Hey everyone! Today I've finally got the Zoya Naturel Satin Winter-Spring Transitional collection to share with you!

I realize the internet is already totally saturated with images of these polishes, but I decided to take my time and be very thorough, since this is an entire new finish we're seeing from Zoya! After the swatches, I'll show you a quick comparison with another satin finish, as well as a wear-test on the dreaded "Cinderella" hand (lol!).



Before we get into swatches, I should mention that I swatched everything over OPI- Lay Down That Base, which is supposed to be a ridge-filler. The texture of this finish tends to show every flaw or bump in your natural nails, and since I have some slight damage from peeling polish (yea, yea, I know.) I thought a ridge filler would be a good idea. You can obviously use any base coat you want, though!

Of course, all of these swatches are shown sans top coat, and I gave all of them time to dry completely before photographing!




Here is the lightest shade, Zoya- Ana:


Ana is a light, pink-toned nude with a satin finish. Almost a putty color- actually, it reminds me of Silly Putty, although I don't have any to directly compare it to!

The photo above ^ and the outside shade photo show the most accurate color. Because my skin is actually so pink in comparison, this actually looks more cream-colored in a lot of light.

Artificial light, two/three coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: It's on the thicker side, and fairly pigmented. The first coat is a little streaky, but depending on how you polish you can get this opaque in 2 or 3 coats. (I have two on my middle, ring, and pinkie nails, and three coats on my index and thumb where I'd done thinner first layers.) It's not the best at self-leveling, but it doesn't cuticle drag, either. I was also surprised how quickly this dried!
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Next, the most pink-toned here, Zoya- Brittany:


Brittany is a greyed-out rosy shade. If you thought Ana was pinkish, well, this one is definitely more pink!

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: It's also on the thicker side, but self-levels a bit better than Ana, and also is more easily opaque in two coats! Again, doesn't self-level amazingly well, but it's dependent upon how much polish you load the brush with. If you use a little more, it'll slowly level out slightly. Dries quickly!
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Next, here is Zoya- Leah:


Leah is hard to describe. It has a hint of greyed-out lavender, I think. Like Ana, it is a bit of a putty color...but more like actual putty, and less like Silly Putty.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: This one seems slightly thinner than the first two, but I still think most people will consider it on the thicker side. I used a generous amount of polish loading the brush, and everything worked out nicely. Seems more self-leveling than Brittany, even. You do have a lot of play time, despite how rapid-drying it is, so if an area isn't leveling, you can usually go back with another few strokes to fix it. Opaque in two coats!
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Here is the darkest/ most neutral shade, Zoya- Rowan:


Rowan is the most brown-toned of the Naturel Satins. It's very similar to Essie- Chinchilly, but the color value is a little bit lighter. It could also be considered a very light taupe. It dries a hair darker than the bottle color.

It pulls green-grey on my skin, and is a little more warmer brown than my pictures show. I attempted to color correct this one, but without masking off every other part of the photo, it was going to be very tricky. The outside shade and above ^ photos are most accurate.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: The viscosity is much thinner than the others, and way, way more self-leveling. The first coat is not even streaky at all, and is pretty much opaque! I used two for swatches, and overall found this one to be really nice! A+ in my book!
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Next, one of two most talked about shades, Zoya- Tove:


Tove is a subtly blue-tinged grey. A lot of color-correcting happened here, but I feel that the result is very accurate. It photographs as a way more saturated blue than it is.

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: It has a similar, thinner, viscosity to Rowan, but is not quite as pigmented. The first coat can be slightly streaky or almost opaque depending on how much polish you put on the brush. Like Rowan, it also self-levels better than the others. Dries quickly and is opaque in two coats!
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Finally, here is the other most talked-about polish, Zoya- Sage:


Sage is....a pastel sage color. I really think they got the name right here! As far as greens go, this one is warmer-toned, almost pistachio.

People with warm undertones in their skin are really going to love this one...and yet, I don't think it looks bad at all on cool skin. I like it more than I was expecting!

