YSL has a beautiful holiday collection this year filled with lovely metallic golds, champagne pinks and shimmery colors. I’m going to split up my reviews into two parts. First up are the Holiday La Laques ($20 each) in 139 Gold, 140 Pink Gold, 141 White Gold and two of the Holiday Golden Glosses ($30 each) in 38 Golden Champagne and 39 Golden Chestnut.
The Golden Glosses are typical YSL style and loaded with sparkle. They are on the sheer side and have the signature YSL gloss scent – sweet and like candy. These are non-gritty and smooth in texture. If you bought any of the Golden Glosses from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (#31, 32 or 33) then I’d say you don’t need either of these new holiday shades. The effect is similar.
- Golden Champagne #38 is a soft pink with gold sparkle
- Golden Chestnut #39 is a warm beigey-tan with gold sparkle
Comparisons to some other Golden Glosses. For many of these I can barely tell the difference in the tube unless I look at them closely in direct sunlight. Some have a different sparkle than others. There are some with a straight gold sparkle. Others have a multi-colored sparkled infused in the gloss. There are differences in the base color as well. Some have a more transparent finish while others have a more opaque creamy finish. All are still on the sheer side. Those wondering how these compare to MAC – the YSL Golden Glosses are like Dazzleglass Cremes without the grittiness. In my opinion the YSL are much better than MAC.
This is the first time I have tried YSL’s nail polishes so I won’t be able to compare these to previous shades. All I know is their number system drives me nuts to no end. Magazines will often list the products by name while the testers at counters are all labeled by number. Many times I’ve just given up trying to match the name and numbers. The holiday nail colors are frost-finished colors with rich pigment. The finish can be streaky if you’re not careful but the coverage is just incredible. The result is a high-shine metallic, almost foil-like finish.
- Gold #139 is a pale gold frost
- Pink Gold #140 is a copper pink-gold
- White Gold #141 is like a sterling silver color (this is sheerer than the others)
The metallic nature of these polishes made it difficult to photograph. Here is one taken at an angle so you can see the color without the shine washing out all the color from the flash:
Photographed with a high flash:
Comparisons to other shades:
YSL #139 Gold Comparison Swatches:
YSL #140 Pink Gold & #141 White Gold Comparison Swatches:
Overall thoughts: I’ve been exploring YSL more and more lately. After buying several Golden Glosses I’ve found that most of them are pretty similar on the lips, so in the future I’ll probably stick to the regular non-shimmer shades. I found the Holiday Collection at Bloomingdales which only carries currently sold product, like most department stores. The other shades shown for comparison purposes have been discontinued meaning they were no where in any store to be pulled for comparison purposes.
I like the nail polishes for their excellent quality and rich pigment. I do find them a bit too metallic-y for my taste. I would have liked a more sophisticated shimmer rather than something that looks like chrome. Still I am impressed. The colors are unique and even in my extensive nail polish stash I don’t have anything quite like these holiday colors. I have Pink Gold #140 on my toes right now and I have to say it looks a lot better on the toes than the fingers.
Coming up soon: the Holiday highlighter and Gold Touche d’Or.
I love golden glosses, preety sparkles!!
I'm not crazy about these YSL glosses (not that they aren't pretty looking in the tube). Bit too much sparkle for me. The polishes are pretty.. I especially like Pink Gold! I love when you do your comparison swatches. Now I want Chanel Golden Sand and Rose de Vents lol. Thank you for sharing. ^^
the golden chestnut swatch looks gorgeous!
Oh geez these are so pretty!!
I've not bought much YSL before, but I really like this collection and purchased the Pink Gold polish which I love as the finish is gorgeous. I agree about the Golden Glosses – I was thinking of getting 38 but ended up buying 31 from the perm line as they look almost the same but 31 just looked bit more creamy.
On another note Dior Silver Pearl has to be one of my most favourite silver polishes ever.
I love the pink gold color and think that it would look perfect with so many of the copper and rose gold eye shades we've been seeing lately. I'm not real crazy about the milky finish, though. It reminds me a bit of the so-called metallic paint I used to use as a kid when I'd paint my plastic airplane models. Not a very glamorous image, huh? I think I'll just have to make a point of going to see this one when I go to the mall for Sephora's VIB kick-off sale. The rose gold really appeals to me and would probably make a nice alternative to all the glitter polishes out there. We shall see . . .
Thanks for all the great comparison pictures. Outstanding, as always!
Those comparison photos were great – as usual. Can't wait to get my hands on some!!
Sabrina, you are always one step ahead of me, reviewing the high end collections just as I've discovered and am lemming them – perfect timing!!! Thank you!
I recently bought my first YSL gloss pur during sephora's FF sale, and I am totally in love. The color (pure watermelon) is sheer, but still pops, and i love the non-sticky texture. Definitely check it out if you want a non-sparkly version of the golden glosses.
I have no experience with YSL nail polishes either, but I 'm immensely impressed by the Gold one – it has to be one of the most flattering golds I 've ever seen (and anything in the gold family can be tricky in my opinion)!!!
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