Purple Nail Polish Colors, Names, Ideas+Best Reviews

Purple nail polish is obviously, as it name suggests, means a nail polish that plays among the hues of purple and all its variations, as you’ll see in the next section. Some purple nail polishes have cool blue undertones while some other shades have a hint of magenta and reddish hues, giving it a brighter and warmer shade. Just like most other colors, purple nail polish also comes in a variety of finishes like for example neon, metallic, glitter, matte, or semi-matte with a natural finish.

Purple Nail Polish Names & Colors

As mentioned above, purple nail polish comes in various hues. Here are the most common names and brand/shade name recommendations for each:

Blue Purple Nail Polish

This a cool-toned shade of purple with dark blue undertones. This shade closely resembles the shade of pen ink, with a mix of purple instead of pure blue hues. Examples of this shade are: Chanel Le Vernis Nail color 727 Lavanda and Zoya Nail Polish in serenity.

Purple Pink Nail Polish

This is a fun shade of purple with pink or magenta undertones. It is basically a toned-down version of the purple fuchsia shade. Examples of this shade are: Color Club in Uptown girl and Essie DJ Play that song.

Plum Nail Polish

Plum nail polish is one of the darkest and richest shades of purple as it resembles the natural color of the plum, which has brownish/red undertones. Examples of this shade are: Nars Koh Lanta and OPI a Grape Affair.

Mauve Nail Polish

Mauve nail polish is basically a light to medium shade of purple with pink and brown undertones. It closely resembles the purple hue in between orange and yellow of a deep sunset. Examples of this shade: Essie Island Hopping, and ELF Mod Mauve.

Pastel Purple Nail Polish

Pastel purple is a very light cool-toned shade of purple with little to no hint of warm undertones. Examples of such shade: Kleancolor Nail Polish in Pastel Purple and Essie Nice is Nice.

Purple Black Nail Polish

Purple black nail polish is actually the darkest purple shade in the spectrum as it is mix of black and dark purple and a toner darker than eggplant purple nail polish. Examples of such shade are: OPI Eiffel for This Color, Essie in Sexy Divide.

Eggplant purple nail polish

This shade is just as its name suggests, a rich eggplant purple with neutral brown undertones. Examples of this shade: Zoya Lidia, Kino no. 379

Gray Purple Nail Polish

This cool medium shade of purple closely looks like the color of a natural grey stone only with wash of purple. Examples of this shade: Wet n Wild On A Trip, Zoya Danni.

Dark Purple Nail Polish

Dark purple nail polish is as its name implies any dark purple nail polish that usually has cool or neutral brown undertones. Examples of this shade: MAC Reel Sexy, Dover Street Market from Nails Inc.

Light Purple Nail Polish

Light purple is often confused with pastel purple but their main difference is that light purple may have cool, neutral, or warm undertones whereas pastel purple is mostly cool toned. Examples of such shade: Essie play date, OPI Do You Lilac it?

Best Purple Nail Polish Reviews-Opi, Essie & Sally Hansen

The best formulas and brands, as reviewed by hundreds of users online are:

Opi Purple Nail Polish + Color Names

Opi’s high quality formula is reputable, although some purple shades may vary in finish and ease of application depending on the formula line. A great purple shade that applies good and just needs 1-2 coats to show through is OPI a great affair.

best purple nail lacquer opi-review — OPI Purple Shades

Opi Purple Color names

Essie

Essie is also a great option for something in between high-end and drugstore nail polish. Essie Bermuda Short, which a true bright purple shade will become a staple in your collection.

Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen has launched a relatively new formula called “Hard as Nails Extreme Wear” and the shade Pe-plum is a great plum purple shade for anyone to try out.

Purple Nail Polish Designs, Art & Ideas

Purple, apart from being used a solid color, can look great with certain colors, designs and patterns. In general, purple nail polish will look great with cool or neutral colors like black, white, gray, blue as well as metallics like silver, gold, and gunmetal. Reds, yellows, greens, and pastel pinks are not indicated as design colors on top of a solid purple base as they will clash with its cool tone and create a cheap looking/unprofessional result and as you may have already guessed… no one would want to look cheap whatsoever

Here are some of the most common stylish finishes and an example shade for each:

Metallic Purple Nail Polish

Metallic purple nail polish is basically a shade of usually dark purple paired with a multidimensional metallic colors like silver, gold, or slate. Examples: Zoya in shade Hope and Deborah Lippman in Private Dancer.

Purple Shimmer Nail Polish

Purple shimmer or glitter purple nail polish contains tiny glitter bits that make it shimmer in the light. Examples: Nubar in Violet Sparkle,Color Club True Passion (Purple Lilac).

Matte Purple Nail Polish

This finish as the name implies is matte which means that it has a soft powdery finish and doesn’t have a sheen to it. Examples: Rimmel Velvet Matte in purple Opulence, and Avon Matte Nail Polish in Violetta.

Neon Purple Nail polish

Neon purple is a bright medium shade of purple that almost looks like a purple fuchsia, only with less pink undertones. Examples: China Glaze Electric Nights and Milani Rad Purple.

Bright purple Nail Polish

Bright purple is almost exactly the same hue as a neon purple nail polish, but it doesn’t necessarily glow in the dark under UV light and looks extra great for summer. Examples: Sinful Colors Dream On, and Color Club Mrs Robinson.

Holographic Purple Nail Polish

This finish and shade is multidimensional and has 3 or more colors and hues blended together for a light-reflecting holographic look. Examples: Sally hansen in Purple potion, and Color Club Eternal Beauty.

The choice of designs and nail art is yours as long as you follow the cool-toned metallic rule and avoid using any warm colors. In general, metallic tips, crescent moon tips, silver or gold flower designs and bright purple french tips will look great with a purple or neutral white base.