35 Best Shades for Nude Nails on All Skin Tones

This Fairy Taylor polish from Essie’s Gel Couture line is a classy, sheer baby pink that works alone or as part of a French manicure. It’s formulated to be very sheer so that it works as a tint to your natural nail color. When I say very sheer, I mean it. Even with four coats, you still might see your nail line. But that’s a good thing because it means the shade can suit any skin tone. 

The Gel Couture line is meant to give you gel-like strength, length of wear, and glossy shine without needing a UV nail lamp or dealing with any of the other gel nail polish issues like being difficult to remove. The system doesn’t use a base coat so your polish acts as base and color and a special top coat. I love that this set includes the top coat so you’re getting everything you need in one go.

To compare it to other Essie nudes, I would say it is less pink and more peach than Mademoiselle (my personal favorite French manicure color) but pinker than Ballet Slippers. 

It Never Ends is mid-tone brown with a rosy hue. It makes for a stunning nude on medium to dark skin tones and suits both warm and cool undertones. I like this one because it has that healthy rosy tint but it’s not overly pink so it looks much more natural than pink-heavy nudes. 

It is part of OPI’s Infinite Shine line so you’ll get the longest wear out of it by using their matching top and base lacquers. OPI polishes are made here in the United States.

Topless in Times Square is a nude pink that suits both warm and cool undertones. The medium shade beige-pink works with nearly all skin tones except for folks on either of the ends of the spectrum of particularly light or dark. 

Cirque Colors polishes have a dreamy, creamy formula that’s easy to apply. They’re vegan, cruelty-free, 10-free, and made in small batches in New York.

Nothing But a Smile is a true mid-tone tan that suits both medium and dark complexions. You can see it swatched here in this YouTube video along with a slightly darker shade in the Color Club Meet Your Match Collection, Stipped Away.

It has a creamy thick formula that is opaque in two coats. The first coat isn’t overly streaky so if you wanted to wear it as a sheer tint at one coat, you could get away with that. Color Club polishes are enriched with biotin and are made here in the United States.

Doe My Dear by Smith & Cult is a lovely taupe shade that looks good on warm-toned skin. It’s a good color choice for more melanated skin in a medium range but is likely too light for deep skin tones. 

Smith & Cult polish is the longest-lasting non-gel polish I’ve never had the chance to test out. You’d think that would mean they use harsh chemicals to maintain that staying power, but their polishes are eight-free, gluten-free, and vegan. You’ll get the most mileage from this polish if you use with their base coat Basis of Everything and top coat Above It All.

And don’t get intimidated but the large cap with its signature dent. That easily lifts off to reveal a smaller cap that’s easier to hold and work with. 

Dessert Island is a sheer peachy tone, leaning toward apricot, that is perfect to pair with white for a French Manicure or wear alone for a subtle tint. This one is definitely more well-suited to people with lighter skin. 

Ella + Mila polishes are made in America, vegan, cruelty-free, and seven-free.

Flynn by Zoya is a brown nude with hints of yellow and tan and a creamy formula to die for. It makes for a lovely nude for people of color and a nice fall-neutral option for those of us with light skin. 

Zoya polishes are a luxury brand with a cult following. They were the first brand to start common toxic ingredients from their polishes and now are 10-free. 

For warm-toned skin in the light to medium range, check out Samoan Sand by OPI. It’s a beige warmed with pink and yellow tones to create a color like sun-warmed beach sand. It goes well with warm-toned skin like pale olive shades and warm browns. Samoan sand is slightly sheer as well which helps it match the color of your nails and just adds a little boost.

OPI polishes are made in America and are salon-grade.

Topless and Barefoot by Essie is a classic nude shade that I’ve seen swatched on a wide range of skin tones from and it seems to work on most folks. The beachy beige has a French manicure vibe for mid-tone brown skin to lighter shades but strays over into a neutral polish versus a nude polish for people with dark skin.

The polish is three-free and has Essie’s signature high gloss finish.

Birthday Suit by ILNP is the perfect marriage of nude nail polish and holographic nail polish–two things you wouldn’t normally put together. But this polish has a beach sand-toned crelly formula packed with tiny silver holographic flakies. You still get that neutral beige look but with a little unexpected sparkle to go with it. 

Being a crelly, it’s creamy but also translucent which extends the range of skin tones that it works well with. I’ve seen this polish swatched on lighter-skinned folks and more melanated folks and it looks incredible on both. 

Because these are flakies and not glitter, they are much easier to remove than standard glitter polishes. I’ve been able to test out media samples of ILNP a few years back and I still wear those polishes to this day. Great formula, and stunning holographic. ILNP polishes are vegan, cruelty-free, five-free, and you’re supporting an American indie brand.

Whole Latte Love looks gorgeous on people with darker skin and sunny warm undertones would look. It’s a milky cappuccino brown with a hint of gold. You can make your skin glow even more with summer with shimmer body lotion.

Vivre Cosmetics nail polishes are made in America and are 10-free, cruelty-free, and Halal.

