It’s finally time for Christmas nail polish. I’ve gathered the best holiday nail colors, from trendy to classic, for this jolly season to get your fingers feeling festive. For more Christmas nail art options see our post on winter nails.
I got to swatch out a sample of Logging Off from KBShimmer’s Northern Exposure collection for winter 2022/23, and I’m more obsessed with this shade than I thought I’d be. It’s just that perfect December green. In normal lighting, it’s a deep evergreens-at-twilight green that leans to the bluer side. It just screams snowy pine forest to me and I love that for Christmas.
But it’s a reflective nail polish so that means it looks one way in average lighting and then transforms when the light catches it. In great lighting, Logging Off lights up to a vibrant, glittering Christmas tree ornament green. It becomes this stunning bright green tinsel glimmer and it’s my new favorite for the season.
Stopping Traffic brings all the cheery Christmas red and twinkling lights you could want in a trendy jelly base.
This one goes on very sheer, being a jelly, with a rich red tint and dense with holographic flakes. The second coat makes Stopping Traffic just about opaque so you can wear it as a sheer or full-coverage. Even when opaque, it still has that slightly layered look of jelly polish.
It’s a true Christmas red that’s bright and cheery. The holographic flakies twinkle like Christmas lights on a tree.
Pop the Baubles by OPI is a glitter topper that can turn any polish into a glitzy Christmas manicure. It’s densely packed with large, light reflecting, silver hexes and gold micro-hexes. The mix of only big silver glitter mixed with mini gold glitter creates a unique effect I haven’t seen in other toppers.
It’s part of OPI’s 2022 winter Jewel Be Bold collection so it’s all about bling and living loud.
Looking for a good Christmas red? This Fa La La La La Nail Polish Quad from Zoya comes with four full-size nail polish bottles, and considering that Zoya polishes are typically $10 each, this is a serious bargain.
This bundle comes with the shades Dakota, Sarah, Alegra, and Veronica. Each is a highly pigmented red ranging from deep oxblood to cheery shimmering cranberry. This set will save you loads of money on a luxury brand and give you all the holiday red polish options you might need.
Zoya nail polish free of 10 of the most common chemicals found in nail polish including formaldehyde.
Winter nails don’t all have to be busy with images of Santa Clause and sweater patterns. Sometimes a simple gold is all you need.
Juliette is made up of rose gold metallic flakies and a scattering of holographic sparkle. The flakes lay flat on your nails and have a hammered gold finish to them. Along with that holographic twinkle when the light hits your nails just right, Juliette is a perfect holiday color for a more refined type of festive.
The worst part of any metallic nail polish is how much of a pain it is to take off, but Juliette is made of metallic flakies so it’s much easier to remove than chromes or gold glitter.
This classic cranberry red has a hint of metallic shimmer to kick your Christmas nail polish up a notch.
Ring in the Bling by Essie is on the bluer side of a ripe raspberry red which is a perfect holiday shade for those looking for a more elegant look. It has a bronze shimmer to give it that extra subtle sparkle of holiday lights.
The formula is amazing on this one and won’t show brushstrokes which is a feat for shimmer polishes. It’s opaque in two coats and three free.
When I first saw photos of KBShimmer’s All That Glimmers under different lighting, I thought there was no way the real thing could live up to how gorgeous and sparkly the picture was. Then I got a hold of a media sample of the real thing to try on my own nails and it didn’t disappoint. At all.
My husband told me that from some angles it looks like I’m wearing light as nail polish because it’s so shiny that he couldn’t even make out the color.
All That Glimmers is a stunning rose gold glitter polish that sparkles silver in the light. This is an extremely flashy polish that is eye-catching. It’s quite thick as it has a heavy glitter concentration but you could almost get away with one coat with this one. I liked how two coats looked better, personally.
This polish is a must for any glam New Years’ Eve selfies. It’s my hands-down favorite shade from their 2021 Winter Collection.
Keep in mind this one will dry matte and need a nice top coat to get that brilliant shine.
If you’d like your nails to be the same shade of gold as you might find on the Christmas balls ornaments on your tree, Goldie is for you.
Goldie is a bright, true yellow-gold that’s both festive for the holidays and classic to wear all year. The formula is easy to work with, just keep in mind when applying that that all metallic polishes tend to show nail ridges or brush strokes so you’ll want to be careful and use a ridge-filling base coat if that’s an issue for you.
