With thousands of shades of nail polish available, picking a color that best suits your skin tone and style may not be as easy as it may first seem. As a general rule of thumb, a nail polish color that really stands out to you is usually a good choice. Most people are naturally drawn to colors that look good on them.
For instance, if you have a warmer undertone to your skin, you're likely to be drawn most to a nail polish color with an orange tint. Cooler skin tones are more rare; if you have this coloring, blue based nail polish shades are likely to be the most attractive to you. There are also mid-value colors that have an equal balance of warm and cool undertones; these are worn well by people of any skin tone.
Corals are warmer pinks; they have a hint of orange in with the red tones. A blue-toned pink will look cooler when placed next to a warmer one; it may look rather purplish in comparison. Mid-value nail polish colors are more difficult to determine because they are equal in their cool and warm undertones. They will appear neither bluish nor orange based and may have many different types of color names. Warm shades of nail polish may include descriptive words such as "tawny" or "burnished" while cool colors may be identified with "icy" or "clear."
Clothing in colors that you've received compliments on or that you feel make your face look brighter can help guide you in choosing a flattering nail polish color. Either wear the garment when you go nail polish shopping or bring it with you. If the color you're looking for is pink, when you compare the different pinks of the nail polish available in the store against the shade in your garment, you should be able to notice whether the different tones are orange, blue or neutral.
Of course, you can also coordinate your nail polish color with your most flattering shades of lipsticks, although matching them exactly isn't necessary. Many cosmetics experts assert that lipstick and nail polish look best when they're in the same color family, but not an exact match. In general, darker and richer shades such as plums and burgundies tend to work best for the evening or winter, while lighter nail polish shades can be more appropriate during the day and summer. Dark nail colors also accentuate shorter nails, while lighter tones can make fingernails appear longer.
