Meghan Markle's Fresh Manicure Says White Nails Aren't Just a Summer Trend

Meghan Markle on the red carpet — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Meghan Markle's longterm affair with neutral colors may be one of the greatest love stories ever told. Truly, there is no bond stronger than this woman's loyalty to her color palette: white, beige, navy blue, and black. Every once in a while, you might catch her cheating with pink and green. But for the most part, the Duchess of Sussex doesn't deviate from her signature shades, even when it comes to her fingertips.

On Dec. 4, the Markle stepped out to support Tyler Perry—a longtime friend of the family, as well as her daughter's godfather—at the director's Paley Honors Tribute at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. She walked the red carpet in a custom strapless gown without husband Prince Harry in tow, but for once, I was grateful for his absence. That way, I could get a much better look at the American Riviera Orchard founder's milky white manicure.

White nails are usually considered a summer beauty trend, heavily associated with beach vacations, poolside hangs, Piña Coladas in exotic places. But here, Markle has made a very compelling case for winter white nails that evoke the hue of fresh snow, eggnog, and sugar cookies.

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A photo of Meghan Markle flashing her white nails at Tyler Perry#039;s Paley Honors Tribute at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. — Meghan Markle flashes her white nails at Tyler Perry's Paley Honors Tribute at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Think of the sugar cookie nail trend as the glazed donut manicure's mature older sister—there's no ethereal shimmer running through Markle's milky white polish, but both variations have a translucence that speaks to a broader cultural obsession with sheerness and naked dressing. The milky white nail trend specifically started over the summer, with early support from the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Hailey Bieber. But Markle has been refining her take on the cloudy white manicure since 2018, at least.

For Perry's big night, Markle paired her royal nails with a cascading black strapless gown designed by Oscar de la Renta and styled by Jamie Mizrahi. The dress featured a high slit that showcased a strappy black pair of Celine heels. She accessorized the look with custom diamond jewelry from Lorraine Schwartz and Engender, a gold Cartier Love Bracelet, and a romantic bun.

A photo of Meghan Markle sporting a strapless black Oscar de la Renta gown and Celine heels. — Meghan Markle sports a strapless black Oscar de la Renta gown and Celine heels.

Consider this my earnest plea for Markle's nail artist to please stand up and drop a breakdown of her favorite shades. But in the meantime, I have a few sugar cookie-coded options to tide you over.

Shop White Nail Polishes Inspired by Megan Markle

Static Nails Coconut

Deborah Lippmann Amazing Grace

JINsoon Prim

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Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.