Beauty Brands That Received Queen Elizabeth's Official Approval

Queen Elizabeth II exuded class, beauty, and elegance, and this was shown especially through her appearance. Her makeup was timeless and often subtle, usually with a statement lipstick and a hint of blush. The queen had such a liking for certain beauty brands that she even issued them royal warrants so they would exclusively provide products to her. She was very loyal to the makeup brands she issued royal warrants to, using some of their products, like Elizabeth Arden, for decades. A royal warrant recognizes a brand as a regular supplier of goods and services to a royal court. Often, when brands do receive a royal warrant, there will be a seal on the company's website or product advertising that they have received the honor (per Royal UK).

One of the queen's staple beauty products that did not receive a royal warrant was Essie's nail polish in the shade ballet slippers, a light nude-pink shade. Although this product didn't receive the official stamp, the queen made sure to always have it on hand. In 1989, Queen Elizabeth's personal hairdresser wrote a letter to Essie to request a bottle of its nail polish in that shade, because it was "the only color" she would wear (per Glamour UK). From then on, the color became one of Essie's bestsellers.

Receiving a royal warrant is one of the biggest compliments a brand or product could possibly receive, so let's take a look at some of the brands that got Queen Elizabeth's official sign of approval.

The queen's go-to perfume was said to be White Rose by Floris London, which was given a royal warrant as the queen's official perfumer. This perfume was also the scent the queen chose to wear on her wedding day, according to You Magazine.

Floris White Rose was a favorite by the queen because it smelled like her favorite, carnations (per Hello). Other notes in the fragrance include iris, rose, jasmine, violet, amber, and musk. Neiman Marcus describes the floral scent as a "sparkling rose fragrance with a powdery undertone" that's "warmed by the spicy notes of carnation."

In honor of the queen's Platinum Jubilee (a 70-year milestone for her reign as queen), Floris even created a special fragrance called Platinum 22, inspired by the floral scents in the Buckingham Palace gardens, according to Town & Country. "When we created Platinum 22, we were thinking of that experience: we wanted to capture the flowers, the trees, and the gravitas of the gardens in general," Edward Bodenham, Floris' perfume director, told the outlet.

Queen Elizabeth's favorite lipstick brand was Elizabeth Arden, so it's fitting that the company has held a royal warrant for more than 50 years (per Hello). She was often seen reapplying Elizabeth Arden lipsticks at different functions — basically making her the brand's top-tier ambassador. The exact shades she used were highly coveted, but many sources have a few guesses as to what they were. According to Glamour UK, one color the queen was known to use was Elizabeth Arden's Beautiful Color Lipstick in the color fig, which is a cool pink. Some of her other go-to lipstick shades typically ranged from soft neutrals to bright pinks and reds.

Another product from Elizabeth Arden that the queen was fond of was the Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, which she applied morning and night, according to Glamour UK. The cream promises to deliver long-lasting deep hydration to soothe and protect the skin.

According to Elizabeth Arden, "The name 'Eight Hour' was coined by a devoted Elizabeth Arden client who used the cream on her child's grazed knee, and eight hours later, it was magically better."

Clarins holds a royal warrant for skin care and cosmetics. Some of the queen's favorite Clarins products included the Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (per The Telegraph). It's also reported in The Telegraph that she often used the Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact. She loved the brand so much that she even commissioned Clarins to make her very own personalized shade of lipstick to match the robes for her coronation in 1953.

The Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact is a mattifying powder meant to give a lightweight, natural, even finish that lasts all day (per Clarins). It seems ease was the name of the game for the queen.

The Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream contains shea butter, sesame oil, and myrrh to condition hands and cuticles. According to Clarins, it creates "an invisible protective glove that helps shield skin from environmental pollution that leads to premature signs of aging." Supposedly, the queen loved this product so much, "it never runs out at the palace," according to The Telegraph.

Kent Brushes was established in 1777 — making it the world's oldest brush manufacturer. It has also probably held one of the longest royal warrants for nine consecutive reigning monarchs, ever since Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837.

