MAC Gold Pearl Nail Lacquer ($12.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is described as “sheer gold pearl transformer.” It’s a sheer, gold-shimmered polish with a warm, yellow-tinged base and fine, gold pearl shimmer. It makes nails look almost metallic, because the shimmer is quite fine and creates “threads” of shimmer that are somewhat visible (depends on the angle). The consistency is slightly thick but manageable during application. I tried one coat over Impassioned, which is a bright coral, and it warmed it up, lightened the color, and added shimmer. The way the two worked together was nice–it didn’t look like an overlay of shimmer, it was as if the two were really one, which is a great effect. It’s not much of a duochrome, as it is just gold and golder, though it almost looks a bit like a duochrome in the bottle.

MAC Green Pearl Nail Lacquer ($12.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is described as “sheer green pearl transformer.” This shade is much more nuanced and more of a duochrome top coat, as you can see the shimmer goes from golden green to emerald green to plum. On its own, you lose a lot of the nuances to the shift, and it seemed best layered over darker, cooler-toned polishes (I tried Nocturnelle). The shimmer is very fine, but the result is almost metallic so there are slightly visible brush strokes. The wider brush helps, as you can get it to splay out and almost cover the nail in single pull, which helps brush strokes to look even and become more camouflaged. I tested this shade, and it showed minor tip wear after seven days.

MAC Pink Pearl Lacquer ($12.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is described as “sheer pink pearl transformer.” It shifts from a medium gold-orange to pink to pink-red. It seemed to have less shimmer compared to the other two, but this one applied better with less visible brush strokes. It does add a slight warmth when layered over another polish as well (I tried Shirelle), though it is primarily adding shimmer/pearl. The texture was also a bit thinner compared to the other two so it was easier to work with.

I haven’t come across too many top coats like these, so I don’t have any dupes to suggest based on experience, but if you have any suggestions, please share in the comments! Thank you!

MAC Gold Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl over Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl over Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl over Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl over Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Gold Pearl over Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Green Pearl over Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Pearl over Shirelle Nail Lacquer

All over MAC Nocturnelle: Pink Pearl (pinky), Green Pearl (ring), Gold Pearl (middle), Highlight (index)

All over MAC Nocturnelle: Pink Pearl (pinky), Green Pearl (ring), Gold Pearl (middle), Highlight (index)

All over MAC Nocturnelle: Pink Pearl (pinky), Green Pearl (ring), Gold Pearl (middle), Highlight (index)