It’s sandal season: here are our favourite summer pedicure trends that you can actually do yourself at home.
Need some inspiration for your next pedicure? Here are seven of our beauty director’s favourite pedicure styles, including this season’s trending shades and pretty, summery nail art. Best of all, you don’t have to be a nail artist to recreate them.
1. Butter yellow nail art
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You’ve probably already seen butter yellow – this season’s biggest trending shade – infiltrating wardrobes and our manicures, but it is just as pretty on your toes. You do need to be careful to choose a glossy yellow to avoid any suggestion of discoloured nails (and keep it from chipping to avoid a patchy look). Use a high shine top coat, and adding sweet nail art never goes amiss. This daisy pattern makes quite the impact, but can be easily recreated with a dotting tool if you don’t want to head to the nail salon.
2. Bright red
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Bright red looks great on all skin tones, especially in the sunshine, as it reflects the light well and can help your feet look pampered without agonising over what shade you are going to pick. To be especially on trend, look for colours that have pink and orange undertones for a fresh, lighter feel, rather than rich or plum tones. Just make sure to do a little bit of cuticle care to avoid any flecks of colour gripping where it isn’t wanted when painting your nails at home.
3. Glossy brown
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Looking for a neutral colour that still packs a punch? Many beauty insiders were wearing glossy browns on their fingertips during the winter months, and it has moved to our toes in time for the summer. The sophisticated tone has the advantage of working with any sandal or outfit colour, plus you don’t need a tan to pull it off. Just one word of warning: as with many of the nail colour trends this season, the high-shine finish is important to stop any hint of it looking like you have dirty nails.
4. Lilac
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Lilac is another colour to have migrated down from our fingers to our toes since last summer – there’s something instantly joyful about the light-reflecting flash of a light purple pedicure. Perfect for anyone wanting to spend as much of their summer padding around on the sand and in and out of the sea as possible, this is the shade for anyone wanting to make a statement. Our advice: head to a nail salon for a full pampering pedicure to ensure your feet are soft and dead skin free too.
5. Floral nudes
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Florals are definitely having a moment on our feet this season, and this style is another one that’s surprisingly easy to recreate at-home, if you wish. That’s because the base is a simple light pink across all your toes. Then, you only really need to create the impression of three petals by the corner of your nail to get the nail art effect. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of brushes of your chosen varnish, but make sure to swipe the colour against the lid of the bottle first, to remove any excess, giving you more control over the application.
6. Perfect pink
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A total classic, but as the inspiration picture proves, pale pink pedicures are a summer classic for a reason. The colour really pops against a tan – whatever your base skin tone – and you can maximise that effect by choosing a light but slightly warm shade. Best of all, if you are short on time, the shade can make your nails look instantly groomed, even if you’ve only managed the quickest cut and shape of your nails. That’s especially true if you have short nail beds, as the shade is natural enough not to look like a rough blob of colour.
7. French tips
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Like the idea of a matchy-matchy mani-pedi? Don’t just reach for one block colour. French tip pedicures are finally back on-trend, and they look best when sported next to a French manicure too. Instantly elegant, the classic look has been given a subtle 2025 upgrade, with the clear/white base becoming a little more bubblegum pink, and the nail art itself appearing a little more graphic (rather than just a straight line) by being paired with a slightly coffin-shaped nail design.
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