Glamorous gloss: A super-honest review of Gucci nail polishes
While everyone has been busy fussing over Gucci’s bronzing powders (or the Poudre De Beauté Éclat Soleil as they are known more formally), I have been obsessed with their nail colors!
And it seems I am not alone in the addiction.
The Gucci nail polish started as a limited edition—the Gucci Vernis à Ongles capsule collection—in 2020. However, it soon became so popular that making it a permanent fixture in the fashion-hybrid-beauty brand’s arsenal was just a logical conclusion!
As part of their permanent status, the Gucci nail lacquer bottles transformed from chunky tubes to a pear shape, whose retro vibe whispers luxe in a minimalistic fashion.
They remind me of the (now vintage) nail polishes I would steal from my grandmother’s dresser as a kid. And that makes me feel grown up and nostalgic all at once.
Gucci nail polish now comes in ten vibrant shades, each with an intense high-coverage varnish, creating a glossy, glamorous range. Each one is dedicated to iconic movies and characters from Hollywood’s golden era. And they make for really happy nails…!
Anyone who knows me wouldn’t be surprised that I right away gravitated to the more offbeat colors— Melinda Green and Dorothy Turquoise. And they are SO PRETTY!!!!!!
The green is not as lime-neon as it looks in the bottle… it’s more of a leafy shade, I would say. But just that much “extra” to make a person look twice.
The blue Gucci nail varnish is very Breakfast at Tiffany’s, so it gets a lot of real estate on my nails throughout the year.
But what surprised me was the formula itself.
Colors are relatively easier to mix up, but Gucci has really gone all out with the formulation.
Like all the nail polishes I tested, these were applied without any base or top coat, and they glided so smoothly over the nail surface that I don’t think you need any of that at all! This is a first for me.
Gucci explains that this is due in large part to the incorporation of Stearalkonium Bentonite in the formula, which helps with uniform pigment dispersion.
As for the long-lasting glossy shine, this photo is from the fourth day of wear, and there’s not a single chip, even after all the hand washing and sanitizers.
Plus, the custom-designed brush shape is slim and ribbed, making it easy to apply the color—a boon since I am not the most proficient at painting my nails.
Gucci nail polishes: Marcia Cobalt and Melinda Green
Also, they took about two minutes to air dry — again, without any top coat to help them along!
Plus, Gucci nail lacquers contain some impressive nail-friendly ingredients, such as red algae extract, which has a high calcium content, and Tocopherol, a form of vitamin E with antioxidant properties.
They are also vegan and free of parabens, formaldehyde, and triclosan.
I am seriously really very impressed.
Have you tried the Gucci nail lacquer yet? And what’s YOUR nail polish vibe? Bright? Or more understated?
And did you know that your nail polish can reveal A LOT about your personality? Read this post to know more.
Anubha Charan is the founder of The Beauty Gypsy and a beauty journalist with more than 25 years in the industry — as the former Beauty Director at Marie Claire, where she worked with the magazine's Paris headquarters, Managing Editor at Vogue, and Beauty Editor at Cosmopolitan. She trained in perfumery in Grasse, France, and spent six years reporting on beauty from Paris.
Her work has also appeared in Travel + Leisure, WebMD, and Architectural Digest, and she is the co-author of Paris Bath & Beauty, a book on French beauty rituals published by Simon & Schuster.
They include some impressive calcium-rich red algal extract and tocopherol, a vitamin E derivative with antioxidant capabilities, which are nail-friendly substances.
I found it really interesting how Gucci nail polish went from a limited edition to a permanent fixture. The description of the new pear-shaped bottles, with their ‘retro vibe whispering luxe in a minimalistic fashion,’ especially caught my eye. Can’t wait to read the full review!
Thanks for this honest review! I loved learning about the history of Gucci nail polishes and how the bottle design changed to a pear shape. It’s cool that they became permanent after being so popular.