Gold nail polish feel luxe and glamorous. Whether it’s a full-on mirrored chrome, smooth solid shade, large flecks of glitter, or color-shifting holographic sparkles, these polishes add glitz and glamour to any look. And if you’re obsessed with shine, don’t forget to check out holographic nail polish.
Let’s look at the best and shiniest out there today.
This Gold Sleighs Me from OPI’s 2020 Shine Bright Holiday Collection pins down exactly what you picture when you think of gold. It’s a highly pigmented yellow-gold chrome polish with a frosted metallic finish. This is a perfect Christmas gold and goes with absolutely anything.
It’s opaque in two coats but you could get away with only one if you were in a rush. Being a chrome, this polish may show dents or ridges in your nails if you have them so be sure to use a ridge filling base coat if that bothers you. OPI’s Infinite Shine line has a gel-like high gloss as well as gel-like longevity as it’s formulated to last longer than normal nail polish but doesn’t need a UV nail lamp like you do with gel. If you’d rather save a few bucks, you can pick up this same gold shade in OPI’s regular formulation.
For a polish that exemplifies the glitz in everything beautiful about metallic gold, go with 24K Affair by Cirque Colors. It’s a classic true gold tone with a striking metallic and holographic sparkle.
It’s made up of ultra-fine metallic gold foil flakies along with fine holographic glitter. The foil gives you the reflective flash you expect from a metallic and the holographic glitter refracts light, for a color changing, rainbow spangle effect. It ends up having a druzy quartz look to it, a type of quartz covered in teen tiny crystals.
Despite being made up of flakies and glitter, the polish dries smooth without a textured finish and is opaque in two costs. It feels brighter than other gold polish, and even other gold glitter polish because the holo-glitter can flash silver at the right angle which brightens up the gold tone without losing the gold color.
The best thing about flakie polishes (besides how they look) is that they don’t stick to your nails like normal glitter so they’re so much easier to remove than your standard glitter polish. I love a good flakie holographic nail polish when you want all that sparkle and none of the hassle.
To see this shade in action, check out this review and swatch YouTube video. Cirque Colors polishes are made in NYC in small batches and are 10-free, cruelty-free, and vegan.
This gold nail polish is a clear base filled with large gold hexes and tiny gold hexes. The combination ends up looking almost like your fingernails are covered in gold leaf. It works as a top coat to brighten up any shade and as a stand alone polish for stunning golden shine.
It’s not going to give you dense coverage without three or more coats, but the glitter is so bright that you might not even see that the whole nail isn’t covered. This lacquer is a good candidate for the sponge trick if you’re looking for that blinding sparkle.
It’s an eight free polish so it’s not full of nasty stuff that can hurt your nails. Smith & Cult is one of the longest lasting varnishes I’ve found before you start moving over into gels and shellacs. This glitter can last around a week without chipping. The high concentration and size of glitter will give this one a textured finish so you’ll probably want a good top coat.
If you’re looking for more of a rose gold, check out Juliette. This polish is a clear base with warm gold flakies and smaller holographic flakies for a gorgeous gold effect that truly sparkles.
When worn alone it takes about two coats to get full coverage. The finish is highly metallic and when the sun hits it those scattered holo particles light up and start reflecting in a rainbow of colors.
I wear a lot of ILNP and I’ve always found their polish to be long-lasting and chip-resistant. Plus, because this is a flake and not a glitter, it’s much easier to remove.
If you’re looking for a gold glitter that isn’t just the same old sparkle, go with Drippin’ Gold by Ella and Mila. It’s a clear base with reflective micro-glitter, small and medium gold hex glitter, and medium and large irregular gold flakies. The combination glitter and flakes is what really stands out and makes it look like your nails are covered in actual pieces of gold leaf.
It works as a topper but if you use the glitter nail polish sponge method, you can get full-coverage that looks like your nails are made from hammered gold.
Ella and Mila polishes are made in America, are PETA-certified cruelty-free, and are seven-free.
Solange PixieDust is a bright, attention-grabbing yellow gold. If the paradoxical idea of a matte metallic strikes your fancy, you need to try this one out. This intense yellow gold is full of foil glitter that is anything but subtle.
It dries to a very gritty texture and it also dries surprisingly matte. It won’t be totally matte since it’s full of so much glitter, but it is much more matte than any other gold polish on here.
It’s a very unique look. Solange PixieDust does shine up with a good top coat and with the gritty texture, you’ll probably want one. It’s Zoya so you know this is a high-quality polish that is 10-free and long-lasting. Check out this YouTube swatch video to see what the polish looks like in different types of lighting.
Empire is from ILNP’s Ultra Metallics collection. It sparkles intensely without being overly flashy. Empire is definitely more of a light yellow, almost silvery gold instead of the warmer bronze shades.
This polish has a bright metallic finish and is loaded with tiny holographic flakes that give Empire that rainbow-colored twinkling that makes you think of diamonds. Both the metallic and holographic polishes I’ve tried from ILNP are very long lasting and chip resistant.
The formula goes on smooth at a sheer shimmer for one coat and fully opaque at two or three coats. ILNP is a three free brand and is also vegan and cruelty-free.
