Sephora by OPI It's Real 18K Gold Top Coat

When I started PolishGalore back in December 2009, I really had two goals.  One was to get back into writing which I feel I've done well with... the second was to justify my nail polish purchases.  Today, that's coming into effect I feel.

This is It's Real 18K Gold Top Coat by Sephora by OPI.  I found it in my local Sephora last month, was intrigued, bought it (as the fiancĂ© is saying "another bottle of nail polish?!"), and then realized "Holy crap, how much was it?"  This little 0.5 Fl Oz of yes, real 18K gold flakes is $30.00 USD.  That's more than my monthly Internet bill each month.  But I decided that I bought it, mostly for novelty... now - what to do with it?

It comes in a flashy box.

And contains Gold, Silver and Copper Powder (watch out, those with allergies).  Seriously, the box says "This product contains silver, avoid contact with broken or abraded skin."

I decided to use my existing Cult Nail Annalicious manicure because hey, it's a beautiful manicure, and added just one thin layer on top.  I did not use a top coat.

Good news - just one thin layer covers quite well, and as you can see, I still have plenty of gold flakes left in the bottle.  They were not hard to spread on the nail at all.

Here's another sunny picture - gold flakes, check.

Obviously in the shade, the flakes stand out even more.

Again in the shade.

COME MY PRETTIES.

So here's my issue.  Obviously I'd want to wear this over a manicure that I plan on keeping awhile - not just a one day thing.  But then it becomes an issue of do you tell people you're wearing real 18K gold on your nails?  Is this like one of those "I'm wiping my tears with $100 bills" metaphors?  Heh, I don't think it's that bad, but I did question when I'm realistically going to wear this top coat.  Maybe on a gel polish before the last top coat?  (Is that possible?)

The Plastic Diaries had an OPI exclusive that OPI will have a gold leaf top coat this winter in their 007 Collection, and I heard on Zoya's Facebook page that they have a similar prototype in the works.  Cult Nails offers real gold flakes in their store for only $5 for a 1" vile (currently sold out).  

Are you into this gold phase?  Are you hoping for a silver top coat next?

It's Real 18K Gold Top Coat may be purchased at Sephora stores or at Sephora.com for $30 a bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

16 comments

  1. For me, there are way too many other gold top coats (yes, not real gold, but I'm ok with that) that work just as well as this one but without the steep price. I couldn't justify $30 for it at all.

    Thanks for the swatches of it though! I was curious as to what a $30 SOPI looked like :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh glad to know I saved you the money! <3 That's what the blog is all about. And now I have a pretty box with pretty gold polish that will um, probably sit there awhile...

      Delete
  2. To answer your question yes it is possible to put this one before the last topcoat over a gel manicure. I used to do nail art that way all the time and still do when I want long term rare just not lately. As to sharing the fact that hey I'm wearing real 18K gold flakies on my nails it just seems kinda crass. I don't mean that in a harsh or judging way I'm just saying I can't imagine that statement being made in a natural way as part of a normal conversation unless it were amongst fellow bloggers and nail polish addicts dishing about their latest finds. I think that the way you swatched it here is pretty, but for me not special enough to command a $30 price tag.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah - I don't see how this would fit in normal conversations with non-polish addicted.

      Delete
  3. It looks very pretty, but I wouldn´t buy it. I just don´t see no point of having an expensive nail polish that contains real gold particles when there are so many other polishes that contain golden glitter or particles anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I feel like I would have to wear this while drinking Goldschläger (cinnamon schnapps with real gold flakes in it), and that would be the only way I could justify telling people that it was 18k gold on my nails. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would love to wear this, just to say I have real gold on my nails!!! Too bad that I'd never pay $30 for it, and I'm freakishly allergic to silver...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was tempted to buy this the other day but I am looking for a real metallic gold looking polish, I need it to be really gold, mirror shiny looking. I liked yours layed over the red tho!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like a metallic? China Glaze had a metallic gold before.

      Delete
  7. This polish is on sale at Sephora.com for only $15.00 right now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ugh even better, it was on sale for $8 at the Sephora inside JCPenny's where I bought this one!

      Delete