Rihanna Puts Her Best Foot Forward in London With a Bright White Pedicure

The pop star and her polished white toes stepped out for a Fenty Hair launch at Selfridges.

Rihanna in London
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rihanna knows white nail polish isn't a trend—it's the definitive summer nail polish color. From sheer, milky white to creamy ivory and chalky opaque white, shades in this family are timeless favorites for a reason. White adds just enough contrast to make you look tan even if you didn't spend your summer vacationing in The Hamptons or Saint Tropez. And no matter where you're going—the office, the bar, or the beach—white nail polish will keep you looking pulled-together, while offering a blank canvas against which the rest of your outfit can shine.

Perhaps that's why Rihanna painted her toes a brilliant shade of bright white to celebrate the launch of Fenty Hair at Selfridges in London, England. After arriving at the Sept. 16 event wrapped in a plush teddy coat, the pop star changed into her second look of the evening: a ruffled nude chiffon slip dress and strappy metallic sandals that showcased her fresh pedicure.

Rihanna in a brown dress with a white pedicure

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rihanna isn't the only celebrity obsessed with white manicures and pedicures at the moment. When the high priestess of nail trends Hailey Bieber let husband Justin choose her first manicure after giving birth in August, the singer specifically requested "milky white." The same month, during her royal tour of Colombia, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle—whose favorite nail polishes include CND’s Negligee and Unmasked—matched her $4, 700 Loro Piana bag to her milky white manicure. And for the May premiere of her new movie, Atlas, Jennifer Lopez and her go-to nail artist Tom Bachik mixed two shades of polish to create the perfect milky white: a combination of Aprés Nail Official Light & Shadow Gel Couleur in Renewal and Daydreaming.

Then again, if there's one thing we know for sure about Rihanna, it's that she loves to experiment with trends. Which might be why the mother of two—who works with stylist Jahleel Weaver—decided to pair her timeless white pedicure with a trendy butter yellow manicure that matched her furry trench.

Rihanna in a fur coat

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Of course, if you're finding yourself feeling torn about color choice before your next nail appointment, there are plenty of warm off-white and alabaster hues that sit perfectly between sunny butter yellow and stark snow-white. A few of my favorites include Golf le Fleur's Blonde, Olive & June's Bunny Slope, and JINsoon's Prim. Shades like these add a touch of yellow and beige to your standard white for a more flattering, subdued take on white nails.

Hanna Lustig
Staff Writer

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.