If you hate having to choose between regular nail polish and gel nail polish brands, you’ll love this Bundle Set from LeChat in the shade Cosmic Rays. It comes with a full-size bottle of regular nail polish (Dare to Wear) and a full-size bottle of gel polish (Perfect Match), both in the same gold shade so you can wear it no matter what type of polish you need at that time.
Cosmic Rays, part of their Spectra Solar Flare Effect line, is a light gold linear holographic polish. It’s a true mid-tone gold but the flash of the holographic tend to lighten the yellow shade good lighting because of how much flash the holographics give off.
I always have to give a shoutout to any polish brand that includes a rubberized cap on their polish because I hate struggling to open stuck nail polish bottles and the easy-grip handle saves me a ton of hassle.
Suzi’s Slinging Mezcal from OPI’s 2020 Mexico City Collection is a frosted barely-tarnished gold shade with a light sparkle. It’s a more washed-out tone than some of the yellow-heavy polishes but doesn’t go as far as to be especially cool-toned. What’s great about this is that it creates a shade that looks great all year round, from the beach to holiday parties.
There are reflective metallic flecks in here for a bit of flash, but they’re very tiny if you’re looking to avoid a glittery look, Suzi’s Slinging Mezcal still fits the bill.
Star Studded from Essie’s Gel Couture’s Gala Bold Collection is a warm, bronzey gold that’s perfect for anything from the red carpet to chilling on your red couch. I love how warm and rich this gold tone is. It lacks that green-yellow hue that can trend toward tarnished or cold-looking gold. It’s opaque in one coat but two will give you a better effect.
Essie’ Gel Couture polishes have gel-like wear but they aren’t true gel nail polish. You don’t need a UV lamp and they air dry just like normal polish but, when used with the Gel Couture system, they have much longer wear than regular Essie polishes. The system is just one to two coats of the Gel Couture color of your choice with no base coat needed and then one coat of their Gel Couture Top Coat
For those looking to stand out with a unique take on gold, take a closer look at Gal by Zoya. This gold has an olive hue that gives it an antiqued, tarnished gold appearance. It’s also packed with reflective gold foil flecks to give it a sparkle you might not expect from this more subdued shade. The polish is surprisingly sheer on the first coat but is fully opaque in three coats.
This is definitely one of those polishes that is hard to photograph so watch it being applied in this swatch and review YouTube video.
Zoya is a 10 free nail polish brand so it doesn’t contain lots of nasty things like lead, formaldehyde, or DBP. With a good base and top coat, Zoya polishes can last you up to a week of wear.
Gold Digger is packed with enough shades of metallic glitter to make you dizzy. It’s a clear base with metallic gold flakies and gold holographic flakie glitter. The levels of sparkle and this one seem endless and with the different types of shine, this twinkles in any light.
It’s a clear base so it will take a few coats to get anywhere near full coverage on this so if you aren’t using it as a topper, I recommend sponging the polish on for full coverage in only one coat.
Heroine.NYC polishes are made in America, cruelty-free, vegan, and nine-free. Plus I love any polish that has a rubber cap making it much easier to grip and open.
Glitzerland is from OPI’s Swiss collection so let’s all take a moment to appreciate the punny name. This gold is much more subtle than some of the others on the list.
It has that metallic shine we want but is a warmer, bronzier shade that could almost pass as a neutral at one coat. If you want something a little less flashy and more wearable in professional environments, Glitzerland might be just what you’re looking for.
The formula is much thinner than any of the other gold nail polish we’ve looked at. Glitzerland is opaque in three coats, but wearable as a shimmer at less than three.
You can see it applied in this swatch video on YouTube.
Gilded is a cool-toned frosted gold chrome that’s well-suited for the winter months. Even for a chrome this has a high level of frosty shimmer that gives it a pearlescent look for an almost white-gold effect.
Ella and Mila polishes are seven-free, made in the US, and PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free.
Good As Gold is a super shiny gold with a very smooth shimmery look to it thanks to being part of Essie’s Mirror Metallics Collection. It has a thick but easy to apply formula that can get away with only applying one coat. When anything can work with one coat I am definitely impressed.
Going all the way with two coats will get the fullest shine with Good as Gold. Since it’s from Essie you know you are getting the quality. The lacquer is three free so it doesn’t contain DPB, toluene, or formaldehyde. Check out this video review of the shade on YouTube.
I paired this polish shade with an adorable petite summer dress in a recent post.
Counting Carats by China Glaze looks like a rain of warm gold coins and I am here for it. It’s a clear base with gold micro-glitter hexes and large holographic gold hexes. The extreme size differences make this one look interesting as a topper and on its own. Though keep in mind that if you want to wear it alone, you’re best off going with a sponge method since the micro-glitter will take several coats to build up to full opacity otherwise.
This polish contains a nail hardener to help support your nails and prevent breaking.
Glitter & Gold by Morgan Taylor is was well named because it’s a solid gold glitter polish. If you’re looking for a straightforward, versatile gold hex glitter polish, this one will suit you nicely. Looking at swatches of this polish, it reminds me of cartoon piles of gold coins, and who wouldn’t want to wear that on their nails? It’s in a clear base so you may want to sponge this one to avoid having to apply two to three layers.
When you're looking for a warm, glamorous manicure, gold nail polish is a classic choice. Feel expensive in these metallic nail polish shades and indulge.
