20 Best Nude Gel Nail Polish (2024 Update)

This is my honest and authentic opinion, as a Sephora Beauty Insider Community Ambassador. I have several Deborah Lippmann polishes, mostly in her neutral nudes, reds, and purples. I was drawn to the shade Black Magic Woman because it wasn't a pure black nor charcoal grey creme polish. In the bottle, it looks like a gunmetal grey with silver shimmer. A lovely opaque finish can be achieved in just one coat, and it applies effortlessly, thanks to the wider brush and the quality of the polish. This polish is, as it names suggest, magical! A little goes a long way – in indoor, natural, regular lighting, without flash, one coat of the polish looks like a mid-tone charcoal grey with subtle shimmer; two coats give you a deeper gunmetal grey hue. With either one or two coats, in the right light (as seen with flash from the camera), the polish comes alive and shines. The shimmer is stunning and the sparkle from the polish is prismatic. It is magic, indeed! I have just one disappointment and it is with myself and not the polish – namely, that it took me so long to pick up a bottle. $20 per bottle seems like it might be on the high-end but it's actually less than the price for a bottle from luxury designer brands and the quality here is at a minimum, the same, but with most DL polishes, better. In the case of Black Magic Woman, it is much better, one of DL best polishes, in fact, and well worth the $20. I normally purchase my DL polishes during a sale, but having seen the splendor of Black Magic Woman in person and having worn it for a good week without chipping or fading, if I needed to repurchase this color, I would not hesitate to pay full price for this gorgeous shade. Highly recommend!itsfi

I have this in “wild orchid” which is not an option here. I LOVE this nail polish. It really looks and feels like a gel mani without having to cure it under UV. I only painted my nails last night so I can’t say too much about longevity, but I will say that with regular nail polish I do notice chipping as early as the first night. I haven’t had any chipping or incidents of the polish peeling off so far. My nails look so sleek and shiny, and this nail Polish dries faster than any that I’ve used! I had never used Deborah Lippmann before as I honestly think $20 is kinda ridiculous for nail Polish… but I can say that I’m quite impressed and will be purchasing other colors in moderation.ashley .s

I am sharing my honest and authentic opinion, as a Sephora Beauty Insider Community Ambassador. Rule Breaker is a gorgeous royal purple that looks more sheer and jelly-like than a creme formula. It has tiny rainbow holographic glitters scattered throughout that give a prismatic sheen when the light hits it. This is a beautiful polish – it looks pretty in the bottle but is even more stunning when worn. The wide brush makes application easy peasy; an opaque finish can be had with 2 coats. Dry down on this shade seemed faster than other Deborah Lippmann polishes I’ve used. At $20 regular price, it’s less expensive than luxury and designer brands. Quality is as good if not better. The shade Rule Breaker is spectacularly unique; a gorgeous standout. I’m super pleased I picked up a bottle and have an eye on grabbing a couple more for gifts. It’s a BUY, BUY, BUY for me! Highly recommend! 👍🏼itsfi

Ho Ho holy moly! This is an AMAZING polish! Most glitter polishes (which is the version I’m reviewing) smear when you put them on or don’t show up at all. This Deep Sea Diamonds polish shows up and then some! It not only has small glitter but bigger pieces as well which makes it super sparkly! I’m wearing it over a darker color but you can definitely wear this on its own. Two coats is all you need but you can get away with one. The formulation is on the thicker side which helps keep the glitter in tact. Add a quick dry top coat and you’re done! Highly recommend! If you follow me, I’d like to first say thank you so much! I always follow back but Influenster puts a limit on following at 500. I hope you still enjoy my content! ☺️ For more beauty, fashion inspo and monthly beauty giveaways, please follow me on Instagram at @luxuryisthyname or visit my website at Luxuryisthyname.com! Stay beautiful! ❤️ #manicam #mymakeupbag #beautyblogger #glamgame #holidaylook #nails #datenight #fashionistaheather .s

