Holiday Metallic Mani

For years, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect gold nail polish. I love the idea of glittering, golden nails for the holidays. Like a statement cocktail ring, it’s a chic, easy accessory to an LBD. However, most gold lacquers I’ve tried have been too yellow or too pale for my skin, leaving my nails looking more fungus-ed than festive. Until now.

Essie’s new Getting Groovy is like wearing gold foil on your nails. It’s opaque and shiny and easy to apply (as in no streaks and it spreads evenly in two thin coats). I’m completely inept at painting my own nails, but this formula is so forgiving even I could get apply it in a pinch. I can also imagine using it as an accent to red, navy or deep purple nails, painting just your tips golden, a la a holiday French manicure.

More the platinum type? Essie also makes Apres-Chic, a cool, silvery counterpart to Getting Groovy.

Final note: There is good news/bad news when it comes to metallic lacquers. I find they dry faster than traditional creams (like five to ten minutes faster)...but they also chip sooner (sometimes within 24 hours). However, metallics are easy to touch up—a conservative drop of lacquer over the chip blends pretty seamlessly (certainly better than when I do this over regular polish). My advice is to view metallics as you might a good blowout: great for an event, but it won't last all week.