Nail Colours for Your Skin Tone: A Shade Guide from Fair to Deep Skin

Choosing nail colours for your skin tone comes down to two things: how light or deep your skin is, and its undertone. Pick the version of a colour that shares your undertone, and almost every colour family can work for you. Your depth then decides how much the shade stands out against your hand.

This guide covers three quick undertone tests, a chart of cooler and warmer shades, advice for each skin depth, near-universal colours, seasonal changes and toenails.

How to choose nail colours for your skin tone

Depth runs from fair and light through medium and tan to deep. A shade close to your skin's depth blends into the finger and makes it seem longer. A much lighter or darker one outlines each nail, so it shows any uneven shape or untidy cuticle line.

Undertone is the colour beneath the skin's surface, and it doesn't change when you tan. Cool undertones are pink or bluish, warm ones golden, peachy or yellow, and neutral ones a mix of both. Olive is a muted green or grey cast over a neutral or warm base.

How to find your skin undertone

Test on your hands in daylight: they can be a different shade from your face, and they're the backdrop for the colour.

• Wrist veins. Blue or purple veins on the inside of the wrist suggest a cool undertone, green ones a warm one. If you can't decide, you're probably neutral.
• Gold or silver. Hold a gold ring, then a silver one, against the back of your hand. Silver tends to harmonise with cool skin and gold with warm skin; if both do, you're probably neutral.
• White or cream fabric. Rest your hand on an optic white T-shirt, then on a cream one. Cool-toned skin sits naturally against pure white, warm-toned skin against cream or ivory.

Mixed results plus a green or grey cast in daylight usually mean an olive undertone.

Skin tone nail colour chart: cool and warm shades

Almost every colour family has a cooler and a warmer version, so you rarely need to give up a colour you love.

If your undertone is neutral, both columns are open to you. Olive skin usually leans warm, but it also wears emerald, sapphire and other deep jewel tones.

Judge a new shade in daylight, painted and cured on a swatch tip or a single nail. Warm indoor bulbs push colours towards yellow, and sheer shades appear more opaque in the bottle than on the nail.

Nail colours for pale and fair skin

Pale and fair skin sets off almost any colour, so the main decision is how much attention you want on your hands. For a nude that blends in, choose a sheer or pinkish shade, since very pale, opaque beiges can turn chalky against light skin. An easy everyday choice is 017 Silk, a light silky nude, and our guide to finding your nude shade goes into more detail.

Cool, pinkish fair skin goes well with blue-based reds, from cherry to raspberry, and with berry, plum, navy and lavender. Fair knuckles often flush pink in the cold, and cooler shades sit comfortably with that flush, while an orange-red draws the eye to it.

Warm fair skin, with a peachy or golden cast, harmonises with coral, apricot and salmon pinks. On this skin, a peachy pink wears almost like a nude, so 186 Peach, a velvety peachy pink, goes from the office to a summer holiday.

Bordeaux, navy and dark green draw a crisp outline round each nail on fair skin, which is especially smart on short nails. They also show every flooded cuticle, so leave a hairline gap at the cuticle and side walls. Wipe any gel off the skin before curing: it causes lifting, and uncured gel on skin is the main cause of gel allergy.

Best nail colours for medium skin

On medium skin, pastels and dark shades both show up clearly. Muted mid-tones near your own depth, such as dusty rose or a mid beige, blend in like nudes for a discreet manicure.

Warm shades are the easiest match for golden or peachy medium skin. Start with 181 Almond, a warm creamy nude, for a natural finish; terracotta, coral and orange-based reds pick up the gold in the skin. Where you want strength as well as colour, B021 Rouge Capucine is a vibrant, coral-leaning red builder gel, removed by filing rather than soaking.

Rosier, cooler medium skin suits raspberry, berry, mauve and plum, and blues from navy to cobalt. A neutral undertone can borrow from both lists; if in doubt, a true red is the simplest option.

Nail colours for olive skin

Earthy, slightly muted shades echo the green-grey cast of olive skin: khaki and sage greens, terracotta, bronze, chocolate and plum. A good first green is 188 Sage, a deep sage green. Our green nail ideas range from sage and olive to dark green.

Wine and bordeaux are rich against olive skin, especially in autumn and winter. If you choose B014 Amarante, a deep bordeaux builder gel, apply a thin first layer and then the apex layer, curing each for the full time in the instructions. Dark pigment lets less lamp light through, so an overly thick layer may not cure fully underneath.

