Iridescent nail polish evokes the magical shifting colors of fire opal and moonstones, the smooth inside of seashells, and the shimmering of faerie wings. Let’s get magical with the best iridescent shades of 2023.
You know that super crinkly cello paper you get in gift bags that’s clear but has a brilliant shifting iridescence? That’s what Pearl Jammin’ reminds me of. By the way, in the nail community, we call that paper unicorn skin because why not. Pearl Jammin’ by China Glaze is a barely blue sheer with a bright copper and pink flash.
While it is extremely sheer on its first coat, this lacquer builds up to be opaque in three coats, four if your coats are very thin which I don’t recommend because this one has a tendency to show brush strokes. This can also be used as a topper to add a light blue tint and shimmer. If you’re looking for a true iridescent without too much pigment getting in the way, try out Pearl Jammin’.
Bling It On features large iridescent cellophane flakies in a sheer shimmery blue base. These are impactful irregular flakes of unicorn-like cellophane and the sheer formula means you’ll get a 3D effect as you see the flakes on the first coat being covered by flakes on the second. Not everyone loves these flakies because they can be a little stiff especially when they’re extra-large like in Bling It On. What can I say, OPI went big.
The base has a pearlescent, silvery shimmer by itself which helps to hide how sheer it is. That said, it is another polish that needs three coats to cover your nail line and even that might do it but that’s the jelly-like charm of the polish.
Mystic Moonstone is one of the best dupes for an actual opal gemstone that I’ve seen. Plus, if you’re going for color-shifting, this one has both iridescence and holographic glitter.
It’s a lovely milky white pearlescent base with a blue-gold flash and small holographic glitter hexes. I love how sparse and tiny they kept the glitter here so it acts as a complement to the shimmer instead of outshining it. Mystic Moonstone is quite sheer with almost a crelly formula so you likely still see a bit of nail line even on three coats. It’s sparkly enough that I don’t care.
Cirque Colors is an indie brand so their polishes are made in small-batches in New York. They’re vegan, cruelty-free, and 10-free.
I am obsessed with Frequent Flyer. I got to test out a media sample of this shade (with no promise of a review) and it is everything you want in an iridescent polish. Inspired by the shifting colors of dragonfly wings, Frequent Flyer is a different shade depending on what angle you’re looking at it, what lighting you’re in, and whether it’s worn alone or over a different polish.
When worn on its own, this polish is a luminous gold that shifts to pink and copper. It needs about three coats for decent opacity since it’s a sheer shimmer and you might still see a little nail line if you look really hard.
Where Frequent Flyer really shines is when it’s layered over white which is what is pictured here. It looks like a unicorn, folks. I’m head over heels. One coat over a layer of white and suddenly it’s a glowing, otherworldly white-pink that shifts to violet, mint, blue, gold, and copper.
You know that really pretty translucent iridescent cellophane tissue paper gift wrap? That’s exactly what this looks like but on your nails.
This shade is part of KBShimmer’s Enchanted Forest Collection for 2021 and “enchanted” is the right word. It looks magical and glowing like a digital special effect. My husband was commenting on how neat my manicure looked for days and I got a good week of wear out of it (I’m hard on my nails) with my favorite top and base coat brand Smith & Cult.
Frequent Flyer looks different over many different colors. If you swatch it over black it turns almost emerald. Whether this meets what you were hoping to find as an iridescent, it’s worth having in your collection because it’s a unique effect I haven’t seen in many other brands.
Wonderland is part of ILNP’s Real Magic Collection and the way it shifts and reflects flecks of bright greens, blues, purples, and reds just like an opal–feels magical.
This is a flakie topper so it’s not really meant to be worn on its own. The way this topper looks will depend on the color you swatch it over. Over black it creates this gorgeous blue and green iridescence but over white it has more of a pink tone. It’s versatile and a fun way to spruce up your current nail polish collection.
I like that it’s vegan and that since they’re flakies, you don’t have the same struggle to remove them like you do with glitter polish.
Unicorn Tears by LeChat’s Dare to Wear is a stunning iridescent shimmer polish that can be worn as a topper or on its own. The polish is quite sheer so even at three coats you’ll still see some nail line, although the shimmer might be bright enough to keep anyone from noticing. It has a gold to green to copper flash that lives up to its unicorn name.
As a topper, Unicorn Tears transforms whatever it’s layered over. When layered over black as shown in this YouTube swatch video, it becomes a beetle-wing green-gold shade. It’s part of LeChat’s Metallux Collection but this one doesn’t really come off as that metallic in my opinion.
If you also wear gel nail polish, LeChat offers a combo set of Unicorn Tears in regular polish and gel polish, both in full-size bottles.
