15 Autumnal Nail Polish Shades You Really Will Fall For (Pun Intended)

Marie Claire is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

As we pack away our shorts and sandals to make way for the winter woollies, so to go the summer shades of nail polish, in favour of warmer tones.

Don’t get us wrong, we love our summer nail wardrobe of brights and pastels but they begin to look out of place next to paler skin and grey skies. Helping you make that transition, we have traded in our three summer favourites for something more winter appropriate.

Swap coral for: burnt orange

Bright corals are inherently associated with summer holidays, so once the weather turns, they can look out of place. Still keeping the orange undertones, we have traded in our coral for a burnt orange, which instantly looks autumnal. For a super luxe finish, apply two coats of topcoat to lock in the colour. Also keeping your hands well moisturised will make the colour last longer, so keep some hand cream in your handbag.

Swaps pastels for: deep colours

Pastel nails accentuate a tan but once this starts to fade, they can look wishy washy with pale winter skin. A strong colour will look really elegant against porcelain skin, particularly on toenails poking out of open toed boots. However, deep colours can be quite tricky to apply so be sure to have a cotton bud soaked in nail polish remover handy to touch up the edges and always wear a base coat to avoid staining.

Swap fluro for: frosted

Fluros are always good fun and capture the feel-good holiday vibe. But when it’s time to get back to reality, switching the bright yellows to a metallic gold makes it much more seasonal and work-appropriate. When nail polish dries it shrinks – if you wrap the nail tip in an extra coat of top coat it will stop the polish coming away from the nail and chipping.