19 Neutral Nail Colors That Work For Every Skin Tone

Looking for the best neutral nail colors? You can end your search now. We’re sharing the prettiest nail colors for every skin tone. And, if you’re suffering from a brutal sunburn, we’ll direct you to these red nails to match.

The beauty of a nude or neutral nail polish is that it allows you to be bold with your outfit choices without having to worry about it clashing. So go ahead and pair together those neon leopard prints and rainbow striped pieces that have been collecting dust in the back of your closet since Burning Man. At least your nails don’t need to match.

And yes, these also work if your wardrobe is filled with 10 different shades of black. We stan a versatile nail color, just as much as we stan almost-outdated lingo.

The 19 Best Neutral Nail Colors

1. Essie in Wild Nude

Essie’s Wild Nude is the perfect nail lacquer for dancing on bar tables at 4AM. Skinny dipping in your neighbor’s pond. Whichever activity you choose, it’s sure to be memorable. No, we’re not bailing you out.

Available on Amazon.

2. Ella + Mila in Desert Suede

Ella + Mila’s Desert Suede is the exact polish that we’ll be wearing to Coachella. Daft Punk is playing, right?

Available at Ulta.

3. Sally Hansen in Almond Tan

Although it doesn’t taste like almonds, this Almond Tan polish is a beige-y cream color that goes with everything. Even that awful sweater your aunt bought you last year.

Available on Amazon.

4. ZOYA in Avery

Grab this ZOYA Avery nude cream polish when you want the look of naked nails. We hear that’s slightly more acceptable to do in public.

Available on Amazon.

5. OPI in My Vampire is Buff

While we’re not too sure what ‘My Vampire is Buff’ is supposed to mean, we’re sure that we love the creamy nude color. Who knows, maybe it’ll even turn you into a jacked bloodsucker. Or you’ll become a vampire slayer? You have to try it to find out!

Available on Amazon.

6. OPI in Bubble Bath

OPI’s Bubble Bath is the perfect polish to add to your self-care routine. Now we just want to hop in an actual bubble bath. Actually, we’ll be right back…

Available on Amazon.

7. Essie in Ballet Slippers

If Essie’s Ballet Slippers polish doesn’t automatically perfect your pirouettes, that’s because slippers are usually worn on your feet. So try this polish on your toes and you’ll be ready for Swan Lake.

Available on Amazon.

8. Morgan Taylor Nail Lacquer in Tan My Hide

Try out Morgan Taylor’s Nail Lacquer in Tan My Hide when you finally decide to live out your dream life as a cowgirl. Yee-haw!

Available on Amazon.

9. Butter London in Mum’s the Word

We would say that Mum’s the Word on how much we love this light pink creme polish by Butter London, but we’re not here for gatekeeping. So we’re shouting from the rooftops that you should add this color to your rotation ASAP. Annnnd now we’re getting down from that very high ledge.

Available at Sephora.

10. Sally Hansen in Steely Serene

Sally Hansen Steely Serene is the pretty taupe shade we didn’t realize we needed. And neither did you, until now. Learning together is fun!

Available on Amazon.

11. Sinful Colors in Taupe Dope

Not only is this gorgeous glossy brown a total win, we also love the rhyming name. We can’t say nope to Taupe Dope, and we hope you won’t hate us for continuing this trope. Shakespeare who?

Available on Amazon.

12. Pacifica in Dirt Road

We promise that Pacifica Plant Magic Polish’s Dirt Road nail polish is actually much prettier than it sounds. And way less dusty.

Available at Ulta.

13. Expressie in Cold Brew Crew

This warm brown polish looks like coffee with just a splash of oat milk. But in reality, it was actually splashed with almond milk. Sigh. We guess we’ll keep this one on our nails instead of our coffee cup.

Available at Ulta.

14. Sinful Colors in Coffee Drip

Trying to cut back on caffeine? Replace your daily cup (or five) with this nail color! Sinful Colors Essenchills Coffee Drip actually smells like coffee, so it’s basically the same thing. We said basically. Not actually. Please don’t drink this.

Available at Target.

15. Orly in Parcs & Parasols

Paint on Orly’s Parcs & Parasols and you’ll be ready for a promenade in the parc with your parasol. If that’s not a set up for some lingering, sultry, Bridgerton-esqe stares, then we don’t know what is.

Available at Ulta.

16. Nailtopia in But First Coffee

Can a nail polish color’s name describe an entire personality? If so, Nailtopia’s dark and warm But First Coffee is ours. Now we’re just waiting for OPI to come out with “Stomach Problems and Insomnia.”

Available at Ulta.

17. ZOYA in Emilia

ZOYA’s Emilia color is a cool-toned dark chocolate cream. And…that’s all we’ve got, because now we can’t stop thinking about dessert.

Available at Amazon.

18. Sephora in Silk Dreams

We take your neutral nail colors and raise you sparkles. Sephora’s Silk Dreams managed to make a glittery polish that’s still understated and refined. We hear Queen Elizabeth already ordered three cases of it. Or maybe that was food for her corgis.

Available at Sephora.

19. China Glaze in Meet Me in The Mirage

For a slightly darker sparkle, you can’t go wrong with Meet Me in The Mirage. This shimmery rose gold polish is sure to dazzle anyone you come into contact with. We’re sure they wanted some sparkle on their coat, too.

Available on Amazon.

Author
Recent Posts

Kelsey Frey

Kelsey Frey is a writer at Let's Eat Cake. She currently covers nail trends and nail art, but has also written about travel, food, and drinks. She has a travel blog, Sights Better Seen, and has written for publications like Campspot and International Living.

When she's not busy writing, Kelsey spends her time outdoors as much as possible, whether that's hiking, camping, or jumping into the nearest body of water. Follow her on Instagram @sightsbetterseen.