Cool, white-heavy pastels and very pale pinks can take on a grey cast against olive skin. Yellow-heavy shades, from lemon to mustard, share some of its green-gold tone, so they can lose their clarity. Among nudes, warm beiges and caramels blend in most naturally.

Nail colours for tan skin

Against tanned or naturally tan skin, bright colours appear even more intense. Coral, tangerine, fuchsia, turquoise and cobalt are all vivid, and a warm red such as Rouge Capucine glows on a golden tan. For earthier shades, our orange nail ideas run from burnt orange and terracotta to soft peach.

On tanned hands, 113 Sapphire, a deep, bright sapphire blue, goes with white linen and gold or silver jewellery. White nails give the sharpest contrast of all, while golden beige and caramel make the most natural nudes.

Nail colours for dark and deep skin

Saturated colour keeps its full strength on deep skin, so jewel tones, true and wine reds, fuchsia, orange and metallics all come through clearly. Undertone narrows the choice: cooler deep skin, with blue or rosy tones, pairs well with Sapphire, emerald, plum and silver details. Warmer deep skin, with golden or copper tones, is set off by gold, terracotta and orange-based reds.

Bordeaux and dark brown sit close to deep skin's own depth, so Amarante gives a rich, tone-on-tone finish discreet enough for the office. To blend in, choose a nude in caramel, mocha or chocolate: 077 Praline, a nude with chocolate undertones, is a good place to start.

On deep skin, a very pale, opaque nude creates a strong, graphic outline instead of blending in. Chalky, white-heavy pastels can seem flat, while pastels with more pigment, such as a clear lilac or a bright mint, stay crisp.

Best nail colours for every skin tone

A few shades are close enough to neutral to work on nearly everyone. A true red, balanced between blue and orange, suits fair to deep skin and goes with gold or silver jewellery alike. There are more ways to wear red, from cherry to red French tips, in our red nail designs.

Pale pink is near-universal too, though its effect changes with depth: almost a nude on fair skin, a fresh pastel on deep skin. A good example is 083 Sugared Almonds, a soft powdery pink. Pale shades streak easily, so keep enough gel on the brush to glide rather than drag. Let each thin coat level for a few seconds before curing; two or three coats usually give an even finish.

Navy frames the nail on fair skin and is sober enough for work at any depth, with Sapphire as a brighter alternative. Milky white falls between optic white and cream, so it suits every undertone. With 021 Cloud, a sheer milky white, you build the strength coat by coat, from a veil over the natural nail to a denser milk.

Summer and winter nail colours for your skin tone

Your undertone stays the same all year, but your depth can shift by a shade or two. A nude that matched your tan in August can be too dark by December, so move it a step lighter in winter and a step deeper in summer.

A tan also changes how a shade reads, turning a peachy pink from a near-nude into a light, fresh contrast. As your skin lightens in winter, bordeaux, sapphire and dark green stand out more. For a winter-sun holiday, pick a shade that works before and after you tan, such as milky white, a coral red or cobalt.

Should fingernails and toenails be the same colour?

They don't have to match. Matching hands and feet is traditional for weddings and formal events. Coordinating them is more relaxed: one colour family at two depths, or a nude on the hands with a bolder shade on the toes.

Bold colours are easier to wear on toes, which are seen less often and from further away. Toenails also grow more slowly than fingernails, so regrowth takes longer to show. Judge the colour against your feet, which are often paler than your hands in winter and marked by sandal lines in summer. Deep reds, bordeaux and navy stand out on pale feet, and coral, white and turquoise on tanned ones.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose a nail polish colour for my skin tone?

Start with your undertone: blue or purple wrist veins and a better match with silver point to cool, green veins and gold to warm, and mixed results to neutral or olive. Then pick the version of each colour that shares it, letting your depth decide how much contrast you want.

Which nail colours flatter mature hands?

Sheer pinks, peachy nudes and mid-tone reds are especially flattering on mature hands. Pinks and peaches echo the natural colour of a healthy nail bed, and a mid-tone red brings warmth to the whole hand. Choose the version that matches your undertone.

Which finishes work best on mature hands?

A smooth, high-gloss finish is the most forgiving at any age. Frosted and metallic finishes, like very dark shades, catch the light on every ridge, so level the nail first with a layer of rubber base.

What is the classiest nail colour?

The classiest nail colours are the understated ones: nude pink, milky white, a true red, bordeaux and navy. What makes them look expensive is the finish: short to medium nails, an even shape, a clean cuticle line and a high shine. Our classy nail designs have ideas for work, weddings and every day.

Once you know your undertone, browse our gel polish and builder gel collections for the cooler or warmer version of each colour.