French Tip Toes: How to Do a French Pedicure with Gel, Plus 10 Ideas

French tip toes are toenails with a sheer pink or nude base and a fine white line along the tip, and they go with every sandal and every manicure. With gel, a French pedicure stays neat for weeks, and drawing the line on small toenails is easier than it seems once the shape and width are right.

This guide shows how to file, apply and finish it with gel, then gives 10 ideas and tips for matching hands and feet. For other pedicure designs, see our guide to gel pedicure and toe nail designs.

What is a French pedicure?

A French pedicure is the toenail version of the French manicure: a sheer base that evens out the colour of the nail, and a thin white line that follows the free edge. The base is close to the natural nail colour, so new growth at the cuticle is hard to see. It suits any shoe and any manicure, which makes it a safe choice before a holiday or a wedding.

How to shape toenails for a French pedicure

Shape comes before colour. File toenails straight across and soften the corners with a few light strokes, without rounding the nail deep into the sides. Podiatrists give the same advice to help prevent ingrown toenails. A toenail that is red, swollen or painful at the side needs a doctor or a podiatrist, not gel.

Keep toenails level with the end of the toe: longer ones catch on shoes and break. Our guide to nail shapes covers fingernails; on toes, a short square with softened corners gives the white line an even edge to follow.

How to do French tip toes with gel, step by step

Start with clean, dry feet, never straight after a bath, because water in the nail plate makes gel lift. Toe separators keep wet gel off the next toe. If your lamp is small, cure the big toe on its own so the whole nail sits in the light.

1. Prep. Push back and remove the cuticle from the nail plate, then lightly buff off the shine. Wipe each nail with Prep Booster, which dries in seconds and takes oil and moisture off the nail without leaving it white or brittle.
2. Base. Apply a thin coat of Classic Base Coat, leaving a small gap from the skin, and cap the free edge. It levels flat without flooding the cuticles, which helps on small toes. Cure.
3. Sheer colour. Apply one or two thin coats of a sheer pink or nude, capping the edge and curing each coat. Thin coats cure all the way through.
4. White line. With a fine liner brush and a white gel polish, draw a fine white curve along the free edge of the big toe and a single dot of white at the tip of each small toe. Remove any gel from the skin, then cure.
5. Top coat. Finish with a no-wipe top coat that does not yellow, cap the free edge once more and cure.

For a stronger tip on the big toe, where toenails press against shoes, use B027 Blanc Meije, a frosted white builder gel, instead of white gel polish. Lay a thin tip layer with the builder gel brush and, since it is self-levelling, cure it straight away: 60 seconds under LED or 120 seconds under UV. Builder gel is filed off, not soaked.

What colour base for a French pedicure?

Choose the base by your skin's undertone. A powdery pink such as 083 Sugared Almonds flatters fair and pink-toned skin, while 079 Quartz, a soft crystal pink, is a lighter choice. On warm, olive or tanned skin, a peach sits more naturally, such as RB04 Pêche, a warm peach rubber base.

Tinted rubber bases can be worn alone as a sheer colour, so RB03 Cachemire, a muted dusty pink, replaces both the base coat and the pink in one step. It also levels ridges on big toenails and strengthens the natural nail. Most rubber bases are filed off, so follow the product instructions at removal.

Why a non-yellowing top coat matters in summer

Toes in sandals spend the summer in the sun, and white tips and pale pinks are the first to show yellowing. For a beach holiday, choose UV Filter Top Coat: this no-wipe top coat helps keep whites, nudes and pastels from yellowing, and its built-in UV filter helps protect the manicure from sunlight. Diamond Top Coat does not yellow, including over French, and gives a hard, glassy mirror shine.

How thick should a French tip be on toes?

On the big toe, aim for a line of about one to two millimetres that follows the curve of the free edge. On the small toes, a single dot of white at the tip is enough, because a full line on such a small nail turns into a white block.

The most common mistake is a line that is too wide: once it covers a third of the nail, the toes look short. For an even curve, hold the brush almost flat and pull from one corner towards the centre, then repeat from the other corner so the strokes meet in the middle.

How long does a gel French pedicure last?

Elegelli gel polish wears up to three weeks without chipping or lifting when applied with a base coat and top coat, provided the prep is careful and the free edge is capped. Toenails grow more slowly than fingernails, so regrowth takes longer to show. When a tip chips or lifts, soak off or file the gel polish and file any builder gel. Never peel gel off, as it takes the top layers of the nail with it.

White French tip toe ideas

1. Pink and white French tip toes

This version goes everywhere, from office shoes to flip-flops. Apply two thin coats of Sugared Almonds over the base, then draw a fine white curve on each big toe and a dot of white on the small toes. Paint both big toes first and check that their lines match in width and curve. It is the easiest French to start with and suits every age.