In 1955, three years after Queen Elizabeth II took the throne, Kent Brushes received a new royal warrant as an exclusive brush maker for the queen. The brand was such a favorite, it even received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the international trade category due to the company's success in international sales.

Kent hairbrushes are unique, especially in their craftsmanship. Each brush is handmade by up to 12 people in Kent's factory with high-quality luxury materials such as ebony and fine natural bristle. Just one brush can take up 540 hours of work from start to finish to produce, according to the Kent website. On the listing for one cherrywood brush, the company describes their brush as able "to enhance the condition of each strand, from root to tip, stimulating your scalp for faster growth, distributing your hair's oils for natural nourishment, while giving all-over luster and shine."

Yardley London English lavender soap is probably one of the most affordable brands on this list, and it was another one of the queen's favorites to use. Yardley has been a leading supplier of soaps and perfumes since 1770, and the company held royal warrants from 1921 (per Yardley London). Yardley prides itself on providing quality products that are affordable, fragrant, and follow the five core values of quality, heritage, Englishness, natural freshness, and trust. Yardley's products contain a variety of scents, all of which are inspired by the environment and made with natural ingredients like real fruits, fresh flowers, spices, and fine oils.

According to Hello, at one point Yardley soaps were always stocked inside the royal palaces. The queen's favorite line of Yardley products was its Luxury Soap Collection, which comes with three scents including English lavender, English rose, and lily of the valley. Yardley London has since had its royal warrant expire with the shifting tastes of the royal family and guidance from King Charles III, as reported by The Times.

Boots was one of the earliest recipients of a royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth ll. In 1955, Boots received its first royal warrant as "suppliers of soap," but without any mention of specific products (per Boots). Just a few years later, the warrant was extended in 1958 to include agricultural and horticultural goods.

Boots is a popular health and beauty store in the U.K. that is very similar to a drugstore in America but provides more high-end products from luxury beauty brands like Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome, and Bobbi Brown. It also produces some of its very own exclusive brands, one being a leading skin care brand, No7, which has extended production to other retailers in the U.S., including Target and Walmart.

In 1970, Boots posted its royal warrant in the window of its store in Windsor. According the company's website, it said: "For it is this branch that most of Her Majesty's requirements of Boots goods are obtained by the queen's housekeeper and the steward of Windsor Castle. While Her Majesty's purchases range over much of our inventory the emphasis is laid upon chemist lines and horticultural and agricultural goods for which, of course, we hold the royal warrant and we are particularly proud of the fact that supplies for the royal gardens are delivered to the manager of Windsor Great Park."

Molton Brown is a British fragrance brand that has held a royal warrant since 2013. It produces the palace's bath and shower gel, body lotion, and bath oil, which were also likely to have been used by guests who made visits. Queen Elizabeth's favorites were the orange and bergamot bath and shower gel and the orange and bergamot body lotion, which is the brand's most popular scent (per Hello).

According to Molton Brown, the orange and bergamot product line contains scents of "uplifting bergamot, blossoming neroli, and warm musk." In combination, these notes create a refreshing, citrusy scent.

Molton Brown's mission statement declares a strong belief in providing high-quality products. The Molton Brown website notes that they "source only the best ingredients in exceptional fragrance concentrations, so you can discover long-lasting fragrances that uplift, refresh, or unwind your senses. Our quality has awarded us with a royal warrant from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."

The secret to the queen's youthful skin and beautiful complexion may have been due to an exclusive emollient skin cream made just for her by Murray Deeside Marketing.

Murray Deeside Marketing is a skin cream manufacturer that received Queen Elizabeth's royal warrant for skin care products in 2009. The emollient cream was first used by the queen's mother, and it was made exclusively for her by retired pharmacist Ian Murray and was later used by Queen Elizabeth (per Express).

Murray played with the idea of selling the emollient skin cream to the public but did not follow through due to a fear of the demand being too high to manage. In an interview with Express, Murray said, "I'm still not ready to go ahead. It would be quite a lot of work, but I'm still thinking about it. It's a really good cream and I know the demand would be there. Whether I'd be able to cope with it is another thing."