Not long ago Zoya ran a promotion where you could basically get four polishes for $15, which is how I wish they would describe it instead of advertising "four polishes for free!" and then sticking you with a $15 so-called promotional shipping fee. I mean, what's up with that? Nobody wants to pay $15 to ship anything unless it's, like, a big leather ottoman or a set of tires or some other bulky thing. Seems like four polishes for $15 is deal enough without trying to disguise it by saying four for free and, oh, btw, that'll be $15 to ship.
Promotional hoo-ha aside, it really was a sweet deal since Zoyas go for $9-10 apiece nowadays. As you probably have seen, Zoya recently released their winter/spring transitional Naturel Satins collection for 2016, but sadly this new collection was not included in the promotion. So I ordered three Naturel Satins from last year's transitional collection instead, along with Jace from the Island Fun summer 2015 collection.
Today's polish is Tove from Naturel Satins 2015. Zoya currently calls the satin finish on these polishes a matte/glossy hybrid, which is just sort of weird and not very intuitive. I liked it better when they simply described it as "low sheen." It's very much like the low-luster or satin finish you find in interior paints. In fact, it kind of has the feel of a freshly painted room, clean and smooth with a soft, glowy sort of radiance to it. I usually prefer glossy when it comes to polish finishes, for the look and for the convenience of using a quick-dry topcoat like Seche Vite, but I find this satin finish immensely appealing, especially paired with the soft, muted colors that Zoya offers. Tove is officially described as a "misty slate grey," but reads as more of a cadet grey to my eye. It's a light blue-grey tint, or white-based color, muted but quite chic with its becoming low sheen finish.
I was worried that I'd have problems with application and that the polish wouldn't self-level well enough to camo my nail ridges, but application went much better than I anticipated. The consistency is fluid and creamy, with a plush glide over the nail. It sets up and surface dries a little more quickly than a regular creme, and I found that an amply loaded brush made for the most even application. It actually self-levels fairly well, just not enough to disguise my furrows. Pigmentation is very good, with evenly opaque coverage in two coats. I debated about whether to add a third, just to see if it made a difference with the ridge camo, but decided that three coats would take too long to dry and I'd surely dent, scrape or mar the polish in the meantime. Just going without a quick-dry topcoat is pushing it for me. Cleanup is a breeze. Tove dries naturally in good time to a silky satin finish.
Photos show two coats of Tove over treatment and basecoat, no topcoat.
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| Zoya Tove |
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| Zoya Tove |
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| Zoya Tove |
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| Zoya Tove |
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| Zoya Tove |
As you can see, the satin finish will not hide nail bed irregularities. It's less noticeable in person and curiously didn't really bother me at all, but getting decent photos of this polish was a bear. I love Tove's soft blue-grey with this low-sheen finish, it's a wonderful pairing and very flattering on the nail.
Have you tried any of Zoya's Naturel Satins? What do you think of this finish?
hasta,
Liz