This is probably one of my favourite nail polishes. I love the shade of green and the non-goopy application of it. It’s also lasted longer than any of the other expensive polish brands I own (all the ones that promise no chips for two weeks and then they chip next day no matter how careful you are). I’ve gotten a bit less than a week’s wear out of it, but even now it’s only a couple chips on a few fingers, which is to be expected because I’m a mom of young kids, so I am constantly doing something with my hands and washing them. I see other reviewers mentioning how sheer applications are, which is true, but it just means you need a couple extra coats, which honestly isn’t a big deal; I find that most polishes, no matter how much coverage they give you, need additional coats anyways. Personally, for me, this polish is a win!Rebekah

When I use this polish along with the Miracle Gel top coat, I get a solid week out of the nails before I get any chipping. Usually I only have to repaint them when the nails are growing out too much. Dries quickly, so apply quickly and carefully. This is a great middle ground between regular polish and real gel, meaning it is great for home use. You can get thick coverege that hides your ridges without needing to buff your nails if you do 2 color and 1 top coat. I'm in the process of replacing all my existing polishes with Miracle Gel versions.LH

Hands down one of the best gel polishes out there! I love this color red – you almost don't need two coats the color is so great. It is stunning both matte as well as shiny. It goes on smoothly and is seriously a fabulous red. You couldn't ask for more. The price point is one of the best as well. Inexpensive, goes on smoothly and perfectly, lasts for weeks What more could you ask for?amanda.p

This is my go to color! It’s absolutely the perfect shade of pale pink! the color build up is great, you can do light or more opaque. I’ve even done a French fade using this color alongside some white acrylic paint (youtubed it) and it turned out so so good. I cannot tell you how much I love this color! I got it in a set of 5 or 6 colours all within the neutral tones and this one is almost out. My manicures last about 10 days before they start to grow out.simone.r

This is my new favorite gel polish of all time. I love the color, the longevity, the price, the little sparkles in it. The color is a pretty light raspberry pink when they’re cold, and a milky/clear pearly white when they’re warm. I got my bottle off Amazon for $6.99 USD. When I don’t pick at my nails (which I have a bad habit of doing…) they last for a couple weeks. It’s not prone to chipping which is so nice. The glitter chunks are large. Personally I like that because the white of the color change is milky/clear and it gives it something to work with, but if you don’t like that you know now! I’ll attach a video of me running my nails under warm and cold water so you can see the color changing magic!mariah.d

I decided to treat myself to this after usually only buying standard nail polishes. Reading the reviews I went ahead and was really excited to try it out. The initial application was great, went on really well and dried quite quickly. However, less than 24 hours later, 8 out of my 10 nails are chipped, and the varnish has actually peeled off two of my nails altogether! I only did my toenails, not my fingernails, so it’s not as if my nails have been bashed about with general day to day. I’m so upset that I’ve wasted £15 on this, it’s such a lot of money to me and in my honest opinion, the varnish isn’t even worth £1!Ckelly24

I have been all about nails and nail polish since I was a little girl. What little birthday and pocket money I got as a kid went to nail polish. For the last 12 years, my work has involved working with a lot of paper and a lot of typing. I'm hard on manicures and keyboards. I average 1 key board every 3 years or so. I've tried every kind of gel and top coat. Most rub off on paper, leaving streaks or rub off the tips. I bought Miracle Gel on a whim. And I was AMAZED. It is so quick to apply, and it holds up. I've been able to get anywhere from between 5-12 days from this polish. And the best part? No light and no soaking. It comes off with regular acetone with no scrubbing or soaking. I hold the soaked cotton pad on the nail for a few seconds and wipe clean.ashley.o

This is probably one of my favourite nail polishes. I love the shade of green and the non-goopy application of it. It’s also lasted longer than any of the other expensive polish brands I own (all the ones that promise no chips for two weeks and then they chip next day no matter how careful you are). I’ve gotten a bit less than a week’s wear out of it, but even now it’s only a couple chips on a few fingers, which is to be expected because I’m a mom of young kids, so I am constantly doing something with my hands and washing them. I see other reviewers mentioning how sheer applications are, which is true, but it just means you need a couple extra coats, which honestly isn’t a big deal; I find that most polishes, no matter how much coverage they give you, need additional coats anyways. Personally, for me, this polish is a win!Rebekah

