We Found (and Rated!) the Best Blue Nail Polish in Every Shade

Described by the brand as the “ideal, icy light blue,” it’s quickly become a signature shade for us all year round. With a white undertone that makes the pale blue pigments pop against your skin, BP is crisp and clean and serves as the ultimate palette cleanser when we’ve tired of our red and pink polishes. The formula itself is thicker than most, which can take some getting used to, but it’s also the very quality that gives your mani a plush finish and longer wear time.

Total PureWow100 Score: 98/100

Picture a clear sky on a beautiful summer day. If that exact shade was bottled up into a polish, you’d get “Aero.” The sky-blue hue is cheery and youthful and immediately puts us into a vacation state of mind whenever we wear it. Created by a veteran nail artist, the polish is creamy and gives you complete coverage in a few swipes.

Total PureWow100 Score: 97/100

We recently discovered (and fell for) “Woke,” by Deborah Lippmann, which we’d describe as a creamy slate blue. Released as part of her summer 2020 collection, the muted shade is similar to “BP” above, but with more of a greyish undertone to it. The coverage is just right with two coats, but where it really wins points is the shine, which is downright glossy. So glossy, in fact, that you could forgo topcoat if you were really pressed for time.

Total PureWow100 Score: 97/100

Fun fact about this polish: It sparked a frenzy back in 2012, when none other than Beyoncé wore it during her first public appearance after giving birth to her daughter Blue Ivy. The cobalt color is extremely pigmented and bright, almost electric even. In terms of opacity, it’s probably one of the best we’ve tried. The extra wide brush covers more surface area so you can spread the polish over your nails quickly (though we can see how it might present a problem for anyone with narrow nail beds—which is why we always keep a cleanup brush around).

Total PureWow100 Score: 96/100

A newcomer on the nail block, we were initially drawn to the brand’s modern color selection. From a tangerine orange to the cool indigo blue shown above, it really is a polish playground for the color obsessed. “Twilight” reminds us of the perfect wash of denim, and we already look forward to wearing it often during the transition between summer and fall. This polish gets additional points for drying quickly, smoothly and evenly.

Total PureWow100 Score: 96/100

Buy it ($12)

A rich navy-blue polish always looks so refined and this one by Sally Hansen strikes the right balance between blue and black. This is definitely one of the easiest polishes to use for home painting thanks to the thinner formula that doesn’t clump and flat bristles that distribute just the right amount of polish with every swipe. Though the finish is certainly shiny, it doesn’t quite have that pillow-y 3D texture of a gel manicure, in case that’s what you’re expecting.

Total PureWow100 Score: 95/100