The Best Fall Nail Polishes

Is fall your favorite season? Fall and winter are ‘my seasons.’ The weather is amazing, the clothes are far more comfortable, and nail polish trends are darker. While I wear whatever color I want, any time of the year, some people adhere to seasonal colors. Here is my list of colors that are perfect for the fall season (and all year long). All of them are from Essie, but I did not plan that. If you fall nail polish recommendations from other brands, leave them in the comments!

All of the swatches in this post are two coats of polish and no top coat.

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Into the A-Bliss

Into the A-Bliss #318 is a beautiful light pink with a mauve twist from the Summer 2019 collection, “Rocky Rose.” This color is really unique and I don’t have anything like it in my collection. Essie describes it as a “dirty pink mauve nude polish with blue undertones.” This definitely is not the type of color I go for, but I am so glad I took a risk on it- it’s a more professional look while still being trendy or in-season.

Island Hopping

Island Hopping #610 is described by Essie as a “a rich plum mauve.” This polish is a permanent part of the Essie collection, but was originally released along with Bahama Mama (also now permanent), in the 2007 summer collection, “It’s Better in the Bahamas.”

Angora Cardi

Angora Cardi #336 is a classic fall color. It is now a part of the permanent collection. It originally a part of the fall of 2009 in the collection “Cuddle with Color.” This dusty rose shade is one of the polishes that I see recommended by Essie lovers. It’s so popular that in 2016 it was the #1 fall nail polish posted on Pinterest. And this is one polish that I think deserves the hype and love it gets.

Mrs. Always-Right

Mrs. Always-Right #321 is “fierce terracotta rose to aptly remind him who shares the pants,” that was part of the 2016 Bridal collection. I would describe it as a terracotta shade with berry undertones. Looking at the bottles, it is more berry than Angora Cardi and Island Hopping. But, all three shades have different undertones and varying degrees of darkness.

Bahama Mama

Bahama Mama #400 is a part of the 2007 summer collection, It’s Better in the Bahamas. This shade is another popular that I see constantly recommended and used in dupe videos. Personally, I would describe it as a plum shade with a berry twist. Essie describes it as a “warm, deep plum polish.”

This color is beautiful, but it’s not my favorite. A few years ago it was, but so many other options have been released that I prefer due to the formula and overall shade. It’s not a bad polish, but it is also easy to find polishes that are very similar. I still wanted to include it in this list because I do own it, and this hue is a classic fall color.

For the Twill of it

For the Twill of it #702 was the polish that the fall 2013 collection was named after. This unique shade is a gray base with a green/yellow shimmer. I’ve also seen some reviews online that call it a perfect “oil slick” shade. The formula of this polish is surprisingly easy to work with, and is almost opaque in 1 coat. When you’re looking for a fall polish with a fun twist, For the Twill of it is a great option, as is Dressed to the Nineties.

Dressed to the Nineties

Dressed to the Nineties #1085 is from the As If collection from fall of 2017. It is a deep purple with a green-blue shimmer. If plain purple is too boring, this is a great variant. For reference, I think the base color is pretty similar if not exact to No More Film (a creme shade).

In my swatch photos, I had the hardest time getting the shimmer to show up. The nail photo looks more like a basic creme, not a shimmer polish. For the true look, go by the bottle photo. I do want to clarify that the uniqueness of this shade does show when I am wearing it. I don’t know why I had such a difficult time with this one, but I did.

No More Film

No More Film #364 is from the Resort summer 2012 collection. It’s slight strange that such a dark polish was released in a summer collection, but I love this deep purple shade so much. I used to not like wearing purple shades, but after a friend gifted this to me, I realized I do like some purples. I just don’t particularly like shades like Play Date- the undertone just doesn’t work for me.

Infinity Cool

Infinity Cool #1673 is one of the more recent releases from Essie. This polish was released in the 2021 spring Desert Oasis collection. This is a limited edition polish, so if you see one on sale, grab it while you can! It is a navy shade, but I think it looks like a navy with a slight purple undertone. Compared to other shades that I have like After School Boy Blazer, it isn’t a “true navy.”

Smokin’ Hot

Smokin’ Hot #739, is a part of the 2010 collection, A Winter’s Tale. This color I admired for a long, long time before buying it. Once I did, I couldn’t believe I waited so long. It is a gray/purple shade with a great formula. This color is so popular, that it was used as an inspiration shade in the Originals Remix collection (2020), and Below Zero was created.

Wicked

Wicked #352 is the polish I would choose if I can only keep on polish in my collection. This is color is an award-winning blood-red shade that is so dark it’s almost black. It was originally released in 1993, and in the Originals Remix collection, we were introduced to Wicked Fierce, which is a duochrome shade.

While I have not ‘officially’ compared the two, this is a very close dupe for OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark. In fact, that shade used to be my favorite shade, but after a friend gave me Wicked, I found that the Essie formula was more long lasting for me personally. You can’t go wrong with either shade!

Comparisons

And now, here are some comparisons between my picks for fall nail polish. Did any of these surprise you?

So, what is your favorite fall nail polish? If you didn’t already have the shades in this post, will you be purchasing any of these? Let me know in the comments below! If you’re thinking about buying some polish, head to Beyond Polish! They have tons of sales, an amazing customer service team, and it is significantly cheaper than buying polish at the drugstore. (I am a Beyond Polish affiliate.)

Looking for more of my nail polish thoughts? Check out this post where I compare 6 Light Pink Essie Polishes.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.