Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
Saskia Kemsley

Bet nail polish colours for toes to perfect your pedicure

There’s nothing quite as luxurious as a fresh pedicure.

Whether you’ve mastered the art of sitting still in a salon or prefer to use an at-home foot spa and do the job yourself, there’s one specific choice which is integral to achieving the perfect makeover for your feet: colour.

While there has been a huge surge in popularity for manicures with nail art, this isn’t really an option for toes. Though French pedicures offer a sleek, stylish, and classic approach to le vernis, not all of us have those perfectly shaped and impossibly long nail beds to allow for such a sophisticated style.

Nevertheless, the single, solid colour options available from cult favourite brands such as Essie, OPI and Nails Inc are seemingly endless. Whether you’re browsing online, in store, or you’ve flicked through multiple keychains showcasing a kaleidoscopic selection of plastic nails on sticks organised by a strange number system (and even stranger names), navigating the scope of shades available can be overwhelming to say the least.

From summer hues and event-ready tones, to finding your perfect year-round red, we’ve rounded up a selection of the best nail polish colours for your toes.

Keep scrolling for more.

Best nail polish colours for toes at a glance:

Essie Ballet Slippers

Best for: English roses

First launched in 1982, Essie’s palest pink shade has been a bestseller ever since. Just a few years after its launch in 1989, Queen Elizabeth I’s hairdresser wrote to Essie requesting a bottle of the liquid wonder, stating that it was ‘the only colour Her Majesty would wear.’ The award-winning colour has a subtle, sheer finish and is wonderfully suited to fairer skin tones.

Buy now £7.19, Boots

OPI Cajun Shrimp

Best for: hot summer nights

Not quite red, nor entirely coral-toned – this brightly hued polish from OPI makes us think of bustling, humid nights in New Orleans. Signal a transition into the summer months with this perfect middle ground between warm and cool colours.

Buy now £14.30, LOOKFANTASTIC

Peacci Khaki

Best for: olive-skinned beauties

Who sad khaki was just for camo? This 100 per cent vegan and cruelty-free polish boasts a vibrant olive tone which works wonderfully with naturally darker skin. Its cooler companion colour is called Bamboo, which you could also pick up to complete your spring/summer and autumn/winter nail polish arsenal.

Buy now £6.00, Salons Direct

OPI Funny Bunny

Best for: the perennial white pedicure

When in doubt, go neutral. Bright white is the perfect companion to any outfit or shoe style and you can achieve the gel effect without the lamp thanks to OPI’s signature infinite shine, long-wear formula.

Buy now £16.90, OPI

Barry M. Outrageous Orange

Best for: highlighting your tan

Neon colours have seen a renaissance in recent years, harking back to the glowing, rave-ready manicures dotted across Tumblr pages in the early 2010s. This hi-vis orange hue from Barry M provides a gel-like finish and makes sun-kissed summer skin pop.

Buy now £3.99, Boots

Nails Inc Detox on Repeat

Best for: city slickers

Cotton candy pink is a fantastic way to brighten up your days and nights in the city during summertime. Plus, this guilt-free polish from Nails Inc is made from 73 per cent plant-based materials and is free from 21 nasty ingredients found in traditional formulations.

Buy now £9.00, Nails Inc

Nails Inc Copacabana Beach Nude Nail Polish

Best for: flawless nudes

Available in an array of nude tones depending on just how much you like your manicure to blend in, the Naked Nails collection by Nails Inc has been infused with AHAs for unbeatable nourishment. Our favourite hue in the collection for pedicures is a deep, mocha brown known as Copacabana Beach.

Buy now £8.00, Nails Inc

Chanel Le Vernis in Pirate

Best for: a year-round rouje

It doesn’t get any more classic than a rouje by Chanel. The brand’s luxurious collection of polishes known as Le Vernis is well-loved for the perfection of cult classic colours. This deep, cherry red colour known as Pirate reflects an ideal blend between wintery maroon-tinted reds and dazzlingly bright ones.

Buy now £29.00, Sephora

Nailberry Black Berry

Best for: Addams Family relatives

If there’s one nail colour that never goes out of style, it’s the versatile and paradoxically discreet noir. Nailberry’s Black Berry formula is vegan-friendly, free from any nasty toxins and designed to provide a glossy shine lasting up to a whole week. If there’s one colourway to purchase from the brand’s award-winning L’Oxygéné collection, it’s this highly pigmented dream.

Buy now £14.95, Nail Polish Direct

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.