Nude nails are a classic and chic look; they’re like the French manicure of the ‘00s. When worn at night it they look super elegant, at work a neutral nail makes you look polished and professional, and they will never clash with anything you wear, making them perfect for everyday wear.

Nude is supposed to look natural, like part of your skin, so when choosing the right nude nail polish colour for you look for a shade that is closest to your actual skin tone. You want the nude you buy to be a smidgen darker or lighter than your actual skin though, because if it’s exactly the same colour you could risk the ‘mannequin hand’ look (where it looks like you don’t even have nails). Get it wrong and your nails could just look dirty, or make your hands look like you’re unhealthy.

Read on to discover how to find the best nude nail colour that’s perfectly matched to both your skin tone and undertone, whether you’re fair, medium, olive, brown or dark…

Why You Should Know Your Skin Undertone

As with any shade, it’s also important to take your skin’s undertones into account. If you have warm undertones, a nail colour that is too pink or has a blue-y tinge will clash with your skin. Similarly, when you have a cool undertone to your skin, your nails will not look good if you wear shades with a golden hue or are too orange-y. But if you’re one of the lucky few to have neutral undertones, you can pretty much wear any colour you want.

If you still don’t know how to figure out your undertones here’s a quick guide: If you have blue/purple veins on your wrist and suit silver jewellery best you have cool undertones. If your wrist veins appear green/olive and you look best in gold jewellery then you’ve got warm undertones (most common in South Africa). A neutral undertone is a mix of both warm and cool tones.