The Best Nail Polishes for 2022

The colder months are usually all about the darker shades — think black, brown, and charcoal. But if you’re looking for something that will add a little color but won’t make your nails look like a relic of summer days past, try this gorgeous polish from Deborah Lippmann. A full-coverage smoky blue with a touch of slate gray, this polish will shift in different lights and give you a whimsical look.

Green nail polish has been all the rage in recent years, but often it can be hard to find a shade of it that actually works. Too bright, and it looks neon. Too dark, and it looks black. This blend of dark teal and gray from ORLY, however, strikes the perfect balance. The vegan, cruelty-free polish is sophistication meets rock & roll, and it’ll score you compliments any time of year.

Part of CND’s Wild Romantics collection, this rich, pink-tone mauve polish brings a touch of fall to your nails without the dipping temperatures and pumpkin-spice nonsense. The earthy tone will have you convinced you’re walking through the countryside with leaves falling all around you, regardless of what season it is.

Few things bring us as much instant joy as walking outside on an early spring morning and looking up to find a bright, blue sky. But lucky for us, Sundays created the perfect sky-blue nail polish so we can find that kind of happiness even on a dark and stormy day. The nontoxic polish is uplifting and freeing, and its glossy finish will last you longer than you expect.

Red nails are a classic choice, but if you’re looking for something a little more unique, try this hot-pink polish from Àuda.B. The vibrant, creamy, and highly pigmented hue demands the spotlight in any room and makes sure you’re living in full color.

Part of essie’s latest collection, swoon in the lagoon, this calming natural-moss color will have you drifting away blissfully. Natural Connection is at once subtle and stunning and can function as a neutral just as effectively as it can steal the scene.

When Pantone announced that the 2022 Color of the Year would be Very Peri, a daring purple that encompasses all the qualities of the blue family, we knew the color would be everywhere — including our nails. Nail-polish powerhouse OPI was ahead of the curve, it seems, with this perfectly creamy berry from its winter 2021 collection, and we can’t wait to wear it on our tips all year long.

Commitment can be tough, and even when you’re simply choosing a color for your nails, you might find yourself struggling to find an option that you’ll enjoy as much on day five as you do on day one. But that’s exactly why this color-changing polish from Nails.INC is so amazing. The temperature-reactive polish will go from a bold gray to an icy white when exposed to heat and cold, so it’ll keep things interesting at all times.

Twenty Five to Life, from UN/DN LAQR, Machine Gun Kelly’s new nail-polish line, is a lively shade of orange-red and is as punk rock as its founder. It’s the perfect addition to the Y2K fashion we’ll apparently all be rocking this year.

This nail polish from Mineral Fusion may be called Real Teal, but if we’re being honest, we might as well call it Tiffany Blue because one coat of this color will have us dreaming of Audrey Hepburn and Fifth Avenue at 5 a.m. The long-lasting, chip-resistant polish is 77 percent naturally derived and formulated with bioceramics to help improve the strength of your nails.

For those cold days when you need some warmth or simply a neutral with a little something extra, Caramel Budino is the answer. A toasty toffee brown with a glossy finish, this Olive & June polish is vegan and cruelty-free, and with the help of its Mani System, you’ll have salon-quality nails in no time.

According to Sams, 2022 will be all about yellow. “All shades of yellow, from bright to mustard,” she adds. “It’s bright, bold, and [trending toward] becoming a neutral.” And there’s no better yellow to start with than this Scandinavian-inspired pastel hue from Sundays. Pair it with your favorite sundress in summer or use it to brighten up your rainy spring day — no matter what, it’s sure to bring a smile to your face.

A soft pink with a heavy dose of brightness, essie’s new Day Drift Away polish is the mood-boosting color you never knew you needed. A grown-up take on the classic bubblegum pink, this shade will instantly put you in a good mood.