I’m going to start with kind of a classic summer shade. It’s not terribly exciting, but it always looks crisp and fresh and really stands out on the nails – in a good way. It’s a fantastic color, especially in the Summer. It is from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (or OCC) and it is the shade Feathered. It’s just a straight, old-fashioned white crème polish. However, OCC really nailed the formula because whites are notoriously difficult and streaky. Feathered is neither. It applies beautifully and looks perfect in only two coats, while most whites I have tried take at least 3 coats. If you need a white polish for any reason – even just to make a bright polish more vibrant, definitely look into OCC’s Feathered. OCC is also an entirely Vegan line too, so bonus! J
Moving on, let’s go to a beautiful metallic polish from Butter London. It is the shade Goss and it’s just a fantastic rosy-bronzy-gold. No one does metallic quite like Butter London, and Goss is no exception. It’s not streaky, it’s very opaque (I used 2 coats, but probably could have gotten away with only 1) and it is so easy to work with. And the color! It’s just beautiful and I can’t think of another polish that looks quite the same. It’s so reflective and an amazing color for warm bronzed Summers. So pretty! J
The next shade won’t be for everyone, but I personally love yellow polishes. This one is from ncLA and it’s called Tennis Anyone?. It’s a gorgeous yellow that’s not too loud, yet not to pastel. Again, kind of an unusual take on the color. Yellows are also notorious for being difficult to work with, but not Tennis Anyone?. It was perfect in 2 coats and I absolutely adore something sunshine-y in the Summer. This definitely fits the bill! Again, ncLA polishes are also all Vegan!!!
Getting on to some of my favorite hues all year long, we’ll start with Flower Beauty’s Thistle or That?. Again, the photo is 2 coats. It’s a fantastic deep minty crème that isn’t too pastel, nor too loud. It’s really a shade that could work all year long, but I particularly love it for Summer. It also happens to be a dupe for Butter London’s Poole! Flower has a lot of Butter London dupes in fact, so definitely check them out for a polish at 1/3 the price of the Butter London shades. I think Thistle or That? is probably one of my favorite polishes! J
I’m going to stick in the greenish family, but this one, though similar to the last, is filled with beautiful multi-dimensional glitter. Who doesn’t want a bit of pretty sparkle in the summer, right? J It is from Deborah Lippmann and it is called Mermaid’s Dream. Again, it’s kind of a minty, almost bluish base with kind of a gold shift and tons of blue glitter. It’s so pretty! Deborah Lippmann really knows how to do glitters and this shade is no exception. It’s absolutely beautiful and would be perfect on holiday or just lounging around the pool (not that I ever do either of those things! J). I used 2 coats here, but it can be build up with another coat for a slightly deeper base and more glitter if you prefer. If you want a gorgeous glitter polish, Mermaid’s Dream is certainly my choice for the Summer – so gorgeous!
My final pick in the green family is a straight up basic grass green crème. It is Four Leaf Clover from China Glaze. I always love basic greens in the Summer, but this one is by far my favorite. I used 2 coats and it just looks crisp, polished, and feels like Summer to me. China Glaze doesn’t have my favorite brushes – they’re just a bit too thin and don’t spread out as nicely as I would like – but the color is worth any brush dissatisfaction. J
I’m going to move on to a blue. I have so much trouble finding a blue that isn’t too dark that it looks black, or too loud that it’s just kind of overbearing. This blue is fantastic and fits my criteria perfectly! It also was perfectly even in 1 coat!!! It is OCC’s Pond. I adore this shade. It really is the perfect blue! And it looks so stunning in the Summer. Highly, highly recommend this polish if you’re looking for the perfect medium-deep blue.
Sticking with the deeper shades, I have another one from Butter London. This one is called Stroppy and it is a fantastic warm, deep purple with an almost fuchsia chunky shimmer. I used 2 coats again and I absolutely adore this color. It’s kind of a shade-shifter in that it looks more purple in some light and more of the fuchsia appears in some light. It’s a gorgeous shade that I don’t think I’ve seen anything else quite similar. Definitely a great deeper purple for the Summertime.
Moving on to a more classic shade that really works year-round, we have Zoya’s Sooki. Such a gorgeous red crème and so perfect for Summertime! It is very opaque in just 1 coat, but I used 2 in the photo. What more is there to say?! J
Now we have some pinks. What’s Summer without pink, right? J My first pink pick is Collide from Illamasqua. This shade is gorgeous! It’s almost a jelly-like formula, but not exactly. I did use 3 coats of the polish in the photo to completely cover the nail bed. The color itself is fantastic in that it’s a bright neon pink, but somehow manages to not be too in-your-face. It’s the perfect balance between bright and loud. It also dries to a semi-gloss finish unlike virtually every other neon shade I’ve tried (a top coat can always fix that, but this is one less step to shiny nails). It’s just my perfect Summer pink polish this year! J
For those of you that like a lighter pink crème polish, there’s Zoya’s Kirtridge or Kitridge. My bottle says Kirtridge, but it’s listed as Kitridge on Zoya’s website. This polish is opaque in 2 coats, though you might even be able to get away with just 1. It’s a gorgeous, and surprising, bright light pink. It definitely falls into the bleached neon category. Again, this shade manages to be bright without being too loud. It’s such an unusual color and it just screams Summer to me. This is definitely another repeat offender on my nails this Summer. J
Finally, what would a Summer round up of polishes be without an orange shade? Enter Priti NYC’s City Girl Rose! I adore this polish! Priti NYC has fantastic formulas and so many colors. City Girl Rose is kind of the orange version of Kirtridge/Kitridge. It’s not too bright, but not quite muted or pastel either. It’s almost an amped up creamsicle shade. It’s definitely not an orange that screams, “hey, look at my nails.” It’s more of a pretty, refined orange. It’s absolutely beautiful! J
So there you have my favorite polishes for Summer! I feel like there’s something for everyone – maybe excluding a nude or a neutral polish. Somehow nudes and neutrals just don’t seem much like Summer to me, so they didn’t make the cut. I hope you enjoyed these polish picks and I’d love to know what types of shades you reach for in these warm Summer months! J