Why pick one polish shade when you can have color changing nail polish? See the end of the article for the many types of color changing effects, like multichrome nail polish, and the science of how they work. Please note, these are all regular nail polish but there are many color changing gel nail polish options if that’s what you’re looking for.
Many thermal polishes claim to be gradients but KBShimmer’s Sun’s Out Collection is the only one I’ve ever tried that literally stayed on my nails as a three-color gradient for any length of time.
The thermal polishes I’ve worn in the past have nice color changes but they’re usually one color or the other. There’s one color when cold, then a very short period when they’re shifting, and finally their warm color. KBShimmer’s Sun’s Out collection is different in that, more often than not, the polish actually shows as a gradient on my nails.
I’m wearing Best Buds right now (pictured above) and my nails are minty green with the tiniest bit of pink near the tips and a crescent of indigo on my tips for a French manicure effect. And I don’t even have long nails right now. I am so thoroughly impressed with these.
The collection has nine different shades including Pool Shark (aqua to cornflower blue to midnight blue), Just Grow With It (pinky peach to orange to red), Aft Backwards (fuschia to electric purple to midnight blue), Aloe There (chartreuse to teal to forest green) and Reel Good Time (mauve to cerulean to near black).
Even when the polish isn’t actively shifting in colors in temperature, there are multi-chrome micro-flakies in the formula that cause a color-changing shimmer when you move your hands in the light. It’s a win-win all around.
When I want holographic, my go-to brand of choice is the indie nail polish maker ILNP. They have a series of ultra holographics called Mega which will blow your mind.
Holographic nail polish is a bit of a divergence from the other color changing nail polishes but with how much these sparkle like diamonds and create tiny rainbow bursts on from what’s otherwise silver nail polish earns the Mega line a spot on my list.
ILNP has a great formula and is very chip resistant in my personal experience. Because these are glitter and micro-glitter, they will need three coats to be completely opaque or they can be used as a topper to give other colors the rainbow treatment.
There are four different formulations of Mega. The original Mega is pure holographic goodness and creates a lovely linear holo flame effect. Mega L has even smaller holographic particles to create a sharper linear holo look.
Mega S has larger particles for a scattered holo effect. There is still a visible holo flame line but the fleck of rain are larger and more spread out. Mega X is different in that is isn’t holographic glitter but extremely small cut holographic flakies for an even more scattered look.
For a more adult look, Cirque Color’s limited edition Fall 2017 collection has some beautiful thermal nail polishes that are so sensitive to temperature that if your nails are long enough you should be able to see the full gradient on your nails. Rothko Red is a deep, deep red when cold and a bright crimson when warmed up.
It’s completely opaque in two coats and dries matte. This one has almost a jelly formula when applying but is very cooperative to work with.
Del Sol is the biggest name in sunlight reactive products. I bought a tote bag from them on vacation over a decade ago and it still turns bright colors in the sun. Del Sol carries a huge range of nail polish colors with dramatic color shifts in the sun.
The formula is a little thin and sheer so you’re going to want two to three coats to be opaque with this one. They have a wide range of shades including glitter and shimmer finishes.
This swatch video on YouTube shows Thistle The Day Away in the sun and in the shade.
Color Club has a sensitive thermal nail polish line that can give you a gradient if your nails are long enough. I’m featuring Blue Skies Ahead and Feeling Myself.
They’re perfect summer colors for beaches and picnics. The formula is perfect and the coverage is amazing. You can get away with just one thick coat.
One of my favorite brands in gel nail polish has a regular nail polish line called Dare to Wear which includes their color changing mood polish line. These polishes are temperature sensitive and don’t require extremes in temperature to see a color shift.
LeChat has a great formula and is normally opaque in two coats, though it does have a longer drying time than others so you may want to grab your favorite fast drying top coat, like Seche Vite, to speed up the process.
What’s nice about Dare to Wear is that LeChat offers the same colors in gel so if you fall in love with a color you can wear it as gel polish, or if you wear a color in gel, you can match your toes or do touch ups with Dare to Wear.
One option to turn any nail polish you already have is to use a holographic top coat like Delirium by Cirque Colors.
Delirium adds a scattered holographic shimmer to any polish giving a color-shifting effect in the light. The effect can be a light shimmer with one coat or a full-blown rainbow shifting sparkle if you build it up.
This indie polish is four-free, vegan, and made in small batches in New York.
