BRB, making space in my stash.
You’re About to See These 35 Nail Polishes Everywhere
If your nail polish rotation is basically just three different shades on repeat, then we get it—we all know how easy it is to get stuck wearing the same thing in the same way. Once you find a color that captures your vibe and your style, it’s pretty much your go-to for the entire season (or, let's be real, your entire adult life). But it's 2021! If there were ever a time to fully shirk the trends of last year, it's right now. So, instead of reaching for your usual classic red nail polish, let's shake things up a bit, yeah?
And to help you stop being so damn predictable with your spring nail colors this year, we’ve rounded up the coolest colors for you to try out for spring 2021, from warm apricot to metallic violet. Feel free to give your standard French manicure or usual baby pinks a rest in favor of one of our 35 picks, below.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Tangerine Orange
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$10.50
Meet the spring 2021 version of Halloween pumpkin orange: this tangerine nail polish. If you're also someone who judges spring nail colors based on how closely they resemble foods that you want to eat that season, you'll want to try this orange creamsicle shade.
Pastel Purple
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$10.50
You don't have to be a purple person to like this bright lavender polish. If you love both rainbow colors and nail polishes that evoke the feeling of tranquility (but, like, not in a boring way), a pastel purple is a solid choice for your spring 2021 nails.
Neon Green With Iridescent Flecks
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$14.00
Didn't you hear? Green is going to be one of the biggest spring nail trends of 2021, so start stockpiling all the different shades. I'll bet you don't already have this sheer lime green with iridescent flakes, but I'll also bet that you now want it.
Bright Yellow
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$15.00
This bright, fun, happy yellow shade is everything you want in a spring 2021 nail color. It's pretty much impossible to wear this and be in a bad mood. Nail hack: To really boost the color payoff, apply a coat of white polish as your base before layering this vibrant yellow on top.
Vibrant Orange
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$16.00
This aptly named orange shade perfectly embodies the single life: It's fun, bright, and flirty. Funny, because those are also the three words I'd use to describe the best spring nail colors, too.
Pastel Lime Green
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$13.00
This lime green nail polish is a must for all your St. Patrick's Day nail looks, yes, but it's also one you'll want to keep in rotation all season long. Lighter than slime but brighter than earthy forest green, this pastel hue was made for spring 2021.
Aqua Blue
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$10.00
Maybe ocean-inspired blues and turquoises are better suited for summer nail trends, but this aqua blue leans a little more robin's egg blue. Translation: It works just as good for springtime nail polish.
Seafoam Green
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$6.00
Okay, I know I just said the thing about ocean colors and summer, but we need to make an exception for this seafoam green. The perfect combination of earth tones and pastels, this sage Easter shade needs to be your transition shade for spring to summer.
Peach
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$15.00
This spring nail color is just...peachy. Sorry, had to. But actually, these two peach tones were practically made for warmer weather. Use each color in the set separately or mix and match them on your fingers.
Deep Green
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$18.00
Okay, so you don't have to throw out all of your winter nail polishes—that green hue you wore all December long is the perfect spring 2021 nail color. Transitioning your forest green nail polish from the holidays into spring immediately takes it from festive to chic.
Opaque White
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$7.99
$4.78 (40% off)
This white nail polish is crisp, clean, and fresh—aka everything you'd ever want in a spring nail color, especially in 2021. It's neutral, yet still eye-catching, and it's flattering on all skin tones.
Watermelon Pink
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$28.00
If watermelon sugar was a nail shade, this would be it. You don't need to wait until summer to bring out your neon colors. This bright spring nail color is a fun transition from those moody shades of winter—it's bold enough to be show-stopping without being too agro.
Periwinkle Blue
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$15.00
You don’t need an added pearl finish to make a pale blue polish feel icy. This periwinkle blue shade still has all the frosty vibes of the early '00s but without all the extra glitter.
Neutral
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$9.00
One way to add dimension to a boringly neutral sheer spring nail color? Whipping up your own custom shade by layering different polishes. This semi-sheer nude from Essie is a great topper. Layer this over a mauve nail color to add a pretty and classic twist.
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$20.00
Pink nail polish not really your thing? Layer your spring nail polish with this sheer beige from Deborah Lippmann for more of a sandy-neutral base color.
