I love purples. Like, whenever I paint my nails purple, I just keep staring at my hands like a weirdo, haha.
Can anyone suggest their favorite purple nail polishes, please?
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My favorite purple right now is Essie Leather Weather. Itās a really deep purple that looks almost black in dim light, and then the purple shows up once youāre in brighter light.
It goes on smooth and dries pretty fast. Two coats get it even and opaque, and I put a top coat over it for shine, and so it lasts longer. Good pick if you like dark, classy shades. If you want bright or pastel purples, probably skip this one.
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Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Amethyst Allure.
Itās a deep violet with shimmer thatās almost holographic, so it shifts in the light and you end up staring at your hands a lot. Itās easy to put on, too. The brush is wide so I donāt get streaks, and two thin coats make it fully opaque and shiny. It also dries really fast, which helps if you tend to smudge your nails before they set.
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Essieās In Pursuit of Craftiness is my favorite muted purple.
Itās a cool, grayish lavender that looks pretty classy. Two coats give me even, solid color with a nice shine. It goes on smooth and dries pretty fast. Itās also held up through several hair washes. If you like dusty, low-key purples Iād try it. It works for fall, but I wear it other times of year too.
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My favorite purple is OPIās Lincoln Park After Dark. Itās a deep almost black plum and it works on every skin tone (see this thread). For something brighter, Essieās Play Date is a nice pastel purple for spring.
I get the staring-at-your-hands thing. If you want something between dark and pastel, China Glazeās Grape Pop is a fun creamy grape. Do You Lilac It? from OPI is a classic. If you like a little shimmer, look for purples with a duochrome flip. Zoya has a few that shift between purple and blue depending on the light.
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ILNP Hallucinate is my favorite purple. Deep violet jelly with red-to-orange shimmer that shifts a lot depending on the light.
If youād rather have a cream, Orly Synthetic Symphony is a vivid blue-leaning purple thatās usually smooth in two coats. Zoya Vesper is a softer muted dusty violet with an easy formula.
OPI Dutch Tulips is my best purple. Itās a true medium violet, it still looks purple under office lights. Two thin coats usually cover, and I let each one dry a bit so the brush doesnāt drag.
If you want something louder, China Glaze Purple Panic is an electric purple.
Purple stains if you wear it a lot. I always start with a solid base coat and wipe the tips before the color dries, otherwise the next manicure looks gray and bruised.
Wiping the tips before the color dries is such an underrated trick, and it saved my nails from that gray, bruised look after Purple Panic.
Hallucinate does shift a lot in the light, and I always catch myself staring at that red shimmer turning orange when Iām out in the sun.
Hallucinate does earn its spot, since that red-to-orange shimmer looks almost completely different under my desk lamp than it does in daylight.
Lincoln Park After Dark is the one, the one I keep rebuying every single fall because nothing else gets that almost black plum right.
Hallucinate, yeah. The shimmer flip is real, red indoors then orange once youāre in sunlight.
Thin coats though. The jelly base gets goopy if you load the brush. Two thin coats plus a glossy top coat and the shimmer pops. Havenāt tried Vesper. A dusty violet with an easy formula sounds nice after something that loud.
Ilnp Last Call is my favorite blurple. Leans more blue on some people, though.
Fancy Gloss Electric Grape is another one I love. It looked almost exactly like the swatches on me, which is pretty rare.
Cirque Ohana converted me. Iām not usually a purple person, but that blue shift got me anyway. LynB āI. Am a Librarianā is another winner if youāre into lilacs. The pink and gold shimmers are nice.
When someone says āpurple nail polishā I picture Indomitable from Lurid. Like, THE purple, you know?
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Mooncat Poisonberry is underrated. Worth checking out if you havenāt.
Orly Synthetic Symphony is my favorite purple. Deep electric neon.
I wear it alone, but sometimes with toppers depending on my mood.
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For purple cremes, Cirque Colors Deco and OPI Sickeningly Sweet every time. If you want to branch out from cremes though, Holo Taco Lavender Syrup and ILNP Fairy Dust are both gorgeous.
ILNP High Voltage is bold purple with no fuss. Grapevine works if you want something darker.
Lightwave and Fairy Dust are too similar, so pick one.
Unforgettable. Thatās the ILNP one I use most. They make some of my favorite purples. Kings & Queens is another good one if you want something with more depth.