L'Oreal She's So Matte & The True Gold Nail Lacquers Reviews, Photos, Swatches
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer ($5.99 for 0.39 fl. oz.) is a matte black. It was opaque in two coats, and it applied so-so. Each coat dried very quickly, almost as it was being applied, so it was somewhat challenging to apply. The consistency was a bit on the thicker side. I had noticeable chipping after a day, unfortunately. If you like the matte look, I highly recommend trying a top coat (L’Oreal The Matte Velvet is one) over a black cream, as it is much more durable. Most black creams would work in place of this if a matte top coat is applied over it!
L’Oreal The True Gold Lacquer ($5.99 for 0.39 fl. oz.) is small, gold glitter particles suspended in a clear base. One coat had really great density–it felt like just enough glitter to stand out; not so much that the base coat was eliminated, but it wasn’t sparse and didn’t need any tugging or pulling to get it into place. It applied evenly and easily — really easy to use. I layered one coat over She’s So Matte, and then two coats on its own on the thumbnail. Cult Nails Walk of Shame (P, $12.00) has larger gold glitter as well as holographic shimmer/glitter. China Glaze I Herd That (LE, $8.00) is finer and also contains coppery/orange glitter. See comparison swatches.
She's So Matte
LELimited Edition.
The True Gold
LELimited Edition.
See more photos & swatches!
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal She’s So Matte Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
L’Oreal The True Gold Nail Lacquer
The True Gold looks lovely!
I really liked it – simple but effective!
I love a matte nail polish but I have the same issues with any matte nail polish I’ve tried. Massive chipping within one day. Although a matte topcoat doesn’t give quite the same look—I just stick with the matte topcoats so I can wear a matte look longer than one day.
That gold glitter is pretty!
What are your favorite matte top coats?
I’ve tried quite a few Christine. I’ve used OPI, Orly, China Glaze and Essie. I have two teenage daughters that use it as well. I think Essie is fine. The only thing I’ve noticed about matte (topcoat and polishes) is that if you use hand lotion or cream it makes the appearance of the matte more of a satin type finish. I really like dark vampy colors with a matte top coat for fall and winter.
I’ve heard really good things about Essie’s! I think I have to make it a priority to try it.
Thank you!
Just a warning on Essie’s matte top coat. It worked great for a while for me, but after several months of use I started to get these white flakes/specks on my nails whenever I used it. They wouldn’t show up until my nails were dry, and when I looked online it turned out that this was a common problem. 🙁 Maybe they’ve fixed the formula since then, since I bought my bottle over a year ago.
I’ve since switched to OPI’s matte top coat and I’ve been really liking it so far! I also read recently that the formula of Orly’s matte top coat was changed to more of a “true matte” effect compared to the satin look it had before. Hard Candy had a matte top coat that was supposed to be quite good, but I think they discontinued it when they redesigned their whole line.
Thank for the heads up, Jenny!
My favourite way to wear matte nail varnish is to use hole reinforcers over my moons then put on a glossy coat so I have glossy nails with matte moons. The contrast is great to play with and you keep longer wear on the ends. You can do glossy french tips and all other patterns. I generally prefer a matte top coat so I can turn all my polishes matte without having to buy loads of matte colours I might not wear.
The True Gold looks lovely too. I think we have it in the UK so it might be a buy for Christmas!
The two of them are so beautiful together! Might have to pick up the gold one (I already have enough nearly-black options in my collection).
I’m really liking the top coat collection L’Oreal did!
I had the exact same problem with She’s So Matt-e that you did. Even with a top coat (I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the matte finish looked), I had major chipping within a day.
Such a bummer 🙁
I’m still not a fan of matte polishes. I have also been seeing the semi-matte or latex finish a lot this season. I’m crazy not about it haha.
At least more money for other things? 🙂
I wish matte polish held up better. I really like that black!
Me too! Thank goodness for top coats!
I picked up She’s So Matte earlier this week and was similarly disappointed when I tried it out. I put it on my tips over an existing manicure in the morning and by the evening I already had major tip wear and some chipping. And I normally don’t chip easily. Not only that, but the next day there was a big difference in the finish of the polish; it had gotten a lot less matte than it was when I first applied, much faster compared to when I use a matte top coat.
I love doing matte black tips on my nails and I got this thinking that it would save me some time compared to using a black creme and a matte top coat. So I’m bummed that this was such a bust. 🙁 I haven’t found any of the top coats in stores either. I guess I’ll have to try to find somewhere online that sells them (doesn’t look like they have them on the L’Oreal site).
Yeah, I don’t know if they’re going to have the top coats online, just because they are really limited with those LE launches… they always seem to be in-store only. I’ve heard some stores have ’em, some haven’t received them yet. Tracking down LE drugstore products is a task, I tell you!
I can never get more than a couple hours wear out of matte nail polish, so I had no trouble walking past this display the other day :-p The gold is very pretty, but not very unique…if I’m going through the annoyance of having to remove glitter polish I’m gonna make it worth it haha
Just out of curiosity, on the off chance you happened to find a matte polish that lasted maybe 3 or so days, would you still give it a low grade for longevity since its being compared to the week or more you would get out of a regular polish? Or would you give it a higher grade since compared to other matte polishes it has comparatively good wear time?
It would be based on the formula’s claim, not really how other mattes perform – but if say the brand said 7 days, but it wore 4, I would probably make a comment saying that 4 is longer than a lot of other mattes. It would be a comment but not reflected in the rating (which would be assessing 4 days vs. 7 days). This is something I usually have to say when brands make ridiculously long claims (like 24 hours or 12 or 14, and they are long-wearing, but they aren’t 16-hours long-wearing), I’ll make sure to include a bit that remarks that they are quite long-wearing, even if they don’t live up to the brand’s actual claim.
Ooh, I LOVE. These look so great together! I really liked the mattified version from your Matte Velvet review, too — I may have to pick up True Gold if I see it in stores sometime 😉 The particle size of the glitters just looks so perfect against a black base!