Azure Dream is an iridescent shimmer topper than can be worn alone or on top of other polish to give it a gorgeous shine. The color-shifting nature of this polish is quite broad and goes from azure blue to purple to pink with tones of gold, teal, and green with the right lighting.
As a topper, it’s quite sheer so if you want to wear this alone, you have to either be okay with your nail line showing the way it does with a jelly polish or you’ll want to apply a coat of your favorite white polish first which is what I prefer to do.
Cirque Colors polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, 10-free, and made in small batches in New York City.
But do note that this is slightly smaller than a standard full-size bottle. Well worth it for polish made right here in the United States in my opinion.
Your Lime to Shine hits on a fun, unique color combination with this muted mint green with a lavender flash. The sheer mint is accented with a purple-blue micro-shimmer that glow in the light. The green to blue shifting has a very mermaid look to it. It’s a greyish sea-green that isn’t overly bright so if the idea of neon green nails turns you off, this isn’t that.
Being a shimmer, it’s rather sheer. Your Lime to Shine is wearable at two coats but it really needs three to fully cover your nail line. It’s part of OPI’s Hidden Prism Collection and all of the shades in the collection have a lovely iridescence that is most visible in sunlight.
For a mermaid shimmer that looks like the inside of a seashell, check out this set of four mini polishes from Born Pretty. They have a creamy, almost multi-chrome shimmer effect and have a sparkle of holographic micro-glitter as well.
The colors are a little sheer but can be worn alone or over a base color. Different base colors will create different effects so you can get a huge number of looks out of these four bottles.
Scarlet is an opalescent polish by ILNP and part of their Real Magic topper collection, so I wouldn’t recommend this is you want something you can wear all alone. But, if you love the look of loose iridescent flakies and haven’t had good luck using them in practice (or have avoided even trying) this topper is a good way to get a similar effect. It’s called Scarlet for good reason because it truly has a warm red glow.
It has a red to gold to fuchsia gradient over black that is mesmerizing to look at both in perfect lighting and in the shade. Layered over white, the effect is more like an opal with bright aquas, rose gold, and pink. The color it’s layered over really changes the look so you can have a lot of fun experimenting.
It’s a metallic gold with a bright pink iridescent flash that jumps out against the yellow color for a contrast that keeps your eyes (and everyone elses’) coming back again and again to your nails.
Fully opaque in two coats, this polish is jam-packed with glitter that your nails will light up like magic in good lighting. Under dimmer lighting, Mask Me Again glimmers like antique gold. It dries gritty (with all that glitter, how could it not?) so you’ll need a good top coat to smooth it out.
Pink Fire Opal brings is a gorgeous pink iridescence with a color shifting shimmer. The opalescent look of this polish is subtle in some lighting and stunning in others.
The gold flash of the iridescence tints the pink of this to almost more of a coral. It’s a sheer polish so you’ll need a couple of coats if you’re looking for full coverage or you could try it as a topper.
This Color’s Making Waves swings to the other end of the spectrum. It’s a highly pigmented teal polish that may not be what you think of when you think of iridescent, but it’s a great example of the types of iridescence that you find in nature.
Think butterfly wings and the shiny polished emerald backs of jewel beetles. OPI’s This Color’s Making Waves has that mermaid’s tail color shift from teal to deep ocean blue.
The formula is easy to work with and though sheer on the first coat, it’s opaque in two coats. As I seem to find in all metallic jewel polishes, it can show brushstrokes so just keep that in mind when applying. There is also some bronze micro-glitter in this to give the shimmer an extra boost and it reminds me of the sun glinting off the ocean. I don’t know why I bothered explaining it any other way. This looks like the ocean.
Fairy Floss has a youthful, candy shop look to it that’s ideal if you’re going for a cutsie vibe. It’s a pink jelly formula so it’s not meant to be opaque. When you can see through the layers, you get a really neat 3D, stacking effect on the large iridescent flakies this polish is packed with. The flakies mainly have a blue or copper flash that can take on a fuchsia hue when the pink jelly polish is layered over them.
Cirque Colors polishes are made in America, cruelty-free, vegan, and 10-free.
Valentina from ILNP is a translucent polish that can be worn on its own or as a topper. It’s an almost minty, baby blue tint with an iridescent flash of rose gold and pink. The formula is a very sheer jelly that nearly disappears at one coat if worn on its own.
ILNP straight up states that you’re not going to get this one to be completely opaque and I’m okay with that because the color and shimmer builds well. With two to three coats you have a creamy aqua with a bright pink flash.
As a topper, this one can turn any polish iridescent while being sheer enough to only impart a blue tinge without completely obscuring your bottom color. I have had good luck with ILNP lacquers being long-lasting and chip resistant.
