Queen Elizabeth often wore gloves for public events, and when she didn't, her nails were typically buffed and bare. But the idea that she loyally wore Essie Ballet Slippers polish from the late '80s until her 2022 death still pervades. Check any royal beauty story or gift guide (including mine) and you'll be sure to find the whisper-pink shade in there as the only shade of nail polish that the late Queen wore.
The origin of that claim traces back to 1989, when, according to Essie (via the Metro), the Queen requested a bottle. In a letter that same year, her hairdresser reportedly described Ballet Slippers as "the only color Her Majesty would wear." But owning a bottle is not the same as wearing it publicly—and photographic evidence of the late Queen in visible nail polish is virtually nonexistent.
