As much time as your hands spend inside gloves during the winter months, it doesn't negate the joy of having a little colour on your fingertips – and we don't mean the bright pink of nearly frostbitten skin. When the mittens come off, nothing makes holding a cup of life-sustaining hot coffee look quite as chic as a manicure, whether dark and bold, bright and cheerful, or simple and sheer. Certain nail-polish colours instantly come to mind for winter, like festive red, icy metallics, and deep shades that you might have started wearing as soon as the first signs of fall made themselves known. And while some colours are absolute classics from December through February, there's nothing about lower temperatures and shorter days that demand you stick to any particular rules about what your manicure should look like. Here, you'll find our favourite picks for nail polishes to wear all winter. There's something for everyone. Read on:

Sable brown

As we saw deeper-toned neutrals like toffee rule nail polish mood boards in fall, the natural next step as we head into the colder months is to take the hue a few shades darker. A rich, chocolate brown is the coziest mani of winter. It's fashion-forward – we're seeing a lot of this colour across all categories, not just nails.

Midnight blues

With crisp dry air and cooler temperatures, people will try for more dark and striking colours that are endlessly cool and look great against contrasted warm fuzzy sweaters. We recommend a midnight blue. When you wear a majestic shade of blue throughout the winter, you feel more prepared for any unexpected change of weather.

Dark metallics

Metallics are the perfect way to be festive and sophisticated. You can wear them as a solid colour or use metallics to create really subtle and beautiful mani-jewelry. When it comes to what exact polish colours to choose, lean toward the darker shades – deep blues, rich greens, chocolate browns – but with a shimmery finish that grabs all the attention.

Or try them all at once – à la the recent "skittle" or "paint chip" trend. The skittles mani from the summer morphed into a 'tonal ombré' as we went into fall. Leading into winter, we think we're going to see a metallic gradient as this trend continues to evolve. Combining complementary shades that seamlessly blend to create a multidimensional metallic moment is festive and edgy.

Deep aubergine

People will always be drawn to darker colours during the winter, and for those who want to avoid black, a deep aubergine is a great alternative. It creates a rich contrast with one's skin tone and also gives you a mysterious yet regal look that can be paired with a casual or formal occasion.

Dorothy turquoise

Our nails are usually painted one of two colours: classic red or a robin's egg blue. This year we’re levelling up our usual baby blue for this poppy turquoise shade, which is so cool and unique, almost like a neon pastel. It makes us smile when we look down at our hands, and looks so fresh contrasted with our all-black winter wardrobe. Plus, it's Gucci. It couldn't get any chicer.

Muted lavender

Clean beauty has become better and more accessible than ever, but one place where it’s generally been harder to find is in the drugstore nail aisle. Good news: Sally Hansen’s line of vegan polishes changes that. The collection comes in 30 shades (and not only in neutrals) and features a 16-free formula that’s entirely plant-based. Our favourite? This muted lavender called Laven-Dear. It’s the perfect winter pastel.

Olive green

Specifically, the colour of a martini olive – will continue to gain traction through winter. Light pistachio was popular for a moment, but for winter we see one shade deeper. Olive is on trend and plays well around the holidays.