2. Micro French toes

A micro French uses a line under a millimetre wide. It suits very short toenails and anyone who finds a white tip too visible at work. One thin coat of Quartz keeps the base light. It takes practice: use your finest liner brush, rest your hand on the foot to keep it steady, and paint only a hairline on the small toes.

3. Milky French toes

Here a milky white replaces the pink base, with a brighter white at the tip. On ridged big toenails, one thin layer of B003 Milky White builder gel levels the surface as it settles. For a base you can soak off, use two thin coats of 021 Cloud, a sheer milky white gel polish. Finish with a bright white tip; our milky white nails guide has more ideas.

4. Baby boomer fade on the big toe

A baby boomer is a French where the white fades into the pink with no visible line. Keep the fade for the big toes and leave the small toes plain pink, since a fade is hard to see on a tiny nail. After curing the pink, dab a thin layer of Cloud onto the tip with a make-up sponge and cure. Repeat two or three times, each time stopping closer to the free edge, and clean any gel off the skin before each cure.

Coloured French tip toes

5. Red French tip toes

A red tip on a sheer pink base suits summer, tanned skin and a red dress at a wedding. B021 Rouge Capucine is a vibrant red builder gel that gives colour and structure in one step, so the tip is also a little stronger. Brush it on as a thin tip layer and, since red shows every wobble, clean up the edge with a small brush dipped in cleanser before you cure each toe.

6. Pastel French tip toes

A pastel tip is a fresh choice for holidays, denim and white linen. 109 Sky, a soft, airy blue, works well on a soft pink base such as Quartz. Light colours streak in one heavy stroke, so draw the line thinly, cure, then go over it a second time. UV Filter Top Coat on top helps keep the pastel from yellowing, and our beach holiday nails guide has more colours for the trip.

7. Gold French tip toes

A gold tip is the evening version of the French pedicure, and it flatters tanned skin. Use B030 Or Solaire, a builder gel with a golden reflection, as a thin tip layer over a warm nude or peach base such as Pêche. A reflective gel shows brush marks, so pull every stroke from the corners towards the centre, and cure each toe as soon as its tip is laid. Keep the tip narrow, because a wide gold band is heavy on small nails.

8. Glitter French tip toes

For a wedding or a party, add sparkle to the tip. B025 Poussière de Diamant is a transparent builder gel with a subtle shimmer. Lay it across the free edge as a thin tip layer and cure each toe straight away, for a sheer band of sparkle on a pink base, or over a cured white tip so the white catches the light. The shimmer is already held in the gel, so there is no loose glitter to seal.

French tip toes with a graphic detail

9. V-shaped French tip toes

Here the tip is two straight lines that start at each corner and meet in a point at the centre of the free edge. A V needs some width, so draw it on the big toes and give the small toes a dot of white. It suits square toenails best. Paint each side in one straight stroke and check that the point sits in the centre before curing.

10. A French with one dot or line on the big toe

Keep a fine white French on every toe and add one small detail to the big toes: a dot of white near the cuticle, or a thin white line running up from the tip. It stays discreet enough for work. Use a dotting tool or the tip of a liner brush, and keep the dot about the size of a pinhead.

How to match hands and feet

The simplest option is the same French on hands and feet, ideal for a wedding or a holiday in sandals. Keep the line on the toes thinner than on the fingers, because a line of the same width seems heavier on smaller nails. For the hands, see our modern French manicure ideas.

The other option is French toes with a colour on the hands, which lets you change the manicure and keep the pedicure. To link the two, repeat one element: red tips on the toes with a red manicure, or a peach base on the toes when the hands wear a warm colour.

Frequently asked questions

How do you do French tips on toes?

File the toenails straight across and prep them, then apply a base, a sheer pink or nude and a fine white line along the free edge. Cure each layer and finish with a top coat that does not yellow.

Are French tip toes in style?

Yes. The French pedicure goes with every shoe and every manicure, and micro, milky and coloured tips keep it current.

How thick should a French tip be on toes?

About one to two millimetres on the big toe and just a dot of white on the small toes. A wider line makes the toes look short.

What colour base for a French pedicure?

A sheer pink suits fair and pink-toned skin, and a sheer peach is more natural on warm, olive or tanned skin. A tinted rubber base can do both jobs in one step.

How long does a gel French pedicure last?

Gel polish applied with a base coat and top coat wears up to three weeks without chipping or lifting, and regrowth shows later on toes than on hands.

Should your toes match your nails?

They do not have to. French tip toes go with any manicure, and the same French on both suits a wedding.

The shades from these ideas are in our gel polish, builder gel and rubber base collections.