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:
- Best for English roses: Essie Ballet Slippers - £7.19, Boots
- Best for hot summer nights: OPI Cajun Shrimp - £14.50, LOOKFANTASTIC
- Best for olive-skinned beauties: Peacci Khaki - £6, Salons Direct
- Best for the perennial white pedicure: OPI Funny Bunny - £16.90, OPI
- Best for highlighting your tan: Barry M. Outrageous Orange - £3.99, Superdrug
- Best for city slickers: Nails Inc Detox on Repeat - £9, Nails Inc
- Best for flawless nudes: Nails Inc Copacabana Beach Nude Nail Polish - £8, Nails Inc
- Best for a year-round rouje: Chanel Le Vernis in Pirate - £29, Sephora
- Best for vampire chic: Dior Vernis in Night - £27, Dior
- Best for Addams Family relatives: Nailberry Black Berry - £14.95, Nail Polish Direct
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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
