In May of 2018, Meghan Markle married Prince Harry at St. George's Chapel in a televised ceremony seen by an estimated 1.9 billion people around the world. Given the sheer magnitude of the royal viewership and the history of the spectacle, every single element of Markle's bridal beauty look was finely curated, from the loose hairs falling out of her messy bun to the shape and polish on her fingernails.
As it pertains to the latter, we know what Markle's royal-wedding manicure looked like: short and rounded in shape, topped with a glossy pink-nude nail polish. However, the exact brand and shade of polish has been held under lock-and-key — until now.
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According to a recent report published in British Vogue, Markle relied on DryBy London, one of the city's premiere nail salons, for her bridal manicure and pedicure. On the big day, she actually wore a combination of two CND gel polishes on her fingernails: one layer of Unmasked, a pinky nude, with two coats of the sheer white shade Negligee over the top. For her pedicure, her artist painted on two coats of CND Shellac in the shade Cashmere Wrap, a warm taupe nude.
The London-based salon later confirmed the report in an Instagram post, co-signing the trio of CND polishes used to create Markle's bridal mani-pedi.
What's makes this new reveal even more interesting is the fact that Markle wore CND Shellac polish, when we know that the British royal family tend to wear Essie shades almost exclusively. For example, for her royal-wedding manicure, Kate Middleton reportedly wore Essie nail polish in Allure. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth has worn Essie Ballet Slippers on repeat for over 30 years, and reportedly approves of it for the rest of the family. (Princess Eugenie was rumoured to have also worn this shade for her nuptials.)
We can see why Markle would opt for a gel formula for her big day — all the better to cut loose on the dance floor without worrying about a single chip. Either way, her custom-designed bridal manicure remains elegant and timeless even years later — making for a very chic and very practical break from royal tradition.