20 Chic and Wearable Manicures Featuring Essie's Ballet Slippers

If you’re a nail salon regular, we’re willing to bet you’re very familiar with Ballet Slippers. The iconic shade, offered by Essie, is a go-to for seemingly anyone—the light pink hue looks amazing on all skin tones and nail shapes, resulting in a timeless and versatile color. Rita Remark, a nail artist and Essie’s global lead educator, describes it as the quiet luxury of nail color, telling us, “Ballet Slippers is a near-universally flattering cloudy, whitened pink. It's the color you get when you blend the pink of your nail bed with the whites of the tips of the nails.”

If you’re looking for some Ballet Slippers manicure ideas, know that it can be used as a base for detailed manis, worn on its own, blended to create an ombré look, paired with chrome, and so much more. This timeless colorway is “not sheer, nor is it opaque,” according to Remark. “It's somewhere in the middle; sheer enough to be soft, pigmented enough for a delicately concealing coverage.” Love Ballet Slippers as much as we do? Read on for 20 Ballet Slippers manicure ideas.

Meet Our Expert

Rita Remark is an editorial nail artist and Essie's Global Lead Educator.

Strawberry Chrome

Want to elevate your next strawberry milk mani with a touch of chrome? It’s all too easy to recreate the look. “After two coats of Ballet Slippers, add a coat of Cosmic Chrome followed by Gel Couture Top Coat,” says Remark.

Animalistic

Animal print will never go out of style, and if you like this minimalist take on leopard print, all you need is Ballet Slippers and a black polish of your choosing. Swipe on three coats of Ballet Slippers, then, grab a detail brush and paint on the leopard print decals on the tips of the nails.

Flower Tips

Embrace your love of florals with this detailed flower tip mani! While it will definitely take a lot of patience, we think the end result is totally worth it. Start out with a Ballet Slippers base, then grab about five colors in the same colorway to draw on the flowers.

Ballet Glaze

You can never have too much chrome, and we’re obsessing over this glazed look. To copy the mani, paint on two to three coats of Ballet Slippers, and follow it up with some chrome, like Esvy Nails’ Glaze Chrome Powder (which is the specific chrome used in this picture!).

Dusty Pink

There’s something about a dusty pink manicure that does it for us every time, and if you like how stark this nail set looks, we suggest going in with multiple coats of Ballet Slippers (at least three).

Coquette Vibes

This coquette-esque Ballet Slippers manicure idea was made for the person looking to add a feminine touch to their digits. After painting on a base using Ballet Slippers, draw silver swirls and bows onto each of your nails.

Smoky Ombré

Getting this smokey ombré manicure is all too easy with Ballet Slippers. First, apply two coats of the shade. Then? “On a cosmetic wedge, polish Ballet Slippers and Lilacism side by side, and working quickly, lightly tap it onto the nail. Repeat for saturation and add topcoat,” says Remark.

Cherry Blossoms

We will never get tired of floral nails, and these cherry blossom-enhanced nails that utilize Ballet Slippers are the perfect example of why. Start out with a Ballet Slippers base, then grab a few darker shades of pink to draw on the flowers, using white, gold, and orange for the details.

For Lovers

Calling all minimalists! Whether you love love or simply want to spruce up your Ballet Slippers mani, adding some mini red hearts is the way to do it. Choose a few nails and grab a detail brush to draw on the hearts.

Feeling Spicy

Another Ballet Slippers manicure idea we think you should try is this chili pepper-inspired one. After going in with your base, grab a red and green color and draw on the chilis. Or, if you’re artistically challenged, invest in some decals, like these ones from Etsy!

Ombré Tips

If you love French tips but want to step out of your comfort zone, we beg you to give these ombré tips a try. After laying on a base of Ballet Slippers, grab a white polish and place it on a sponge, gently buffing the color onto the tips of each nail.

Pin-Prick Mani

Pink and red are one of our favorite color combos of all time, and we love how this pin-prick mani turned out. Ballet Slippers will be your base for this look, so after going in with two or three coats, grab a red polish of your choosing and draw a dot on the base of each nail with a toothpick.

Floral Cuffs

These tiny floral cuffs are the delicate cuticle detail we didn’t know we needed. First, let your Ballet Slippers base coat dry down. “With a toothpick dipped in Blanc, add a dot to the middle of the moon of each manicure. With the tip of a toothpick dipped in Cute as a Button, dab the end on an angle on the nail to make angled dashes,” says Remark.

Soft and Glazed Ombré

Out of all the Ballet Slippers manicure ideas on this list, this glazed ombré mani just might be our favorite. Start with a neutral base, and after that’s dried down, use a sponge to stamp Ballet Slippers on the ends of the nails, finishing off with chrome powder.

Flower Power

While you can absolutely hand draw flowers to mimic the look of this beautiful mani, in this situation, decals are going to be your best friend. Lay down a Ballet Slippers base then add on decals of your choice. Le Mini Macaron has great options!

Sheer Dreams

Stunning is an understatement when it comes to this minimalist, sheer, and dreamy mani. Ballet Slippers is the perfect base coat, and once that’s dried down, glue on an assortment of Coquille Charms from Cirque Colors (the same ones used in this pic!).

Your Nails, But Better

If you’re on the hunt for a super simple, no-fuss mani, go for this look. The only color you need is Ballet Slippers to get this milky hue, just top it off with a shiny top coat and you’re done!

Strawberry Florals

To get this fruity look that features strawberries and dainty flowers, start out with a Ballet Slippers base. For the next step, we think using nail stickers is way easier, and this set from Deco Beauty has some really cute options.

Floral Mania

French, meet florals! This beautiful mani can be recreated using Ballet Slippers as the base. “Adding a fun tip in the color of the summer, butter yellow, along with some flowers added with a dotting tool is perfect for summer,” Remarks shares. “Try Essie’s Gel Couture Atelier at Bay and Throw in the Towel.”

Extra Glossy

If you’re looking for an extra glossy look, here’s a mani that’s super easy to recreate yourself. Start out with a white base coat, then paint on two coats of Ballet Slippers. Finally, finish off with a high-shine top coat.

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