The Inside Story of How Essie’s Ballet Slippers Became the Most Famous Manicure in the World
NewBeauty Facebook Pinterest Instagram Youtube find a doctor Face Adult Acne Antioxidants Anti-Aging Celebrity Chronic Skin Conditions Eye Hydration Hyperpigmentation Makeup View All Eyebrows Eye Color Foundation Fragrance Lip Color Makeovers Male Skin Care Peels Pre-Event Prep Retinoids Sensitive Skin Skin Care Skin Health Smile Sun Care Treatments Fillers Microneedling Post-Procedure Skin Care Neurotoxins Regenerative Aesthetics Skin Lifting Body Body Sculpting Breasts Butts Cellulite Hair Removal Hands + Nails Legs Pregnancy Find a Doctor Hair Bond Repair Celebrity Dry Hair Frizzy Hair Gray Hair Hair Color Hair Growth Hair Repair Scalp Health Styling + Tips Awards NB100 Awards 15th Annual Beauty Awards 2025 NewBeauty Readers’ Choice Awards Shopping Gift Guides Product Reviews NewBeauty Storefront Wellness Fitness GLP-1s Health Menopause About Us TESTTUBE Search for: Search HomeBodyHands + Nails The Inside Story of How Essie’s Ballet Slippers Became the Most Famous Manicure in the World A look back at a beauty icon four decades in the making. Liz Ritter Published: Mar 11, 2026 Photo by Consu Yáñez on Unsplash In beauty, very few products earn true icon status. But Ballet Slippers, the delicate sheer pink from Essie, has done exactly that. For more than four decades, the shade has defined the perfect barely-there manicure—soft, polished and timeless. Originally created by brand founder Essie Weingarten, the polish has become synonymous with understated elegance, proving that sometimes the simplest beauty statements make the biggest impact. The story of Ballet Slippers ($10) begins with a childhood ritual that shaped Weingarten’s vision of beauty. “Every Saturday, if Essie did well in her ballet class, her mom would take her to the local salon and let her get her nails done,” the brand shares. “The creation of the shade is a nod to this tradition and the delicate, luminous, pale pink femininity of ballet slippers.”