Turquoise was one of the first gemstones humans ever wore. How could they resist? Beads made of turquoise have been found dating back as far as 5000 BCE. Turquoise was worn by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. We wouldn’t want to break with tradition, now would we?
Turquoise nail polish works well with all skin tones and pairs best with tans, white, black, rich deep pinks, corals, and oranges. For more spring shades check out the best polishes for pastel purple nails and pastel green nails.
This is one of my all-time favorite colors for summer. ILNP sent me a sample of Beach House last year and it’s my pedicure color as I write this. I always get compliments when I wear this one. It’s this beautiful blue with hints of green that come together for that stunning Caribbean water turquoise.
Beach House is one of ILNP’s Ultra Holos so it’s packed with tons and tons of holographic micro-glitter creating a linear holographic flash–which means this nail polish creates little rainbows. It’s beautiful inside, but in the sun it’s dazzling.
I love how bright this is that it’s almost neon. Full disclosure, I am an Aquarius, but I’m fairly certain that’s not why I’m in love with this shade. This juicy turquoise is perfect for spring and summer.
Age of Aquarius is stunning, bold, and fun. This lacquer by Color Club is three-free, vegan, cruelty-free, and will last you a few days before chipping. It is still a little transparent at two coats, so you’ll want to do three to be fully opaque.
Neons really need to be properly mixed up so if you have hand problems, I highly recommend getting a nail polish shaker to mix up your polishes for you in seconds.
This is a brilliant turquoise with benefits. Dr.’s Remedy is a foot care brand started by podiatrists whose patients kept asking which nail polish was safest for problem toes. So they made one. All of their Enriched Nail Polish are about as toxin free as you can get and contain tea tree oil and garlic bulb extract to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses before they can cause problems.
It also contains vitamins E and C, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and lavender to nourish and strengthen your nails. For best results, you’ll want to use this with the Dr.’s Remedy two in one top and base coat which contains biotin, tea tree, and kale. The Dr.’s Remedy nail polish remover was featured in my best nail polish removers guide.
Garden Variety is from Essie’s Flowerista Spring Collection but I’ll definitely wear this color all year long. This is a color that seems to shift a lot in the light. It can come across as a little blue in bad lighting but really shines as a teal when the light hits it. The formula is very easy to work with and is almost opaque at one coat.
I think it’s meant to be a cream polish but it has more of a crelly formula, meaning it is somewhere between a cream and a jelly. There’s a hint of translucence, but is completely opaque in two coats. The only thing about Garden Variety is that it stains. If you don’t wear a good base coat, your nails could be bluish for a while.
If you’re not sure which base coats are great for protecting against staining, see my guide to the best base coats for nail polish. As an essie polish, this one is much longer lasting than lower quality polishes and is three free.
Here we have a true minty turquoise green by Jessica Cosmetics. Dynamite Teal pops on all skin tones and works beautifully with nail art designs. It’s a thick cream polish that’s opaque in two thin coats but not so thick that it’s difficult to work with. This is a bold turquoise that stays true to itself in any light. I love that it’s seven free as well as vegan and cruelty-free.
Turquoise & Caicos is from Essie’s Summer Resort Collection and is perfect for a tropical summer look. It’s a beautiful sea green color that I would cover my apartment in if I could. The formula is a little sheer for a cream polish and you’re going to want three coats to be completely opaque though I’d argue that it’s wearable at two coats.
Make sure you give this one a good shake or roll in your hands to distribute the pigments throughout the formula. It’s worth the three coats for this beautiful sea foam color with Essie’s staying power.
Slapper is a bit of a chameleon. It comes across as blue in most photography, but is a true teal. Are you noticing a pattern here? In person, butter LONDON’s Slapper is a vibrant turquoise that really stands out. It has a soft, creamy finish and is opaque in two coats. The formula isn’t streaky and will last you close to a week. This lacquer is eight free and contains hydrolyzed silk, horsetail extract, calcium, and vitamins A, E, C, and B5 to nourish and strengthen nails.
Next is ILF by ManGlaze. This is an idie nail company making nail polish targeted at men. The two founders came up with the idea while supremely drunk and here we are. ILF is a dusty turquoise that dries matte, like all ManGlaze lacquers, and with almost a chalkboard finish. There is some hidden metallic in there so if you top this with a glossy top coat you’ll bring out a little bit of sparkle. Without a glossy topper, you’d never know.
I think it’s a fun and unique spin on turquoise nail polish that’s definitely attention-grabbing. ManGlaze polishes tend to be on the raunchy side so if you’re easily offended, skip browsing their other colors names. But if you’re like me, their polish names will have you cracking up.
I feel it’s important for me to say that I think it’s great there’s a nail polish line appealing to a more masculine aesthetic. That’s important and good and there’s no reason they shouldn’t. However, I can’t sign off on the idea that this is the nail polish for guys. All nail polish is for guys and this polish is for all genders too. Fingernails aren’t gender-specific and the colors you paint on them will work whether you’re a woman, man, neither, both, or anything in between.
This creamy polish by OPI is the lightest turquoise on the list. Eternally Turquoise is a light mint that can appear baby blue under artificial lights. It’s certainly on the blue side of teal, but those hints of green are there. It’s opaque in two coats, not streaky, and the formula is easy to work with.
As part of OPI’s Infinite Shine line, this lacquer boasts gel-like shine and staying power when used as part of the Infinite Shine System of top coat and base coat. While it probably won’t last you 14 days like a gel manicure, for most people it will extend your manicure past a week which is pretty impressive.
If you have a love affair with turquoise, sea green, aqua, mint, and teal nail polish, come with me and drool over the top best turquoise nail polish shades.
