23 Luxe Nail Polishes to Buy When Your Vibe Says "Chanel" But Your Budget Says "Nope"

Hand with shiny, burgundy-red nail polish

(Image credit: @betina_goldstein)

It would be nice to collect Chanel bags and line them on the shelves of my walk-in closet like so many influencers do. Or wear a Dior dress for my next black-tie event. Maybe even slip into a pair of Gucci loafers before heading out on a casual coffee run. Yes, it would be nice, but let's be real: I'm a girl on a budget. Designer clothing and accessories, as inspirational and exciting as they might be, aren't currently accessible to me at this stage of life.

That doesn't mean I have to forgo designer brands altogether. Quite the contrary. I'm a scrappy editor who incorporates luxury where she can, and ever since college, that's been in my beauty routine. Yep, I love designer beauty products, and thanks to their less-exorbitant price tags, I'm able to indulge in everything from lipstick, to eye shadow and beyond.

My favorite designer beauty item to buy, though, has to be nail polish. I don't know what it is, but I'm a sucker for a luxe glass bottle filled with smooth, shiny pigment. Ahead, see the designer nail polishes—from Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and more—I'm buying to satisfy my shopping habit without breaking my budget.

Chanel

Dior

Gucci

Hermès

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Kaitlyn McLintock
Beauty Editor

Kaitlyn McLintock is a Beauty Editor at Who What Wear. She has 10 years of experience in the editorial industry, having previously written for other industry-leading publications, like Byrdie, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Bustle, and others. She covers all things beauty and wellness-related, but she has a special passion for creating skincare content (whether that's writing about an innovative in-office treatment, researching the benefits of a certain ingredient, or testing the latest and greatest at-home skin device). Having lived in Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas, she has since relocated back to her home state, Michigan. When she's not writing, researching, or testing beauty products, she's working through an ever-growing book collection or swimming in the Great Lakes.