For a pinky mid-tone that works on a range of complexions, try Sakura by 786 Cosmetics. Inspired by Japanese cherry blossoms, it’s a cooler, muted hue that’s fairly neutral and is a sweet nude pink for most people except for those with very light skin. 

Nail polishes by 786 Cosmetics are 11-free, vegan, cruelty-free, and Halal. 

Spice up your nude look with Inner Glow by Orly, a medium beige with a soft pearlescent shimmer. It’s sheer and buildable and the polish looks best on people with warm undertones. 

Inner Glow is part of Orly’s Breathable line to water and air to pass through while still maintaining their longevity. This is good for people who are concerned about their nail health and those with religious purification rituals. The polish is designed to be worn without a base or top coat.

To nourish your nails Inner Glow contains argan oil, vitamin B5, and vitamin C. It’s also vegan and cruelty-free.

One thing most people won’t notice is that Orly nail polish bottles are significantly bigger than traditional bottles. Most nail polish bottles you’ll find are 15 milliliters. Orly bottles are 18 milliliters. They’re great value for your money.

The Snuggle Is Real by Essie is a mid-tone neutral pink cream polish that’s a lovely shade for darker complexions who like their nails to have a rosy hue. Its warm pink base is best for people with warm undertones. It applies well and has a high-gloss finish like all Essie polish. This one is too dark to work as a nude for folks with lighter skin but is a nice warm neutral shade. 

If you have a medium brown complexion and prefer a pinker look to your nails, Barefoot in Barcelona fits the bill. It has a sandy puce hue that goes well with warm skin tones. 

OPI Infinite Shine polishes are made in America and part of their Infinite Shine system meant to give gel-like shine and longevity without the UV lamp or nail damage.

Mannequin Moves is a nice nude shade for darker skin tones. It’s a neutral so it suits both warm, cool, and neutral skin tones. 

Smith & Cult’s polishes are free from eight of the most common toxic ingredients commonly found in cheaper nail polish. It’s also extremely durable and long-lasting when paired with their top and base coat. 

If you need a light cool-tone nude, Between the Sheets by Heroine.NYC delivers with an icy khaki-pink suitable for light to medium complexions. Their polishes are all made in the United States and are cruelty-free, vegan, and nine-free. Just be aware that Heroine.NYC polish bottles are slightly smaller than the traditional 15-milliliter bottles at 11 milliliters. 

Cup O’Latte is a mauvy brown neutral by American indie brand Ella + Mia. As a nude, it’s a great choice for those with more melanated skin with warm undertones. 

It applies well and has the benefit of being seven-free, vegan, and PETA-certified cruelty-free. Plus it’s made in the United States so it’s supporting American businesses and workers.

Overcoat by ILNP is a true beige in a crelly formula and accented with holographic micro-flakies. Holographic nail polish isn’t a traditional nude, but not everyone wants to look traditional. The micro-flakies are tiny and refract like to create tiny rainbows. The effect brightens up nails with a golden glow. It’s sheer and buildable so you can play with the opacity you like.

As a neutral, it suits warm, cool, and neutral undertones making it a great choice if you’re not sure what shade is best for you. ILNP polishes are seven-free, vegan, and cruelty-free.

If you like your nudes to have a warm, rosy glow, consider Low Maintenance by China Glaze. It’s a rose shade with a touch of raisin. It’s not the most natural-looking shade on here but it works with a wide range of skin colors. It has a great formula and is nearly opaque in one coat.

I love the espresso hue of Coffee Talk by Cirque Colors. It looks amazing on all skin colors as a beautiful autumn brown but Coffee Talk is a stunning nude on dark skin tones. As a neutral, it works on warm and cool undertones. 

The pigment is rich and the formula is easy to work with. Cirque Colors polishes are handmade in small batches in New York. They’re also vegan, cruelty-free, and 10-free.

The Full Monty by Londontown Lakur is a true khaki with gold undertones and is perfect for those with warm complexions. I’ve been able to test out media samples of Londontown Lakur shades I’m always impressed not only in their pigments and how long their polishes last before chipping–but I’m also impressed at how they leave my nails feeling and looking healthy. 

All their polishes are infused with a signature blend of evening primrose oil, rapeseed oil, vitamin E, and extracts of cucumber, garlic, and chamomile to nourish your nails while you wear the polish. They’re also gluten-free, nine-free, and cruelty-free.

Part of CND’s Spring 2021 Collection, Self-Lover is a bold peachy nude that suits all skin tones. It’s a little too bright and pinky to look natural on anyone but it still works as a nude polish, just a more noticeable one. 

Self-Lover is part of CND’s Vinylux line which is a system that gives you gel-like resilience and shine without all the difficulty removing the polish or needing a UV nail lamp. The system doesn’t have a base coat so you apply this color directly to your nail and then, once dry, the color is covered with the Vinylux Top Coat.

This Vinylux polish is seven-free and enriched with nourishing jojoba oil, vitamin E, and keratin.