There’s a hint of gold shimmer mixed into this as well for extra shine.
New this year for their 2022 winter collection, Head to Mistletoe is a cool sage green with a metallic sheen that wouldn’t be out of place on a Christmas tree next to the other ornaments.
Head to Mistletoe is a more toned-down shade with a subtle shimmer that works in both a party and office setting.
That shimmer means you’ll see brushstrokes when applying but this polish is self-levels so you won’t see those lines when it’s dry. It’s opaque in two coats and needs a top coat for a full, glossy shine.
Candy Cane Crush is fun, festive, and peppermint-scented. It really does smell like a candy cane.
The glitter topper from KBShimmer is a clear base with red and white micro-glitter along with larger red and white hex glitter. You can create a lot of different looks using this glitter over different base color nail polish.
It’s definitely an attention-getter without needing to put in a lot of nail art time and effort.
If you’re looking for beautiful and long-lasting winter white polish, go with Smith & Cult’s Cool Your Jets. I got to swatch out a media sample of this and it’s the perfect “snow on a cloudy day” shade of white with all of Smith & Cult’s legendary staying power.
Smith & Cult polishes are eight-free, vegan, and cruelty-free.
Sashay My Way is a glitter topper from Orly turns your nails into tinsel-covered masterpieces.
It’s a clear base with gold holographic glitter and gold bar glitter. I’m not normally a fan of bar glitter, but I bought myself this shade last year because it’s an example of how awesome bar glitter can be if done well.
The bar glitter looks just like the tinsel we grew up with for a super festive look. Fun fact: according to Popular Science, tinsel was originally made from lead and people loved it so much that when the FDA made them change to a safer formula, they opted to keep it quiet for fear people would stockpile the lead version.
Sashay My Way looks fantastic over nude, black, white, and red shades.
This is another fun topper but instead of glitter we have iridescent flakies. Polishes that use flakes like this are easier to remove than stubborn glitter so that’s always a plus.
Luxe and Lush gives a frosted, icy look to your polishes and because the flakies are translucent the final effect changes depending on what nail polish color you paint this over. You can get a lot of different looks from one bottle.
Personally, I like this type of topper over an icy blue or near white for a wintry effect or I’ll paint it onto a sponge and sponge the glitter onto my nails so I can completely cover my nails with the flakies without using a base color.
Polishes that use flakes like this are easier to remove than stubborn glitter so that’s always a plus.
If you’ve been looking for a nail polish that looks like the sunset glinting off fresh snow, Fired Up is it.
November and December are the perfect time to break out your frostiest, iciest polishes. Fired Up is packed with holographic micro-flakies that are easier to remove than regular glitter.
You’ll want two to three coats for this one but the end result is a finish that looks like sunlight sparkling off of fresh snow. This is a polish that changes color depending on the light you’re in. It has a stunning green to orange flash with scattered holographics sparkling underneath.
For a wintry glimmer that can carry your through until spring, check out Fizz the Season from KBShimmer’s 2021 winter collection. It looks like an ornament that you’d find on a very classy Christmas tree.
It’s a glamourous, highly holographic champagne polish that’s very changeable depending on the light. I got to test out a media sample of this polish and I’m absolutely in love with the shade. Depending on the lighting it can look silver, gold, or rose gold, all with the rainbow-effect shine you get with linear holographic glitter.
It only needed two coats for me and self-leveled well.
From Essie’s 2019 Winter Trends Collection, this polish is a unique soft grey with chunky holographic glitter for a winter storm look.
It’s a sheer metallic shimmer formula that builds to be opaque in about three coats. This is a nice choice for bringing in the trendy grey color of the year into the holiday season. The collection does have a rather dull finish so you’ll want to make sure you have a good top coat to give it the gloss it needs.
If you’re looking for a Christmas gold that can be subtle but also knock their socks off with glittery brilliance, pick up Slush Fund by KBShimmer. Metallics are a classic Christmas pick and this gold is deep enough to be wearable all through winter.
This reflective gold polish was inspired by a holiday drink called a Brandy Slush and almost matches the color exactly. The color is muted in lower light and can have an antique gold appearance but once the light hits it, the reflective glitter takes over and you have glowing gold nails lit up like warm white Christmas lights. If you absolutely don’t want something that is flashy at any time, skip Slush Fund, but if you’re like me and enjoy your nails catching people’s attention or simply like that your nails might blind someone going by if the light is right, you’ll love this shade.