Creamy Sheer
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$10.50
Like the tinted moisturizer of nail polishes, this sheer spring nail color offers a faint hint of color that's just enough to warm up a cool base shade without totally taking it over.
Silver Sparkles
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$10.00
If you already have your favorite pastel polish, layer on a coat of glitter polish to DIY a frosted finish. This spring 2021 nail color by Butter London shifts from pink to blue for an icy-pearl effect that still feels fresh, not retro.
Holographic Silver
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$10.00
Most toppers require a million coats to achieve a truly opaque coverage, but you get the full pay-off of this holographic spring nail color after just one coat. So yes, the formula is as magical as it looks.
Multi-Hued Top Coat
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$7.96
The shimmer flecks in this sheer, iridescent top coat shift from white to blue to purple in this spring nail color—exactly how an icy finish should look.
Frosty Pink
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$9.94
Frosty doesn’t necessarily mean cool-toned. While this spring 2021 nail color might appear like a ballerina pink in the bottle, it actually looks like a warmer salmon shade once applied.
Shimmery Apricot
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$12.00
Speaking of warm shades, this apricot spring nail color has a hint of shimmer with a purple reflect, which gives this otherwise super-warm shade a frosty coolness.
Holographic Pink
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$10.00
Kinda pink, kinda rainbow, this iridescent polish from this fun nail polish brand adds a whole lotta interest to even the most subdued of spring nail colors. And that's basically the only level of interest we can handle in 2021, you feel?
Opaque Bubblegum Pink
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$16.00
Sheers aren’t for everyone, so if opaque coverage is more your thing, try this baby-pink polish by NCLA finished with a frosty top coat. This spring nail color manages to complement multiple skin tones and undertones, thanks to its crisp, milky-white base.
Baby Pink
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$15.00
A little dustier version of the nail trend, this spring nail polish feels a bit more sophisticated than a true baby pink.
Cool Pastel Pink
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$10.50
This spring nail color has a slightly bluish undertone, which makes it feel a little cooler (I mean that both ways) than your usual Valentine's Day pink.
Pastel Yellow
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$3.75
If you saw yellow and immediately thought, “Nope!” Fine, but don't write off the shade completely. This version of the spring 2021 nail color is lighter and softer, making it a little easier to pull off, especially on deeper skin tones.
Creamy Yellow
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$12.00
The creamy yellow spring nail color of this vegan, seven-free nail polish formula hits the sweet spot of being punchy without being obnoxious.
Lemon Yellow
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$16.00
Or try this light lemon spring nail color that’ll brighten even the coldest of hearts. This is the pick-me-up you need after a long, colorless winter.
Powder Blue
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$10.50
Can you bring back the frosted trend without including a baby-blue shade? The answer is no. Fully embrace this throwback trend with a shimmery, powder-blue polish like your mom’s favorite ’80s eyeshadow.
Baby Blue
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$20.00
If you were to take a flat white polish and add a teeny bit of blue, you’d get this pastel blue shade. A spring nail color this shade doesn’t need shimmer to feel frosty.
Amethyst Purple
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$18.00
If you’re down to try a frosted look but don’t care for pastels, you can try out an amethyst spring nail color instead. There’s nothing baby about this darker purple, but the shimmery finish makes it feel soft and seasonal in an unexpected way.
Purple With Blue Shimmer
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$10.80
For something with more dimension, try a grape purple with a blue shimmery finish like this spring nail color from nail polish brand Pear Nova, which shifts from purple to blue.
Iridescent Purple
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$9.99
A little more iridescent than the other two options, this spring nail color has a purple base but the shimmer reflects shades of gold and silver.
Rusty Rose Gold
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$18.00
Glitter is always in season (um, come at me), but to keep the glitz from feeling too intense, try limiting your glitter topper to an ombré accent nail or use a subdued, shimmer-flecked polish instead. This spring nail color by Smith & Cult uses micro-fine flecks instead of chunky sparkles for a finish that looks soft and frosty from afar.
Rusty Copper
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$5.59
Usually, when you think of rust, another season comes to mind (ahem, fall), but this metallic formula with a hi-shine finish gives the rusty copper more of a shimmery coral feel perfect for a spring nail color.
This story originally appeared on: Cosmopolitan - Author:Brooke Shunatona
