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 fiancé 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.