This is probably one of my favourite nail polishes. I love the shade of green and the non-goopy application of it. It’s also lasted longer than any of the other expensive polish brands I own (all the ones that promise no chips for two weeks and then they chip next day no matter how careful you are). I’ve gotten a bit less than a week’s wear out of it, but even now it’s only a couple chips on a few fingers, which is to be expected because I’m a mom of young kids, so I am constantly doing something with my hands and washing them. I see other reviewers mentioning how sheer applications are, which is true, but it just means you need a couple extra coats, which honestly isn’t a big deal; I find that most polishes, no matter how much coverage they give you, need additional coats anyways. Personally, for me, this polish is a win!Rebekah

I bought this last weekend and tried it this week, but the colour was really streaky and thin. I checked the website which says apply two coats and then allow to dry for 5 minutes. Not sure what I could've done wrong because I shook the bottle vigorously and allowed plenty of time between each coat, and it was as if the second coat of step 1 dissolved the first coat, and the brush was scraping back the last coat of colour when I applied the second coat of step 1. My natural nail was showing through the polish after a second coat. After I applied the top gel coat (step 2), it was still tacky the next day! The shine top coat also seemed to dissolve the pigment and drag it around as I brushed the top coat over the nail, so after the Step 2 coat it's left patches in my nails with no colour now. One of my nails weirdly turned out matte after I put the gloss coat on it. I have had much better results from cheap $2 brands but this was over $30 for the set of step 1 and 2 polishes, and it's so fussy and I can't do anything with my hands for hours after applying because it'll ruin the finish. Absolute ripoff. I want to return both polishes.Leesh

When I use this polish along with the Miracle Gel top coat, I get a solid week out of the nails before I get any chipping. Usually I only have to repaint them when the nails are growing out too much. Dries quickly, so apply quickly and carefully. This is a great middle ground between regular polish and real gel, meaning it is great for home use. You can get thick coverege that hides your ridges without needing to buff your nails if you do 2 color and 1 top coat. I'm in the process of replacing all my existing polishes with Miracle Gel versions.LH

Great polish on so many levels. It goes on smoothly, lasts two weeks (or longer), little chipping, stays vibrant. The color itself is the perfect red for summer; just a tinge of orange in the mix. Compliments a tan nicely! This will remain a "go to" color for me! 🙂Patricia G.

Such a stunning shade of yellow. The perfect neon color to spice up your spring and summer manis. Super bright and opaque. Will last you weeks. I did notice that throughout it's wear it'll learn a little towards a lime green shade. cute nonetheless!hadassah.v

I used this color for my latest nail set and I cannot believe how beautiful this color is. It’s bright, summery and absolutely fun. I literally cannot stop staring my nails since last night. Don’t hesitate to use this color for your nails, it’s gorgeous!erica.i

I was hopeful about this. Lippmann makes some really great colors. I’ve tried this several times, same results. It never seems to fully dry, staying semi-gummy so you will get nicks & dents days later. It also doesn’t stay on as well as most other non-light gel polishes. I absolutely hate the gummy feeling. I wanted to return it, but waited to long. Probably the worst gel polish system I’ve ever triedkimbanj

This is my first ever review. I have done a lot of research trying to find that perfect top coat. One that dries quickly without smudging, squishing or getting ruined. I need a top coat that will dry over multiple coats of nail polish, as I prefer lighter, peachier colors. I have tried Essie Gel Setter, Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat, Deborah Lippmann Addicted to Speed among countless others. Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab and Gel Lab Pro top coat is the absolute best for drying many coats quickly. I don't even care how expensive it is, because it works. I have read so many negative reviews for this product, and many positive reviews for products that do not warrant good reviews, that I felt it absolutely necessary to review this product. I love it and hope it never discontinues.TGus

I have this in “wild orchid” which is not an option here. I LOVE this nail polish. It really looks and feels like a gel mani without having to cure it under UV. I only painted my nails last night so I can’t say too much about longevity, but I will say that with regular nail polish I do notice chipping as early as the first night. I haven’t had any chipping or incidents of the polish peeling off so far. My nails look so sleek and shiny, and this nail Polish dries faster than any that I’ve used! I had never used Deborah Lippmann before as I honestly think $20 is kinda ridiculous for nail Polish… but I can say that I’m quite impressed and will be purchasing other colors in moderation.ashley .s

