Nail Polish Colors for Brown Skin- Summer, Light Dark & Nude

Brown skin is just a shade darker than tanned skin it’s basically the predominant color of Afro-Americans like Kelly Rowland, Tyra Banks, and Jennifer Hudson. The choice of the most appropriate nail polish color depends on how light or dark your brown skin is and your predominant skin undertones. Read on to find out more

Choosing Nail Polish for Brown Skin

As a general rule though most brown skin tones will do well with rich dark hues such as plums, magentas, dark blues and greens, wine reds, etc. Of course the season greatly determines the nail polish shade you are going to wear as some deep hues indicated for brown skin may not be appropriate for spring or summer. In this article, we are going to mention some ideas according to the season and your skin undertones so you can find your perfect nail polish match.

Best Nail Polish for brown skin — Nail Polish on Brown skin

Best Nail Polish Colors for Brown Skin-Plum, Red, Green & Blue

Typically most rich nail polish hues with burgundy, plum, or purple hues will suit you, especially in fall or winter months. Below, you’ll find a list of nail polish ideas you could try out.

Deep Plum Shades

Max Factor Max Effect Nail Polish in Intense Plum 24. A beautiful berry plum shade that’s nor too light nor too dark. Formula applies nicely and lasts up a week if applied with a top coat. The only downside is that it may require more than one stoke to show through but it’s still a very good formula.
Chanel Provocation Polish. If you are looking for a true plum shade for your brown skin with neutral undertones, this shade is perfect. The nail polish retails for over $29 per bottle on average but the formula is worth every penny according to most online reviewers.
Revlon Plum Attraction. If you are a fan of plum berry shades with frosty finishes, you will love this one. It’s cheap and the formula applies smoothly, although most online reviewers say that you definitely need 2-3 strokes for the color to appear even and opaque.

revlon nail polish for brown skin — Revlon Plum

Deep red hues

Essie’s in Prettied Up. A classic deep red shade that resembles the color of tomato ketchup and looks great on light or brown skin tone. It also has a natural glossy finish and formula lasts more than a 5 days paired with a top coat.
Opi Nail Lacquer in I’m not Really A Waitress. If you want a perfect deep red for the winter holiday season, this is the shade to look out for. It’s basically a deep Hollywood red with a subtle pearly finish that’s not too excessive or glittery.
Burberry Oxblood Nail Polish. Oxblood nail polish shades have been a very popular trend over the last couple of years and match perfectly caramel and brown skin tones. This shade here is true oxblood shade that has just the right amount of red and brown to look balanced, impressive, and elegant.

Deep Green/Blue Shades

Essie Going Incognito. A very deep teal shade with a perfect creamy smooth finish perfect for any season. This looks especially great on caramel brown skin.
Sally Hansen Salon Manicure in Jungle Gem. This is another dark teal polish with subtle grey blue undertones and suits any brown skin tone, from the lightest to the darkest.
China Glaze in Emerald Fitzgerald. An impressive dark teal/emerald shade with a balanced green/blue hue and a sparkling holographic finish. The formula requires 2 coats to show even and opaque but the effort is really worth it.

Tips & Ideas- Using brown nail polish on brown skin

Using Brown nail polish on brown skin is a bit controversial as some say it matches brown skin perfectly while others say it doesn’t create any interesting contrast as it’s basically almost the same tone as brown skin.

The truth is, brown nail polish on brown skin is a good idea as long as it’s has neutral to warm undertones and has no hint of gray hues, which may clash with your natural brown skin tone.

If you have caramel brown skin tone with golden undertones like Beyonce for example, browns with a pale yellow undertone like camel brown are not a good idea but most others brown shades will work with your skin tone.

Here are some good brows for all brown skin tones:

China Glaze in shade Call of the Wild. This a deep milk chocolate brown polish with neutral to warm undertones and a creamy formula and finish.
Sally Hansen In Haute Chocolate. If you are looking for the perfect milk chocolate shade with a touch of bronze sparkle for your brown skin, this shade is perfect. It has subtle red hues and fine gold glitters to add just the right amount of frostiness.

sally-hansen-haute-chocolate-brown-skin — Sally Hansen

Summer Nail Polish Colors for Brown Skin

If you are looking for the perfect summer shade for your brown skin tone, you could try out:

Deep red coral shades like: Jessica Nail Color in Confident Coral, Chanel Holiday, and Avon Gel Finish in Fire Cracker
Mustard Yellows and Toffee like Sally Hansen’s Butterscotch, Butter London Cheeky Chops, and China Glaze Solar Power
Navy and Royal Blues like: Maybelline Color Show in Marinho, Max factor Gloss Finity in Royal Blue, and Opi’s Russian Navy.

Nail Polish Colors for Dark Brown Skin

If you have a dark brown skin tone like Lupita Nyong’o or Naomi Campbell, nail polish shades like teals, nude browns, mustard yellows, magenta reds and metallics will look great on your skin tone. Suggested shades: Color Club Blue Light, Dior Cienna, and Opi Jewel of India.

Nail Polish Colors for Light Brown Skin

If you have light brown skin you will look do well with nude pinky browns, plums, golds, brownish reds, teals, and dark green nail polishes. Suggested shades: Maybelline Bold Gold, Revlon Vixen, and Zoya Hunter.

Avoid: pale orange yellows, peachy pinks, pale greys, yellow greens, and pastel purples as this will clash with your light brown skin and will make your hands look a bit sick.