Essie Ballet Slippers Is the Prettiest Sheer Pink Nail Polish Ever: Evaluation

Title one thing extra iconic than being Queen Elizabeth’s favourite nail polish shade. I will wait. Essie Ballet Slippers is so beloved by the monarch, in truth, that it is reportedly the one coloration that she’ll let contact her royal fingernails. Whereas my very own love affair with Ballet Slippers is not as well-documented because the Queen’s, it’s simply as passionate (sure, you might be very keen about nail polish, particularly while you work at Attract).

After I was within the warmth of my pre-teen years, I might wander away and peruse the sweetness aisles of my native drugstore whereas my dad and mom had been procuring. I might browse the most recent skin-care product, claiming to eliminate my blossoming pimples quick, then transfer over to nail polishes the place I used to be all the time mesmerized by the number of colours, sorted in rainbow order.

Throughout one among these procuring expeditions, I turned drawn to a sheer, gentle pink shade, however fell in love once I noticed that it was aptly named Ballet Slippers — I used to be a ballerina my complete life and felt that the identify was kismet: we had been meant for one another. It was the primary nail polish coloration that I ever picked out alone and remained a mainstay in my (quickly increasing) lacquer assortment.

Ballet Slippers has been round since 1982, just one 12 months after Essie Weingarten launched her line of nail colours. Reportedly, it was named to pay homage to Weingarten’s girlhood ritual of getting manicures along with her mom after ballet class each Saturday. The enduring enchantment of the shade’s romanticism and femininity isn’t not like that of ballet itself.

At any time when I’m doing my nails myself (which truly tends to be so much), I begin with a drop of the Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Remover on every nail. After a fast push and extra normal cuticle upkeep with Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil, I will all the time pack on further hydration to each my nails and my fingers by making use of Weleda’s Almond Hand Cream — I discover that moisturizing earlier than making use of polish helps every little thing really feel brisker and generally last more. To present your self main endurance and insurance coverage towards chips, I additionally advocate swiping on a fast layer of Essie’s Right here to Keep Base Coat earlier than attending to the primary occasion.

The trickiest half about making use of Ballet Slippers is that it is a very skinny and sheer shade, clearly, so brush strokes can change into obvious in the event you’re not cautious. With each layer you add on, the extra streak-free the look turns into — three layers for me tends to be the candy spot. In the event you’re seeking to make the smooth, pink coloration stand out somewhat extra, borrow this tip from Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel The Satan Wears Prada, the place Ballet Slippers makes an look: layer it on high of 1 coat of Essie’s Marshmallow, a sheer white shade.

Although I’ve experimented with bolder nail artwork (ombré neon nails, anybody?) and colours, I’ve all the time had a keenness for this oldie-but-a-goodie. It brings me again to the times once I would wander the pharmacy magnificence aisles, determined to strive each single product. And, if carrying Ballet Slippers will get me one step nearer to royalty because of this, I am right here for it.

The Essie Ballet Slippers Nail Polish is a 2020 Attract Readers’ Selection Award winner. See the whole record of this 12 months’s winners right here.