The glitter load is high and the polish is opaque in two coats but when I swatched my sample I found that you really needed three coats to get the full glittery effect. And a top coat is super important with reflective polishes since they dry matte and textured.
If you love the sparkling look of flocked Christmas trees, you can get a similar effect with Holo Holiday from Sparkle & Co.
This glitter-packed clear base can be worn as a topper over other polish or is dense enough to be worn alone. It’s made up of shiny white flake glitter and white holographic diamond glitter that has a fire-opal effect.
This isn’t a subtle polish with all it’s eye-catching sparkle and is perfect for December but also through January and February as well.
This is a mulled red wine shade that is so cozy this time of year.
Black as been one of the trendiest colors on the fall runways this year and this black wave is continuing on through around January I’d imagine. But, if you don’t want to go completely black, try on Black Cherry Chutney from OPI.
It’s a super dark, rich cherry purple that looks amazing on all skin tones. And it’s OPI so you know it’s long-lasting and has a high gloss finish.
For a solid Christmas green, go with Island Hopping. It’s just on the blue side of green for a festive spruce color.
This is a perfect base for holiday nail art or to be worn alone for a more low-key Christmas nail polish.
The formula of Ella + Mila polishes is to die for. It’s a highly pigmented cream that’s easy to work with. I like that their polishes are seven free, cruelty-free, and made in America.
This one’s a little untraditional in color but that can be a nice way to stand out when everyone around you is sporting red and green.
Take Fountain by Smith & Cult is densely packed holographic lavender micro-glitter. When layered or sponged on, you can get nearly full coverage of this twinkling periwinkle-pink polish.
You know those pink aluminum Christmas trees? That’s what this polish makes me think of. It’s festive, girly, and it’s Smith & Cult so you know it’s going to last chip-free for nearly a week.
You’ll want a good top coat for this one as it will be textured. To get the most life out of your polish use Smith & Cult’s Above it All top coat.
I was given Snow Much Fun last Christmas and I immediately put it on while sitting right next to the tree–how could I not? It’s full of snowflake-shaped glitter!
This one is a winter staple for me and I always get compliments everywhere I go.
Snow Much Fun by KBShimmer is a cool, light blue jelly base packed with white micro-glitter, white and silver holographic hex glitter, large white dot glitter, and several sizes of white snowflake glitter.
The jelly formula gives a layered look with glitter overlapping each other so the effect is like peering into the falling snow as some flakes are more “distant” than others.
I like that this polish is sort of as easy as nail art gets because it looks like it could be special nail art but you’re just applying polish. If you want to avoid fishing for glitters, let this one sit upside for 10 minutes or so before applying and you should be set. There is so much glitter in this that you won’t be lacking.
Silver and gold are classic holiday colors and the more metallic the better.
Chrome nails usually mean dealing with messy nail powder, but Trixie by Zoya is a unique liquid chrome nail polish that turns your nails into something shiny enough to hang on your Christmas tree.
Trixie even looks a little like liquid mercury with how thick and opaque it is. You can get away with only one coat with this polish but looks better with two. Like all Zoya polish, Trixie one is 10 free.
The Northern Lights Holographic Top Coats can turn your normal shades into twinkling holiday colors and are a great stretch the versatility of your nail polish collection without having to buy a bunch more bottles.
This top coat from INM is gold holographic micro-glitter with bright red and green hex glitter. They basically threw all the Christmas colors into one nail polish bottle and it works. It’s going to look best over black, white, and other light neutral tones.
Part of OPI’s 2022 winter collection Jewel Be Bold, I Pink It’s Snowing is a bold berry-pink with a heavy glitter load. It’s perfect for those who want to get in a festive mood but stay as femme as possible.
It’s packed with many sizes of reflective silver glitter from micro-glitter to large hexes.
If you need a cheap option of the classic bold Christmas red, Saucy will get you there.
Saucy is a bold, orange-toned red with a fine, micro-shimmer of gold. It’s a gilded cranberry color that is undeniably festive.
Revlon is a solidly drugstore brand, but it performs well in terms of how long polish can last before chipping.
Christmas nail polish completes a holiday look like nothing else. Get into the spirit with the 27 best polishes for the trendiest holiday nails of 2023.