If you scroll back through my feed of blog posts, you’ll see a sudden uptick of posts all about Color Club starting in the summer. I can’t explain it, but they’ve fully taken over my heart this year (and my wallet). I just can’t resist, as they’re always coming out with new and interesting collections and finishes! I love their curated themes, and there’s a color story out there for everyone!

This time we’re looking at the ‘Golden State’ collection. This is their traditional 6 bottle release of shades of metallics, spanning from a copper, various shades of gold, and silvers. It definitely intrigued me as a nice little curated release, so during a sale I snatched it up to try out. (As I always say, follow their Instagram or email newsletter, as they’re always posting about sales, and you don’t often have to wait too long for 40-50%).

They retail for $8.50 otherwise if you pick them up full price, on the Color Club website. They are closed for the holidays through the 4th of January, so orders will ship out after that time – keep that in mind if you order during this holiday period!

Now alright, let’s get into these swatches!

Up first we have ‘Midas Touch’. This is the coppery metallic. This had a super smooth formula, and was basically opaque in just 1 coat – I did my usual 2 coats for this photo.

Some of these shades do look more bumpy just because of my super ridged nails. If you have the same thing and want completely smooth finishes, I do recommend a smoothing base underneath.

But otherwise it’s nice and shimmery and lovely. It’s a little more shimmery than the other shades which are more of smooth metallics.

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Continuing through the most yellowy shades, we’re looking at ‘Golden State of Mind’. This is the pure yellow gold of the collection. This was another with a great formula, and it could be opaque in just 1 coat, though I added a 2nd just to fully smooth it out. The coats dry quickly so 2 coats flies by easily.

As you can see, this one has more brushstrokes in the final finish, which I do expect with such metallic shades like these. If those bother you, a good coat of top coat can help, or sponging on the final layer for an absolutely smooth finish. This one also has microglitters to it.

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Next up we have the champagne gold of the collection. Well of course, it’s a golden collection, we have all of the tones of gold. This one is ‘Grill Cheese’ (idk about the name, I can’t explain it). This was still super smooth in formula, though it needed a 2nd coat unlike the others to fully smooth it out.

Again, a few brushstrokes and ridges, but overall this is a soft and almost “modest” metallic gold shade.

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‘Making Bank’ is the platinum gold shade. It had some patches, and ridges peeking through on the 1st coat, but a 2nd coat easily covered it and made it fully opaque.

As you can see, these shades aren’t perfectly, impeccably smooth on the nails – that’s more on my own nails and their bumpiness. I always want to show you exactly how a polish will apply out of the bottle, so I chose not to sponge these on. Of course, my bright lights and close up camera will also show every sort of imperfection, and from farther away and in daylight, these will look fine on the nails!

And mentioned above, you can sponge on a final coat if you’re looking for a smoother finish.

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We’re now transitioning into the silvers, and this first one is ‘Cash or Coin’. This is a warm, metallic silver shade, and it leans right in between the one above and the below. It’s got a little more warmth, and almost platinum undertones to it than a straight up silver that we have below.

Another shade that could easily be opaque in just 1 coat. I added another coat to smooth out some ridges, but it was smooth to paint on, just like the others.

Again a few brushstrokes as it dries, so I always recommending painting as straight as possible with application.

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Last up, we have ‘Silver Lining’, which is our true silver shade. It leans very cool compared to all of the others, and has almost a touch of purple undertones to it. I used 2 coats for this polish to completely smooth it out and make it fully opaque. Easy to control, and the 2 coats go quickly.

As always, some brushstrokes, but we’re showing the real finish here, baby. Repeating it here, but as always you can sponge on that last coat.

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And that’s the collection! Most of the shades had very similar formulas and applications, and took just 1-2 coats. They were smooth to paint on, and the coats dried quickly so 2 coats went by fast. There are some brushstrokes in the final finish, but that’s something I do expect with such reflective metallic shades like this, and it’s something that can easily be taken care of with a final lil step of sponging or top coating. Again, no complaints here.

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