Love love love! There are not enough words to express how much I love this too coat! It is a bit on the pricey side, however, it is well worth it! Other top coats have never held up as well as this one. There is no smudging, and they last for several days before chipping (which is the first top coat to ever do that for me). I honestly always have at least a bottle (sometimes two) of this stashed away. Highly recommend!member-94eaa

Its just your average top coat. Calling this anywhere close to gel is a joke. I followed up a red gel couture polish with this matching top coat and within a few hours my nails have all ready chipped and worn on the tips. Save your money and get a lower cost alternative, it's going to do just as well. This also drags off the color of your polish with it regardless of how long your polish has been drying. I wanted to love this and I wanted it to last more than a few hours.katie.l

This top coat is pretty good! It was very easy apply, and went on very smooth. I had no issues applying it. It did take 5-10 minutes to fully dry. Within the first couple of days I was noticing that the polish under the top coat started the break apart but the top coat was still doing well. By day 3 I was starting to see some small chips on some of my nails, but one nail I had tried a different kind of gel polish from Essie (the blue/grey nail) and that one didn't have any chips yet. It is day 4 now of wearing the polishes, the blue/grey polish on my left hand (my non dominant hand) has a small chip at the side, but my right is still doing well. It seems like the polish underneath determines how well the top coat does and lasts. Some last, some don't. It's a pretty good top coat though!louise.c

Wanna talk about the perfect neutral nail polish?? Essie gel couture in corset is a pure dream. On my particular skin tone which is a light with neutral undertones,,( if that helps??) this polish is the perfect I'm not wearing any polish but yet my nails look absolutely perfect and gorgeous. After using two generous coats it still shows a bit sheer, which in this case is fine with me. I also really appreciate the brush, it's a bit thicker which is easy to pass over your fingertip and about two swipes. Essie corset leans a little bit closer on the nude than the pink side. Which in my opinion means more on the natural nail side instead of the fake pink side. Don't get me wrong I love pink. Although on some days I want to have my nails ,look amazing look without anything on them, but yet there is something on them and they look perfectly healthy, shiny and unstoppable! Essie is a heavenly neutral that I would highly recommend to anybody looking for that sort of thing.catherine.p

Disclaimer: I received this product as part of a "mission" from Topbox Circle. However, the opinions in this review are my own. #freeproduct #trywithtopbox #ad #freesample First impression(s): The colour of the polish was slightly different than the pinkish taupe on the website – the polish was more of a purplish taupe with luxurious pearly tones. The polish had a strong smell. This smell (after painting my nails) would eventually disappear in a couple of days. Experience using it: I painted the nails on both hands, using neither a base nor top coat – two thin coats on my left hand, and two thick coats on my right hand. The bristles of the brush fanned out readily, covering my whole nail (and more, for smaller nails) in one fell swoop. Thinner coats dried fairly quickly, while thick coats took forever (45 mins!) to dry. After drying, my left hand had semi-sheer paint (this made the colour look like the pinkish taupe on the website), while my right hand had opaque paint (purplish taupe). The polish was glossy enough to make me skip putting a top coat. The polish lasted for over a week, but the polish on the sides of my nails chipped away within 3-4 days of applying the polish. That said, this only happened to the nails of fingers I use the most; the polish on my ring fingers and pinkies remained completely intact (I'm still waiting for them to show signs of wear). Even while chipping/wearing away, the polish remained perfectly smooth and pearly on my nails. I'm sure that, if I did a better job of applying the polish and used a top coat, the polish would easily last much longer.April