Artificial light, two coats:



Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:


Formula: It's very similar, viscosity-wise, to Tove, but is maybe sliiightly more pigmented. Like Rowan, the first coat is not even streaky if you use the appropriate amount of polish, and was almost opaque. It also self-levels much more nicely than Ana and Brittany, and I really have no complaints! Dries quickly, and is opaque in two easy coats!
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Finish Comparison:
I also wanted to do a quick comparison with another satin finish I had available (that was marketed as such). I'm talking about the Illamasqua Rubber finish polishes! Unfortunately, I don't have any neutrals within that range, so you'll have to settle for a bright.

This is Illamasqua- Serenity on the left and Zoya- Rowan on the right:


You can see that the Zoya finish is much more textured when viewed up close! This does not really come across in person. It's just too fine a level of detail for the naked eye to really perceive (at least mine!). The finishes feel similar- maybe the Illamasqua is slightly smoother.
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Wear Test:
I decided to do a wear-test on my "Cinderella" hand for you! ^{(Does that term squick you out as much as it does me?!)}  I apologize for the state of the skin on this hand, but it's definitely neglected compared to my swatchin' hand! And I also keep the nails slightly shorter.

Anyway, this is Zoya- Ana, and I wore it for a little over three days, from the evening of 1/27 to the evening of 1/30. I had OPI- Lay Down That Base underneath:


I think it wore very well! Especially for a polish with no top coat, and with a non-standard finish!

This photo is in macro and is angled to give you the best view of the carnage, so keep in mind that it looked a lot better in person. Most of the damage occurred on my thumb and index nails, which makes sense because I use those the most. The other nails just show slight tip-wear, which is totally normal for me for any polish on day three. I also want to mention that I didn't baby this hand in any way, and I actually remember using my nails to peel stickers and kitchen things. These nails lived through washing dishes, showers, opening and closing metal fences all day, ect. I'm rough on my hands!

In summary, I was surprised and impressed by the longevity of these!



Overall: The finish reminds me a little of drywall that has a coat of paint! Painted drywall is not completely matte, has a tiny amount of light-reflecting sheen, and is a bit textured if you look very, very closely. I have to admit that I was mentally prepared to feel neutral toward- or even dislike- the finish, but it's not so bad! It really grew on me. However, I think they could have been improved if there had been shimmer (even subtle!) to give it a little extra interest after they dried down.

Color-wise, these shades are pretty, feminine, and neutral enough that you could probably wear them any time of the year. I especially like them all together; this color palette in particular is a great palate cleanser between the vampy shades of Winter and the light, Eastery shades we typically see in Springtime. I think there is also enough range here that there will be at least one that flatters every undertone!

It is true that these are not the most self-leveling polishes ever, but I was surprised how workable they are for polishes that dry so quickly. Usually when a polish dries this quickly, it tends to cuticle drag or pull if you use more than, say, three quick strokes. These don't! You really have ample time, I think, to go back and mess with areas that aren't leveling well, as long as you keep enough polish on the brush. With too little polish, you're gonna have a bad time. (And, because they dry so quickly, you can basically start on the second coat as soon as you're finished painting your fifth finger, with no time spent waiting around for the layers to dry!)

That's another thing: a few of these require thicker coats to get around the self-leveling inadequacies, but they do not bubble! I was so, so relieved when I discovered this, because bubbling is the worst. There is nothing more frustrating than a polish that wants thick coats, but that bubbles when you do! (I'm looking at you Essie Cashmere Mattes- and yes, I'll have those swatched at some point too!) So, this aspect is pretty nice in my book!

If you're still having trouble wrapping your head around the formulas on these (there are a lot of conflicting opinions out there!), I want to direct you to Phoebe Moon's . We had a very similar experience with these polishes, and probably have similar painting styles. I think she does an awesome job showing you the consistencies of these formulas! 



TLDR: These have an innovative finish, but are not for everyone! The formulas might have a learning curve (thicker coats, people!), but are definitely workable and I enjoyed them overall- no struggle here! My favorites are Brittany and Leah!








*Disclosure: polishes in this post were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own.