The Best Essie Polishes For Your Skin Tone

There are two main strategies we use when shopping for nail polish (or picking a color at the nail salon under pressure). You're either the person who leaves the store with a new bottle and 10 fingers painted different hues, or you grab the first polish name you recognize. Either way, it can be hard to find a shade you love, especially when each brand offers (what feels like) endless color options.

Take, for example, Essie. The popular brand is a salon, pro, and consumer favorite, and many of us are on a first-name basis with popular colors like Clambake and Mademoiselle. But with dozens upon dozens to choose from, you're majorly missing out if you never stray beyond your go-to orangey-red. For help navigating the massive selection, we turned to nail artist Michelle Saunders, who also serves as the brand's official celebrity manicurist (and has an encyclopedic knowledge of its color offerings).

Ahead, Saunders takes a break from her A-list clientele to share her favorite foolproof shades for every skin tone, from everyday nudes and pale pinks to more unexpected brights and, of course, the best reds.