I love this Essie Couture Gel Polish it is one of my new favorites. The application of this gel polish is very precise and very smooth with no streaks. One coat would actually look great but I did two for long lasting wear. I had this polish on for about 2 weeks and it did not chip away. I was very amazed because I’m constantly washing dishes and deep cleaning. (I am a mother of 5) The applicator is the perfect size to get your whole nail without going over the edges and making a mess. This color is beautiful and sheer with a little shimmer. It is very buildable so if you do not like the sheer you can darken it. It dries very quickly and is has a nice shine. This color is very neutral which makes great for all year round looks. The best thing about this gel polish is there is no need for a UV lamp. The formula is substantial. This polish gives you salon quality right at home.Kalarcon93

the blue color is very beautiful, my client she liked it very much. This color is a mix of blue and green, to be honest with you sometimes I don't even know what the exact name is😩, I just know it's beautiful, don't you agree? The color is up to standard, beautiful, smooth and even. Keep the color about 10 or more depending on the work you dothao.n

My regular nail salon uses these soak off gel polishes. They’re so worth it. I have my hands in hot water a lot everyday and there’s never any chipped polish. This stays on. When your nails grow, it looks like they need filled (which they do) but there’s no dip powder on my nails in the pic. I get a gel polish only manicure. This brand is highly recommendedangel.h

Love this shade. So pretty. First time using this brand and I will buy from DND again. It was very easy to apply. I bought online from Walmart. It was a good price for what I got. I would recommend. #nailartkelsey.h

I have bad knees and consistent back pain (I'm only in my early 30's) and even though I would usually only wear shoes like this for casual wear, I decided to wear them to work one day. I'm on my feet 80% of my work day, and some days by the time l'm done with work, I could hardly walk. I was pleasantly surprised that my knees and back didn't hurt nearly as much when I wear these!Mike F.

Actual Product: DND DC #18 – Sea Pine To Sparkling Green (Mood Change gel polish) Wow, this color is so cool! I buy my gel polish direct from DND and bring it to the salon. I really love both colors here and it will be nice to have the color change depending on my hand/ foot temperature. Took pics of both colors- dark is with cold hands, light after putting by the car heat vents.becky.t

My regular nail salon uses these soak off gel polishes. They’re so worth it. I have my hands in hot water a lot everyday and there’s never any chipped polish. This stays on. When your nails grow, it looks like they need filled (which they do) but there’s no dip powder on my nails in the pic. I get a gel polish only manicure. This brand is highly recommendedangel.h

Anyone considering setting up an at home gel kit with Gelish…. JUST DO IT!! I had never been that into nail polish since I always dented it as it was drying, it could get everywhere, and even if the application looked perfect, I knew that would last 48hours max before chipping. So I tried gel. I purchased a starter kit with Gelish and a small LED lamp back around 20019 and I've never looked back. My collection continues to grow and grow and I finally upgraded to the best LED lamp in the market – the official big Harmony lamp which is amazing. Also, my nails always were weak and peeled. Now I have long, strong nails that people enviously comment on. I could talk about this forever but here's what you need to know. Don't buy UV – it's suspected to be dangerous for skin and takes a long time. Just go LED – Shellac is really the only brand that's stuck in the UV land. Almost everything else is LED compatible. You only need to buy the Gelish base, a colour, and the top coat. You don't need PH Bond or cleanser or remover or anything else (you may find your nails are particularly oily and require the PH Bond later, but experiment first rather than wasting money). Where to buy these things? If you're in Australia go to Harehouse Warehouse to look at the colours. They sell Minis for $20 which is wayyyy too expensive. Then find a seller in your State on eBay (to minimise postage costs) and buy full size bottles from them for $20 once you've picked a colour in real life at the shop. The branded cleanser and remover are just expensive ways of buying rubbing alcohol and 100% acetone respectively. Just go to Bunnings and stock up. There's so much you can do once you've mastered the basic gel mani. Look into stamping (you can start with Konad as a brand – there are others, but this is a good quality popular one to start with), embellishments like rhinestones, pigments that can be combined, striping tape, dotting tools, etc. I'm always discovering new ways to build my repertoire – there's no limit to what you can do. Start following nail people on Instagram and build up a library of ideas to browse when you sit down to do a mani. This is such an easy and relaxing process – it's definitely how I treat myself every 1.5-2 weeks. I sit down, remove my last mani, prep my nail and create something new and amazing all over again while watching some telly and eating chocolate. It's great. And I'm ALWAYS getting compliments on my different manis – from friends, shop assistants, anyone.rugile.k

