Orly Instant Artist Lacquer in Solid Gold, $6.50, is too gorgeous not to include, even though we'll admit, it's more gold than nude. But it does have nude undertones, and it costs less than your average lunch.
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Skin tone: olive
If you want to go nude but just can't imagine parting ways with your beloved glittery mani, try Estée Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Nouveau Riche, $20. It's a nude-gold with serious shimmer. Estée Lauder Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux designed this shade to look like the glimmering lights on the Eiffel Tower at night -- and that vibe comes across in full force.
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Skin tone: dark
Women with darker skin tones should opt for coffee-colored nudes with yellow or orange undertones, says Pink. The deeper your skin, the darker the nude should be -- and they range from latte-like hues to chocolaty-brown shades.
Zoya Nail Polish in Dea, $8, is a rich brown with orange undertones. The color is part of Zoya's Designer Collection, and it was created specifically for a Cynthia Rowley runway show.
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Skin tone: dark
Butter London Aston Nail Lacquer, $14, is a toffee-colored polish with neutral undertones -- give this one a try if yellow-ish shades make you nervous. Plus, there's something so glamorous about Butter London's bottles. Even if you're just spending 10 minutes on a DIY mani, this will make you feel like you're ultra-trendy.
The hottest nail polish shade for fall is barely a color at all. It's nude.
We know what you're thinking — "ugh, so boring." But trust us, it's so much prettier than it sounds. We're not talking about baby pinks or sheer beige tones. The nude nail polish colors that we're most excited about this season are opaque enough to make a statement, and they have trendy undertones that range from mauve to gold.
Choosing a nude nail polish color may seem easy, but it's actually harder than you might think. More than any other shade, nudes are susceptible to that all-too-common scenario where it looks gorgeous in the bottle, but you walk out of the nail salon hating your manicure. And that's because nude nail polish needs to perfectly complement your skin tone in order to work.
"You want a polish that's close to your own skin tone — but better," explains Katie Cazorla, star of the show "Nail Files." She recommends matching the polish to your foundation color — not your hands.
Don't get duped by the matte trend either. "With a neutral color, you want a high shine finish," says nail guru Jin Soon Choi. "It makes the nail stand out against your skin rather than blend in and look dead."
We rounded up our favorite nude nail polishes and divided them into categories for fair, medium, olive, and dark skin tones. They're all super-shiny, saturated colors — perfect for when you want to take a break from that four-tone glitter ombré manicure that's become your go-to.
