Queen Elizabeth Only Wears One Nail Polish—and It’s $9 a Bottle!

You could be wearing the same color right now.

Queen-Elizabeth’s-Nail-Polish-Is-Only-$9-a-Bottle-8865455ad-Tim-RookeREXShutterstockTim Rooke/REX/ShutterstockQueen Elizabeth II is just like you. Sure, she has power over the British Parliament and can wage war or declare peace whenever she pleases, but she relates to us normal folk on a personal level—looking good on a budget.

In addition to her Launer purses that she carries all the time, Her Majesty’s other fashion staple is her nail polish. She always sticks to the same color, Essie’s Ballet Slippers, a light pink polish that almost looks nude. Oh, and it only costs $9 a bottle. (That’s 7.99 pounds in England, which is still ridiculously affordable.)

Queen-Elizabeth’s-Nail-Polish-Is-Only-$9-a-Bottle-Matthew-Cohenrd.comMatthew Cohen/rd,comAccording to the Essie website, the Queen’s hairdresser sent Essie a letter in 1989 asking for the shade—“the only color Her Majesty would wear”—and she hasn’t changed her preference since. We can only speculate why she chose this nail polish as her go-to, but it’s definitely a plus that it never clashes with her signature neon outfits.

Reader’s Digest previously named Ballet Slippers one of the nail polishes every woman should own for its subtle sheer that’s perfect for the office, but now we have another reason: channeling your inner Royal without breaking bank.

Claire Nowak
Claire is a writer, editor and digital strategist with more than 10 years of experience reporting on facts, trivia and quotes. Her natural curiosity lends itself to stories on history, trivia and "Did you know?" curiosities, and her work has appeared in Taste of Home, The Family Handyman, The Healthy and iHeart Media. A former editor at Reader's Digest and proud Marquette University grad, she lives in Milwaukee with her fiancé and their corgi and enjoys binge-listening to true-crime podcasts.