About ten years ago, real gold topcoats were the absolute rage. After OPI came out with “The Man with the Golden Gun” in 2012, a LOT of brands followed this trend, and nail bloggers worldwide hyped these polishes up as much as I’ve ever seen that happening. The years after, OPI consistently brought new colours to add to the craze. Today I’m showing you the top coat from their Holiday 2013 collection: “Pure 18K White Gold & Silver”, from their Mariah Carey collection.
The top coat, which I bought second hand from Vinted, comes in a cardboard box with magnetic closure. The bottle itself is tightly fixed in a plastic casing, which unfortunately made the metallic layer on the bottle chip ever so slightly where the plastic was the most snug. On the back of the box is a short description of the nail polish.
On my nails, I wore one layer of top coat over Barry M’s 292 “Navy”, a navy colour with a slightly lighter blue shimmer, visible in the pictures below. I was baffled by the amount of small dust particles in the top coat, as I did not expect them based on the swatch photos online! It’s a great mix of white gold and silver flakies, that almost look textures but are completely flat on the nail, and said gold dust. The latter does give the look a bit of a gold shine to it.
Some more angles of the polish. The top coat applies really well, and levelled properly too, plus the flakes did not really need to be dabbed on, which to me is a big plus. The flakes look definitely lighter and slightly cooler than normal gold top coats. I’d like to say the two combined make me think of a more champagne colour, which I absolutely love!
For this manicure, I used Essie’s “Here To Stay” as base coat, and Seche Vite’s “Dry Fast Top Coat” as top coat.
Here’s the topcoat over eight other colours. I was not sure what colour it looks best over, but I’m glad I went with Barry M’s “Navy”. It amplifies the shimmer in the polish well, and creates a great contrast. I also love the top coat over mint green, as it almost creates a gemstone like effect together.
OPI’s “18K White Gold & Silver” top coat from their Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 collection was unfortunately a limited edition, and is not as easily available anymore. I bought my bottle over on Vinted for €10, which is a steal, so make sure to check that website from time to time if you’re looking for this bottle! I definitely recommend the top coat, as it looks stunning and makes you feel bougie as well, haha!