If a color change via flash sounds fun to you, how about a polish so shiny it goes from being pigmented to white in the sunlight? That’s reflective glitter nail polish, my friend.
I bought myself some Born Pretty thermal polish a while back so I can say from personal experience that this stuff works well and is a lot of fun to play with. The thermo-chromatic dye is sensitive enough to show a gradient if your nails are long enough (and the room temperature isn’t too warm.)
The formula is sheer so you’ll need two to three coats for full opacity. These are the most affordable on the list but keep in mind that these are nine-milliliter bottles so they aren’t as big as standard nail polish.
This set comes with two cream shades and two glitter polishes to play with.
On the more intense side, Shade Shifter from KBShimmer has a dramatic shift from metallic sapphire to teal to a magenta to yellow. The color shift is even visible while it’s still on the brush.
This is not a subtle polish so if you’re looking to get your nails noticed, this is a nice choice. It’s definitely a more sheer polish so you’ll want two to three coats for full opacity. The formula is easy to work with but is more prone to showing brushstrokes which isn’t surprising given that it’s metallic.
Iridescent nail polish changes color based on the light and position. Think opal, and moonstone, and the inside of seashells. Pearl Jammin’ by China Glaze nails this look.
It has the perfect pearlescent, near-white blue color that shifts from icy blue to flashes of gold and pink as you move your hand. See the color in action in this swatch video on YouTube.
The formula is easy to apply and looks great on all skin tones.
Worn on its own, this sheer shimmer needs three coats and has a gold to pink to copper shift. Wear it over black and it’s a vivid emerald green with yellow and pink flashes. Wear it over white (shown here) and you’ll feel like a unicorn. It has a pink shimmer that appears to glow as it shifts between pink, gold, aqua, green, copper, and purple.
I adore this polish. Birefringence is a multi-chrome that shifts from a deep metallic amethyst to a rich metallic sapphire blue. The color shift is dramatic and it looks like two completely different nail polish shades switching back and forth as you rotate your nails in the light.
You can still get the effect in some indoor lighting, but it’s really obvious in sunlight. In perfect lighting you can also get a bright magenta pink with a flash of gold in there.
The formula is great and easy to work with. It’s opaque in two coats but I often do three just to be safe. I’m impressed with how streak-free this polish is. With chrome it’s normally a struggle not to show your brushstrokes but this polish levels out really well and offers a smooth finish.
ILNP sent me a sample of this polish a while back but my opinion is my own and this polish is in my regular rotation. There’s a great Swatch & Review on Lucy’s Stash for Birefringence that shows all the color shifts, including some underwater shots.
For the Twill of It is a rare multi-chrome bordering on iridescent from Essie. It has a dark green and almost gun-metal grey look to it which shifts to lighter green and then to rose. It reminds me of abalone shells.
Like most of Essie’s polishes, this one is self-leveling so you’re less likely to see brushstrokes which is always impressive with a metallic polish. The formula is amazing and is opaque in only one coat. This is definitely a more subtle color shift than others but still lovely.
U’I by Parrot Polish has one of my favorite multi-chrome effects which travels from green to gold to bronze to a warm chocolate. I love it. It looks so luxe and always has me feeling fancy.
Parrot Polish is 10-free, meaning it doesn’t contain 10 of the most toxic ingredients normally in nail polish. It’s also cruelty-free.
I will say that if you have ridges in your nails, you’ll want to use a ridge filling base coat because the bright chrome finish shows if you have indentations in your nail. You also need to watch for brushstrokes but the applicator has a nice brush so that wasn’t too hard.
What if you added thermo-chromatic dye to sunlight-reactive nail polish? That’s what Born Pretty has done to this collection so now you’ve got four different color changes in each bottle instead of two. Plus throw in some glitter. Why not?
Each lacquer is a different color when cold and in the sun, cold and not in the sun, warm and in the sun, and warm and not in the sun. That’s impressive.
I have a temperature changing polish from Born Pretty (bought with my own money) and it has intense clear shifts with vibrant colors. The set comes with four mini nail polish bottles with three shades of of fun glitters and one creme polish.
They can seem a little sheer going on, but that’s mainly because they are lighter in color when warm and the heat of your fingernail lightens them up. You will likely want two to three coats on these but the application brush is thick and full for quick application.
If you want your nails to change colors in the flash of an eye with your mood or the weather, then you need to see the best color changing nail polish of 2023.