I received this color, Sea Foam Gelish Polish and was really excited to used it. I have been doing my own gel nails now for many years. I have the highest quality professional lights and I know what I'm doing. This color would not cure under the lights. I received a replacement and the replacement also would not cure. I tried 5 other colors of the same brand to make sure my lights were working. Yes, they all cured exactly as expected. I tried curing this color longer. 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes. Still would not cure. I was careful to use thin layers and use the same brand base and top coat. Still no cure. I'm sure sad about it. I really wanted this color to work. Sleeknail gave me a credit to buy a different polish which is what I ended up doing.Katie S.

I’ve used Gelish gel nail polish for years ever since I’ve started doing my nails at home to save money. It was the gel used in the salon I used to go to so I was surprised to find it so readily available first at Amazon and later at Sally Beauty. I like that the colors come in smaller sizes so they don’t dry up by the time you use them. I also like that the top coat and base coat come in larger bottles. For around $10 a bottle, the gel polish lasts a long time before drying out or becoming clumpy. This stays on well and keeps its true color. I could probably go 3-4 weeks, but my nails grow quickly and I’d prefer to do them every two weeks so they are always looking fresh and pretty. You do have to cure the polish with either a UV (older polishes) or an LED light (newer polishes), but these lights are available on Amazon as well. Gelish comes in 192 colors, according to gelish.com, which is insane, so you have plenty of colors to choose from. If you want to see all the colors, definitely check out Gelish.com. I recommend this gel polish and will continue to purchase it although recently I’ve been buying a brand called Beetles which comes in kits and sets, is super reasonably priced and works just as well (also available on Amazon- just search Beetles gel polish).wendy.r

Not horrible, but definitely not good and surely not great. The smell is the first thing I noticed. God awful. Smells like it would be pure toxicity -I was even hesitant to put it on my nails. But I did. A few days in (like 3) and the polish is chipping on certain nails. The color pink fairy? Is very translucent and so two coats feels not enough. However, the more you layer, the bumpier it gets and gets a lump by the base. It does not go on smoothe. The lamp got super hot but it did dry the polish. Overall, pretty disappointed because I really wanted to like it. It's cute and pretty colors. But would I recommend? No. Thinking of returning.Laura D

I find the shades very inconsistent in quality. Overall, I do not expect these polishes to be the same quality as salon gel mani. However, it's a nice backup if, like me, you're hard on your hands and tend to muck up regular polish very quickly. It was a great replacement for going to the salon during the pandemic. I find that I generally need to do at least 1 additional round of lamp curing than number of coats. Rose Gold- this is not a true metallic rose gold but just pink with glitter. If you're fine with the color (which is a nice, neutral glitter-just not what I expected/hoped for with the name) it's a decent gel polish. I have gotten up to 2 weeks with no chipping, just tip wear. Spiced Chai- shimmery beige with faint purple undertone. My fave color so far. I've gotten 10 days before it chips. Pomegranate- Horrible quality for a decent (though not unique) looking color. This shade is extremely runny and pools around the cuticles no matter how thin of a coat I put on, so it takes a lot of clean up. It takes no less than 3 coats to get it opaque, much less not horribly streaky. Curing seems to make a coat "shrink" even more (see photo of one or two coats after curing). I have to cure it multiple additional times before it dries. Not sure about durability since I never wear this for more than 2 days before I take it off.lindsy.l

I wanted to try Le Mini Macaron for a while, because it looked so easy and was in such cute packaging, plus not having to go to a salon really appeals to me. I saw the Rose Gold and Cherry kits on sale once, and my daughter got them for me for Christmas. I followed the directions and BAM! Beautiful long-lasting manicure at last! Since then I've experimented with other one-step brands and had good success, but this one is the best so far. The process is super-easy, smooth application and a 30-second cure, will not chip (on me at least), does not dull out. Additionally, it is easy to remove. A couple of the colors are sheer, but all-in-all, I may just give up regular polish for Le Mini Macaron. My next step is the maxi lamp kit.Lanie