would like more information about this, look here. The reason why I'm point this out is because the chemistry illiterate Lacey thought Zoya R+ didn't contain acetone at all, and I know I'm not the only one.

I'm not pointing this out to bash any company. You guys know I love Zoya. And I have no issue with acetone.. HECK! My nails main diet besides polish contains 100% acetone haha.

Zoya R+ has a more apparent smell, Cutex AR smells like acetone in the bottle and on the cotton ball BUT on the nail it smells floral... and almost lime. 

Now, onto the results!

Tested polishes

These are the polishes I used, a combination of different finishes. Each finger ALSO has a coat of Seche Vite:

Pointer finger: OPI The One That Got Away + Seche Vite
Middle finger:  Sinful Colors Lavender + Seche Vite
Ring Finger: Sinful Colors Snow Me White w/ Essie Set in Stones + Seche Vite
Pinky Finger: Essie Nothing Else Metals + Seche Vite

On to the removal process:

Each picture below sequences from TOP to BOTTOM in the labeled picture. In each picture I have swiped a semi-fully saturated cotton ball over my nail 1 time. The FINAL picture is after entire removal (aka there really wasn't a point to show the 3rd).

Zoya Remove + Process

Cutex Advanced Revival Process

Lucky for you guys I have pretty dry fingers thanks to Eczema, so the dryness is seen pretty fast from polish remover haha. As you can see from the pictures above, they are very similiar in removal. I DO BELIEVE that Cutex AR removes glitter much better than Zoya R+ does... Not convinced? Check out the tests below, I took them a step further:

This is the wear test. I usually do not use Zoya Remove + (which I have been using for every manicure since December '11) to remove polish. I use it strictly as a polish prep, and to remove excess polish acetone missed because of the price.

This next test I did was to see how well polish wore with Zoya Remove+, Cutex Advanced Revival and pure acetone as a nail prep.

Polish before wear with noted prep below:

Noted polishes before wear with noted prep

Each nail was prepped as followed, no base coat and no top coat was applied:
Pointer finger: Sinful Colors Rain Storm, Zoya Remove + prep
Middle finger: Sinful Colors Rain Storm, Cutex Advanced Revival prep
Ring finger: OPI Gone Gonzo, acetone prep
Pinky finger: OPI Gone Gonzo, acetone prep
Thumb: OPI Gone Gonzo, acetone prep

Nails after 3 days of wear:

Above nails after 3 days of wear

Above nails after 3 days of wear, tip wear

And that clearly shows why I never prep my nails with acetone! LOL! Yes, yes a base coat helps but I wanted to give these polishes and removers a fair run without base and top coats. I was slightly surprised Cutex AR wore just a tad bit less in comparison to Zoya R+. I was impressed. I was thinking that with all the different types of oil Cutex AR contains the polish would have issues adhering to the nail.

Next, I tested the removal of polishes after wear, including the glitter. I did this test mostly for removal on glitter because glitter sitting for 10 mins VS 3 days removes differently:

Removal of Sinful Colors Rain Storm

The pictures above go from left to right. The pointer finger (left) was removed with Zoya Remove +.  The middle finger (right) was removed with Cutex Advanced Revival.

I removed the polish with a press at the base to the tip, in the following process:

Picture 1: swiped 3x

Picture 2: swiped 6x

Picture 3: swiped 3x

All polish, for both removers, was not entirely removed in picture 3 so the rest was removed entirely.

Now for the 2nd glitter test:

Removal of OPI Gone Gonzo

The pictures above go clockwise starting with #1. The ring finger (left) was removed with  Zoya Remove + and the pinky finger (right) was removed with Cutex Advanced Revival.

Again, I removed the polish with a scrubbing motion and the same amount of motions in each picture. (I didn't write the entire process down). As you can see, Cutex Advanced Revival in the end did a better job at removing the glitter than Zoya Remove + did.

Interested in seeing how the glitter removal with those removers compare to glitter removal with acetone?

Glitter removal with acetone

I used the same scrubbing motion as I did in the previous glitter removal. Yes, acetone is a beast compared to the other 2 removal processes, but it is also a beast on your skin and nails.

Overall opinion? Zoya Remove + and Cutex Advanced Revival are pretty equal polish removers and have about the same moisturizing qualities. However, I was impressed with the glitter removal when using Cutex AR. For the price... I'd rather purchase Cutex ($1.96/6oz) over Zoya ($9.99/8oz) due to how often I go through polish remover/prep.

If anyone is wondering, NO - this wasn't sponsored by anyone. I ordered a sample of Cutex Advance Revival via Cutex's Facebook page. I went out and purchased the bottle myself. My opinions are my own and are unbiased.

If you're looking for more information from the companies in regards to their removers here are the links, respectively:  Zoya Remove + and Cutex Advanced Revival

I hope you enjoyed this post and feel a little more informed! I would love to know what you guys think! Also, if you have any questions about the removers before purchasing, or questions in general - don't be afraid to ask :]

Have a great day!

PS/EDIT: I found Cutex at Walmart. Check here: http://www.cutexnails.com/locator to see where it's in stock near you! You can select the product you are looking for. The Advanced Revival is the GREEN bottle!