Greige not beige or; an ode to subtle grey nail polish colors

Barely there nail polish, or neutral are always a good color to try and find. But a finding a true nude nail polish that not only goes on opaque, but also fits your skin tone is an ill feat. That’s why I reverted to skipping nudes all together and found my refuge in the pale grey, almost beige shades. Also known as ‘greige’, this color keep the middle ground between a nude, but are much more classy and sophisticated looking. Since I have been obsessed with greige nail polish colors for some time, I thought it high time to show you my 5 favorite polishes in this color.

The obsession for purchasing greige nail polish is fairly recent, but I already had a thing for all things taupe. On top of that, one of my all time favorite nail polishes is Diamond Cosmetics Taupe Shimmer and that is not too far out from these shades. In general they are paler, more veering towards whites or neutrals, rather than brown or mauvy purples, but still, they can have those undertones. These 5 polishes, some of which fairly new, others more well-established shades in my nail polish collection, range from the off white to near grey with a purple tinge to it.

Nails Inc The New White Collection White Horse Street

We’re starting this post with the most expensive polish and the only one I haven’t worn yet. I bought this on my most recent trip to England. It retails for a whopping 14 pounds (which is nearly 20 euros). I still want to write a full review of this polish and see how long it lasts and what it looks like on the nail, but when it comes to greige nail polish colors, this takes the cake. I hear this needs 3 coats to go on opaque, but I’m sure that will be well worth it.

OPI Brazil Collection Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around

On to one of my favorites in this shade range. OPI’s Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around was limited edition and it’s such a shame. This is the most neutral of all the shades I am showing you. The funny thing is that if you put this next to a true nude color, it looks far more grey and if you put it with grey it looks far more pink. It really keeps that middle ground between the two and that’s one thing I love about it. Count in the fact that OPI is my favorite nail polish brand, and you have yourself a mix for a favorite nail polish shade right there. I am wearing it on my nails in this blog post.

Rimmel 60 Seconds 621 Mary Mary Quite Contrary

For a more purple toned greige shade, Rimmel’s Mary Mary Quite Contrary (what’s in a name!) makes a perfect shade. Like the OPI shade above this one, this keeps a very nice middle ground and I love the mauve undertone this has. It makes it ultra flattering against my pale hands, yet it makes for a great base coat to layer under one of my many glitter nail polishes. I did just that in a fairly recent blog post where I paired this with a gritty flaky top coat.

P2 Last Forever nail polish in 011 City love

German drugstore brand P2 is known for its good quality polishes. So when I was in Germany last year, I wanted to try a few. I picked up this darker grey polish with a purplish undertone at that time. In a way this polish is what got my craze for finding the perfect greige nail polish started. This was the first polish I could place in that category that I owned and I wore this quite a bit during fall, as it is a perfect fall shade. I am wearing it on my nails, accompanied by a liquid sand accent nail in a similar color, also by P2, in this blog post.

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint in Pit Stop

Last but not least, Pit Stop by Barry M. Another new acquisition to the nail polish collection and this possible the shade that pulls mostly towards taupe. It has a hint of brown to it, it seems. However compared to the other shades here, this is quite possibly the polish closest to a true light grey. I love the quick dry polishes and reviewed them last week. If you get a chance, check out that review here, or look them up in stores if you’re in the UK.

All shades on a row: just to show how different these shades are, but still kind of fall into that same category. I love the subtlety of Nails Inc., the versatility of OPI and Rimmel, the true to colorness of Barry M and the darker tones of P2. These polishes range from high end to drugstore so there is something out there for every budget and price range you might be looking into. I always do swatches on a nail wheel to show you how opaque shades are. As you can see, Rimmel is a tad on the sheer side, yet it still worked really well on my nails.

Yep, I love me some greige nail polish. I hope this blog post inspired you to check out some off grey nail polish shades to try out. It is a great basic nail polish shade to own. If you find the shade that works perfectly for you, I think you’ll have a polish that will last you a very long time. These shades can go anywhere and be used any time: whether it’s at work (if you can wear nail polish of course), your wedding day or any other formal occasion. These polishes will give an instant polished look that is classy and timeless.

Which greige nail polish do you fancy?