24-Karat-Gold for Your Nails

Deborah Lippmann’s partnering with Barneys New York to sell an exclusive collection of her nail polish, marked by white caps (instead of black) and one star formula: a 24-karat-gold flecked polish that will sell for $50. Sound crazy? Maybe, but an increasing number of polishes stuffed full of gold, diamonds, and other precious gems means there are enough women out there willing to spend big on jewelry in nail polish form.

Rococo’s Gold Leaf Lacquer was one of the first to fill clear polish with gold leaf. The polish, which can be worn alone or as a topcoat, was inspired by Versailles and sells for nearly $60. Then Azature, a Hollywood-based nail brand, upped the ante, releasing a $250,000 black diamond nail polish at the height of the world’s nail craze, in 2012. One bottle boasts 267 carats of black diamonds. (They also make a diamond-free version that looks the same, for $25.)

More recently, Red Carpet Manicure, one of the first brands to make an at-home LED gel manicure system, released a whole collection of gem-infused polishes; when they say ruby red or sapphire blue, they mean it. (Each polish goes for $12.) Etoile Nail Polish ($18) and even OPI have issued collections that use diamond dust for extra sparkle. Of course, unless you run around telling everyone there are diamond on your nails, it’s pretty hard to tell the difference between diamond-induced glitter and just regular old glitter. The gold, however, does offer a richer metallic finish than your average gold polish or even glitter. You can snag your own bottle at Barneys, starting next month.