Holo Taco Frosted Metals Collection: Swatch & Review

Merry Christmas everybody!!! This is the last full review of the year and I am finally getting back to doing Holo Taco reviews. The Rainbow Collection and Multichrome Collection have not made their way to the blog yet despite being swatched, but I’m certain they will make an appearance at some point! The Frosted Metals collection is another untraditional holiday collection from Holo Taco (see previous year) and it features a finish I have not seen a ton of in the nail polish world. All of the polishes are packed with a super reflective metallic foil silver flake. I find this to be a much more enjoyable way to wear metallic polishes because you get a lot more dimension and none of those annoying visible brushstrokes! As of writing this post, I think there are even still some of the beautiful box sets available for purchase, so if you want to get yourself/your nails a great gift, you still can!

All of the polishes today were swatched over the Zoya Naked Base Coat and topped with Super Glossy Taco from Holo Taco where noted. As a side note, I really prefer Super Glossy Taco to Glossy Taco so far, Glossy Taco and I did not get along very well.

Holo Taco Cold Shoulder, 2 coats plus top coat

We are starting off with my favorite of the collection, Cold Shoulder! Holo Taco describes this as a “chilly pale cobalt blue hue” which I think is super accurate. The addition of the silver flakes do soften what would be an intense blue base. It’s just SO PRETTY, an icy winter wonderland on your nails.

Holo Taco Cold Shoulder, 1 coat

One coat of Cold Shoulder gives decent coverage. The base color applies very evenly, but there are definitely some patches between the flakes that need to be filled in. To try to get more even flake distribution, I found myself using a couple extra brushstrokes on the first coat for all of these polishes to try to set myself up for a more successful second coat.

Holo Taco Cold Shoulder, 2 coats

Cold Shoulder is opaque for me in two coats! The base darkens up and the extra layer of flakes fills in all those gaps. I did not do any extra manipulation on this coat for flakie coverage.

Holo Taco Gift Receipt, 2 coats plus top coat

Holo Taco describes this next offering, Gift Receipt, as a “sterling silver” stuffed with those metallic foil flakes. I’ll be honest, I am typically not a fan of metallic silver shades. But these flakes are so reflective that it doesn’t look like straight-up metal on your nails, it looks way cooler. This is one of the few silvers I own that I do like!

Holo Taco Gift Receipt, 1 coat

Gift Receipt has pretty good coverage in one coat; the coverage looks even better because of how reflective it is! The formula is super easy to work with, those flakes kind of thicken up the polish and give you great control during application.

Holo Taco Gift Receipt, 2 coats

I only needed two coats to bring Gift Receipt to it’s super shiny opacity. Any gaps between flakes from the first coat are now covered!

Holo Taco Cheap Champagne, 2 coats plus top coat

The other more true metallic in the collection is Cheap Champagne, which Holo Taco calls “a frosty rose gold with a radiant shine.” I see this one as more copper than rose gold, but definitely a softer copper tone. I don’t think it is pink enough to be rose gold, which is fine with me because I am not a rose gold fan!

Holo Taco Cheap Champagne, 1 coat

The first coat was a little sheer, but those flakes bounce light around so well that it doesn’t look too bad here. I felt like the brush in my bottle was not as full as it is in my other Holo Taco polishes so my coats were extra thin.

Holo Taco Cheap Champagne, 2 coats

Despite that issue, I surprisingly still found Cheap Champagne to be opaque in just two thin coats! It is possible that my nail line is covered more easily because I do not have much free-edge and that some folks may need three coats with all of these. This one actually ended up being another favorite from the collection for me, I feel like the flakes meld really well with the base color whereas in other polishes they stand out more as silver flakes. It’s a really cool effect!

Holo Taco Mint Money, 2 coats plus top coat

Next up is Mint Money, which is what everyone wants to find under the tree, right? ;] Holo Taco calls it a “unique icy green winter shade in a metallic foil finish,” that finish of course being provided by the silver flakes! This is the polish that really got me interested in this collection, I cannot resist a green.

Holo Taco Mint Money, 1 coat

Mint Money was the most sheer of all the polishes for me on the first coat, besides maybe Cheap Champagne due to the brush issue. The base color is quite sheer although the amount of flakes you get is really good!

Holo Taco Mint Money, 2 coats

In person, I found Mint Money to be totally opaque after a second coat. I do feel like you can see some minor gaps between flakes in the picture, which are hard to see in person because of how blinding the silver flakes are. However, I will probably choose to do three coats of this one in the future. If you’re not super picky it does look good after two.

Holo Taco Fake Date, 2 coats plus top coat

Last we have the polish that disappointed me most from the collection, Fake Date. It is described as a “metallic frosty lilac.” I have no issues with the formula, it applied beautifully like the others. I just wish it was more purple, like the shade that is on the collection box. To me, this one looks like a pink tinged with purple, not a purple tinged with pink like I had expected. Oh well, I’m sure there are some people that wanted Magenta Jelly from the Rainbow Collection to be more pink so this evens things out. I’m not a pink fan, but I do like the idea of using this one in a skittle mani with some of the others for Easter, the finish is reminiscent of the pastel foil that chocolates are wrapped in!

Holo Taco Fake Date, 1 coat

Fake Date has a fantastic formula just like the others from the collection. It is not runny at all and stays right where you paint it! The base color is a little sheer, but not quite as sheer as Mint Money.

Holo Taco Fake Date, 2 coats

Fake Date reached full opacity for me in two coats, all the gaps between the flakes look very well filled in. Again, I had wished that the second coat would darken it up and make it look more purple and it did go a little more purple, but I would still place this polish firmly in the pink camp.

Hopefully you’re not blind now after looking at all those flashy metallic shades! I love that Holo Taco did an entire collection of these, I feel like I have seen some indies do a shade or two in this finish but never a range like this. They feel kind of festive and shiny like ornaments, but I can also see myself wanting to wear them other times of the year. I think, actually know for a fact, that these will pair really well with Flakie Holo Taco. I may or may not have already worn Cold Shoulder as a full mani with some extra holo sparkle :]

Please have a safe and merry Christmas this year, may your nails be decked out and bring you some cheer!

xx, Ashley

I purchased this collection from the Holo Taco website, the only place you can (safely) buy Holo Taco at the moment. They claim to be cruelty-free, but are not on the Logical Harmony list (yet).

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