This latte brown Out in The Open shade by Color Club is a gorgeous warm-toned nude for more melanated skin. The rich, warm brown is from Color Club’s Meet Your Match Collection of nudes which has a satisfyingly wide range from light to dark.

Color Club nail polishes are made in the United States.

Petra by 786 Cosmetics is a light, milky polish that sits at the intersection of pink and beige. It’s translucent and buildable so you can add a light tint to your nails or full opacity nail polish. I’ve seen it swatched on both light and dark-skinned hands and it looks lovely on both. 

Nail polish by 786 Cosmetics is 11-free, cruelty-free, and halal and Wudhu approved. 

Chanelle by Zoya is a creamy golden brown that’s perfect for people who have darker, warm-toned skin. The sunny espresso shade reminds me of a lovely bronzing palette and has a glow to it that looks incredible on medium to dark skin. 

I love Zoya polish because they are 10-free, vegan. This would also be a perfect fall shade for light-skinned folks.

For light to medium skin tones with warm undertones, New School Nude by Morgan Taylor is a great fit. It’s a gentle peach shade with hints of sunny khaki. The formula is fairly sheer so you can build it to full opacity or leave it translucent for a custom color blended with your own skin tone. 

Nude Affair is a true beige shade that lands directly in the space between peach and apricot. It suits both warm and cool undertones and is a good shade for light and medium complexions. It can look less natural on darker complexions but it’s absolutely still wearable. 

LeChat polishes are highly pigmented so you’ll get a good opaque finish out of this without having to stack on a bunch of layers. 

If you prefer gel nail polish, LeChat offers its colors in both regular formulations (their Dare to Wear brand) and as gels. They also sell their colors as duos like this Nude Affair Set which comes with two full-size bottles, one regular polish and one gel.

Embrace ballerina-slipper-pink with Essie’s Spin the Bottle. This pink-beige is a sweet flirty color that adds a soft feminine look to nearly any skin tone. The polish is semi-sheer so you can either build it up to be opaque or use fewer layers and the sheer polish will act as a tint to your natural nail color for a less dramatic effect. 

I love the high gloss you get from Essie polishes and that they don’t use three of the most toxic ingredients often found in cheaper polish.

If you’re still not sure what shade is going to look best on you, my advice is to pick up a cheaper set like this Four-Piece Wild Nudes Collection from Eternal and test out a range of colors. Then once you get a sense of what shade you like the most you can invest in a higher quality nail polish in that shade. 

These sets come in Four Light Nudes or Four Dark Nudes. The lighter set is fairly sheer and contains shades with pinker hues, yellow-tan hues, and one shade with a shimmer. The darker set covers a wide range, is lightly more opaque than the lighter shades, and has one with a light shimmer as well.

I wouldn’t call these polishes the most high-quality, long-lasting ones you’ll ever own. But they’re cheap and you get to test out four different colors so you can feel confident when you order a more expensive brand for yourself. 

The bottles are slightly smaller than traditional at 13.5 milliliters down from 15 milliliters but they’re still fairly big for the price.

For those looking for a more red-toned nude, check out Baked Clay Red by Sundays a smaller indie polish brand. This rosy clay brown is best for skin with rich golden undertones to match its warm color. It’s lovely as a summer and autumn nude.

Baked Clay Red is certainly too dark for light-skinned folks so you’ll want to skip this one. Sundays nail polishes are 10-free, cruelty-free, and have a thick formula that’s nearly opaque in one coat.

My Lodge or Yours? from China Glaze’s Great Outdoors collection is a neutral mid-tone mauve that looks great on people with medium to dark complexions. It’s a beautiful neutral for all skin colors and has beautiful application.

China Glaze polishes are salon-grade and three-free. 

All American Beauty by Gelish is the lightest shade on the list and best for those with pale complexions. It’s a translucent cream-colored nude with a touch of baby pink. Keep in mind this is a gel nail polish so it will need to be cured a nail lamp and will last much longer on your nails than regular nail polish.

I’d be giving the name of the polish a little bit of a side-eye with its very light color but the color is part of Gelish’s Forever Marilyn collection it’s inspired by Marilyn Monroe.

Cozy in Cashmere by Vivre Cosmetics is a gorgeous creamy shade the color of espresso foam that’s perfect for medium to darker complexions. Those with lighter skin can were this as a smooth cashmere neutral shade that goes with anything.

Vivre polishes are 10-free, cruelty-free, breathable, halal-friendly, and made in the United States.

Looking for a plant-based polish option? Check out Almond Tan from Kind. Good. Pure. which is Sally Hansen’s vegan polish brand. It’s 15-free and made entirely of plant-derived ingredients. Even the bristles of the applicator brush are plant-based. As an all-natural polish it might not last as long as some other brands so you’re looking at around four days of solid wear. Cap your polish with their Good. Kind. Pure. Vegan Top Coat for best results. 

Almond Tan is a true tans shade that’s slightly darker than a marzipan but lighter than a camel. I like that they show an illustration of how the color looks against different skin tones so you can see that it’s too dark for light complexions to work as a nude but will suit medium and darker complexions.