Gosh Cosmetics is a Danish brand that’s relatively new to me. Even though I have seen this brand at my local drugstore for a few years now, I hadn’t given any of their lacquers a try, until the other day when I happened on a major sale! So of course, I picked up a few (or 6!) to add to the 1 I already owned but had never tried on. All swatches are with Sèche Natural base coat and Sèche Vite top coat.
#555 Silver is a white based über-shiny metallic silver foil. It has tiny densely-packed sparkling shimmer throughout which gives off that ‘minx’ nail look, but at a fraction of the cost. The formula was on the thin side and happily, I barely noticed any brush strokes after I applied 3 thin coats of lacquer and used Sèche Vite on top to enhance the mirror-like effect. You may find it useful to wait 1-2 minutes between coats, to keep any brush strokes from appearing.
#550 Purple Heart is a deep purple duochrome with flashes of green iridescence. In the bottle, the colour reminds me of pools of gasoline on concrete (same effect) but applied, the green doesn’t really show much except for hints of it around the nail edges. The formula on this one was much thicker but it seemed to smooth out well, and so I found that I only needed 2 coats of polish for full opacity. I noticed that the finish is more satin than gloss, so I definitely recommend a high-shine top coat. Even in shade, it still looks like a deep amethyst and never takes on a black hue.
#554 Gold is an airy & delicate pale lemon-yellow gold. This is another metallic foil, sister to #555 Silver, but without that crazy shine. Because my brush had some splayed hairs, application was a little tricky but the formula itself was on the thinner side, and flowed very well, leaving hardly any noticeable brush strokes behind. Although I’m not usually a ‘gold’ fan, I really liked how this colour looked on me and found it can suit a variety of skin tones with ease. Dry time was good, however I felt that it needed a top coat to really bring out the shine. This was 3 coats in total.
Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I pulled out Dior’s ‘Timeless Gold’ which I reviewed here, to compare. You can immediately see that whereas #554 Gold is more yellow based, Timeless Gold pulls slightly whitish/grey beside it, making it look more platinum and suitable for cooler skin tones. The formula on Timeless Gold was significantly thicker and I applied 3 coats here to be equitable, although it was fully opaque by the 2nd. Top Coat added more depth to the final shine.
#541 Gasoline is one of those hard to describe and equally harder to photograph type of polish; this is an electric violet, infused with pink, silver & blue micro shimmer and has iridescent flashes of blue that you can see with the slightest movement. It’s so pretty! Among my stash, this one stands totally unique and I find it rather mesmerizing. The formula was excellent on this one as well, on the thinner side & flowed easily. Because it is somewhat sheer, however, even at 3 coats like I applied here, you never reach full bottle colour depth…but who cares; just look at it!
#564 Golden dragon is another one that’s as elusive to capture, both in pictures and in description, as a mythical dragon itself! This shade is clover-leaf green with teal undertones and infused with golden shimmer, lending it the same iridescence of a dragonfly’s wings. The formula was slightly thicker that #541 Gasoline and although it was fairly opaque with 2 coats, I applied 3 to achieve the true bottle colour. Top coat was also used to bring out the shine even further.
#572 Golden Bronze is a bit misleading in the name; this shade is actually a rich, deep copper like that of a newly minted penny. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I do, but…I love it! The shimmer is rich and almost blinding in the sun, but thankfully does not pull orange, making it so versatile for a variety of skin tones. The formula was of medium consistency, flowed well and I saw no visible brush strokes at all. Unlike #555 Silver and #554 Gold, the finish on this shade was nice and glossy.
#594 Miss Grey is one of the most amazing creme polishes I have tried to date. This shade, from their Winter 2010/2011 Collection, is a sleek-looking dolphin grey, super-sophisticated and creamy with what looks to me like deep blueish undertones, intense depth and a mirror-like glossy finish. With 2 coats it was fully opaque and the only reason I added a top coat was for protection…it certainly did not need any extra shine! I absolutely love all grey shades, but this one had me staring at my nails the whole day. The pictures do not do this lacquer justice!
Final thoughts: I have to say how impressed I was with all of these polishes. The colour range I’ve seen thus far is diverse and unique, the application and formulas are amazing and the prices, even without finding them on sale, seem to be far below the value of the product. The range is free from harmful toxins, containing no DBP, toluene, formaldehyde, camphor or pthalic acid and they dry fairly quickly with minimal fumes. Here in Canada, they are available through Shopper’s Drugmart (or Pharmaprix in Quebec). If you can get your hands ( and nails!) on these, I highly recommend them! I’m always thrilled when price and quality meet like this!
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