My Top 11 Essential Drugstore Nail Colors

Huge thanks to my wonderful reader, Jane, for asking me to do this post! After seeing my stash, she suggested that I do a post of my top 5 or 10 nail colors (sorry, I couldn't narrow it down to 10), and I thought I'd make it even more fun by giving you my picks for the 11 most essential DRUGSTORE polishes in my collection.

I thought it would be neat to only include polishes that you can run out and buy right now if you wanted to, so there are no limited edition, discontinued or hard-to-find shades on this list. These are all colors that are pretty widely available at either Walgreens, Rite Aid or CVS (and many can be found at Target and Walmart as well).

I am in no way saying these are the ONLY shades you should have, but if you're new to the world of drugstore nail polish, this might be a good way to jump in and start building your collection.

Here we go!

(click to enlarge, again to magnify)

Starting from the left:

Sally Hansen Bubblegum Pink: A perfect shade of blueish pink with baby-fine silver shimmers that are almost imperceptible. Such a fun, girlie pink, and this formula wears like iron for me.

Wet n Wild Through the Grapevine: This is one of my favorite purples of all time (I know that some may call it plum, mauve, raspberry, etc. but I think it's a purple). It's a great, affordable version of the famous OPI My Auntie Drinks Chianti and it's just a gorgeous creme that looks great on anyone. Also pretty on toes!

Wet n Wild Tropicalia: Probably my favorite coral of all time. Such a bright, cheery shade that looks great on paler skin (ie my own) as well as deeper skintones. It just screams "summer" to me.

Rimmel Stiletto Red: Every gal needs a true red in their collection, and this classic red has a vintage pin-up quality to it that I just adore. If all else fails, go for Stiletto Red. I wore this on my toes for two months straight once and never got tired of it.

Wet n Wild Under Your Spell: Just as every girl needs a true red in their polish collection, every gal needs a deep vampy red too. As far as drugstore vampy shades go, this one's my favorite. It's a black base with tons and tons of deep crimson shimmer running through it, so it looks like it's lit from within. Gorgeous. And way vampy.

Wet n Wild Sunny Side Up: If you're drawn to orange nail colors, you need this one. Sunny Side Up is such a bright and lively orange, it instantly reminds me of orange juice and puts me in a good mood whenever I wear it.

Sinful Colors Mint Apple: Aaaaaah yes. You know I had to put a green on this list, and this one is Gorgeous with a capital "G". It's a minty creme with baby-fine shimmers running through it and I just cannot imagine life without it. OK, maybe that's going a bit too far, but if you're going to have just one green drugstore nail polish in your collection, I suggest you make it this one.

Sally Hansen Blue Me Away: It was really difficult narrowing down my blues to just one, but this is such a fun and original blue that it just had to be on this list. I've worn this so often that I had to buy a second bottle, which rarely happens. It's just a killer blue, plain and simple. Much prettier in person than in photos. I promise. And it's adorable on toes. :)

Sally Hansen Wet Cement: Grays may not be for everyone, but if you're going to buy one drugstore gray, I think you should make it this one. As its name implies, this is truly the color of wet cement and it looks surprisingly chic when you wear it. If you've been toying with the idea of wearing "non-traditional" nail polish shades, this is a great place to start.

Petites Vintage Gray: Oh yes, my pick for the essential drugstore greige. I could have gone with one of the darker greiges out there like Sally Hansen Commander in Chic or Rimmel Steel Gray, but Vintage Gray is just so subtle, so elegant, so classy--I had to pick it. It's work-appropriate, it's chic, it's trendy, it's modern. What more could you ask for in a greige?

NYC Starry Silver Glitter: Since the In a New York Color Minute line came out, it seems that the older collection of NYC shades, Long Wearing Nail Enamel, kind of got lost in the shuffle. But for me, if I were to have to part with all of my drugstore glittery top coats and only keep one, I think this would be the one. It's a clear base that is loaded with fine silver glitter and larger, hexagonal blue and pink glitter. It's sparkly, it's colorful, and it instantly jazzes up any nail color. Whenever I'm bored with my current pedi, I end up busting this out and it makes my toe color come alive again. In fact, I think I've layered it over every other shade on this list! And, it's just 99 cents. How can you beat that?

Now I'd like to share with you my "Drugstore Dynamic Duo" for base and top coats:

Orly Bonder & Sally Hansen Mega Shine

Base and top coats are such a personal thing, and what works for some might fail for others. But for me personally, I just cannot ever seem to beat this combination. I've tried so many other base and top coats over the years, but nothing extends the life of manicures better than these two products.

That's it for my "Drugstore Essentials" but I KNOW that there are several of you out there who have your own picks for essential nail products from the drugstore, so let's hear them! Did I miss any colors? Leave a comment and let me know your top picks for easy-to-find drugstore nail colors!

Even though I only received a few of the above nail polishes for past reviews, I'm adding this just to be safe: A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.