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Get That Regal Glow: All the Beauty Products and Treatments Beloved by the Royal Family

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Photo: Instagram.com

Royal appointment: a facial at the Queen’s pharmacist

In the realm of healthcare and beauty, the Queen’s pharmacist is unmatched. Over its 224-year history, generations of the great and the good have sought John Bell & Croyden’s services and its prescription books form a roll call of illustrious names: Connaught, Carnegie, the Duke of Wellington, Florence Nightingale… Entire volumes are dedicated to the lotions and potions of assorted princesses alone. Enter the smart Wigmore Street premises and you’ll find more than 13,000 products, from cult brands to royal favorites such as Floris and Yardley – there is even a gold-plated, crystal-studded mobility scooter for sale.

In 2021, the chemist introduced treatments by Skin Design London, whose founder, Fatma Shaheen, works miracles on London’s smart set when she’s not in Beverly Hills getting Hollywood royalty red-carpet ready. Book her Face Tight Infusion with Glow Pen treatment, which uses a personalized combination of microneedling, cupping, laser and red-light infusion. You’ll depart cherry-pink, face tingling – but give it 24 hours and you’ll look tightened, lifted and revived: lips plump, jaw refined, skin radiant. Best of all, the glow lasts for weeks.

Queen bee: the Duchess of Cornwall’s bee venom skincare

Skincare expert Deborah Mitchell has lathered her collagen-rich, anti-ageing bee venom products on Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham, so it was only a matter of time before the royals came calling. After the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall married in 2005, Mitchell’s Shropshire salon took a message from Clarence House. She had been recommended to Camilla and was soon on her way to her first appointment. She still treats both Camilla and Charles regularly and is next due at Balmoral. In fact, she says, “I do all the royals.”

It’s her signature Bee Sting Facial that generates such a buzz. The treatment begins with a (surprisingly tasty) drop of collagen – said to be an anti-aging elixir – on the tongue. Pure collagen is then slathered onto the face and massaged in using acupressure techniques, tightening the skin while relieving tension. Next comes her famous bee-sting moisturizer. Packed full of naturally occurring toxins found in the venom of worker bees, it mimics the effect of a sting to increase blood flow, boosting collagen production and elastin. A vigorous arm massage is then administered (“Royals are always shaking people’s hands. They need a good stretch,” she says.) The result is transformative. Stubborn frown lines evaporate and skin appears dewy and plump. Camilla has a special golden moisturizer, which rather fittingly uses venom from the queen bee.

Eau couture: bespoke fragrance by the Queen’s perfumer

Floris has long catered for the upper echelons of society. Once the official ‘Smooth Pointed Comb Maker’ to King George IV, the institution on Jermyn Street has abundant receipts from Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming and Marilyn Monroe in its records. Now, flushed with two royal warrants, it is the official scent supplier to both the Queen and Prince Charles. Its most lavish offering is bespoke perfume: after three appointments, hours of blind fragrance testing and multiple glasses of Pol Roger, the perfumer will create a unique blend of beauty precious essential oils and floral essences. Six 100ml bottles will be made up and the formula recorded in the Floris archive.

Premium protection: royally approved sun cream

Monégasque brand Lancaster was the official supplier to Princess Grace of Monaco in the late 1950s and 1960s – and it is still loved by royals. The Duchess of Cambridge’s holiday go-to is the Satin Dry Oil.

Queen Elizabeth II applies her lipstick at a function in 1977. Photo: Getty

Sovereign scent: essentially English candles

Jo Malone London holds a special place in the Duchess of Cambridge’s heart. For her wedding day, she chose to scent Westminster Abbey with the British brand’s Orange Blossom candles. Now the fragrance house has teamed up with Richard Quinn, another royally approved British name, whose 2018 fashion show was famously attended by the Queen. His bold clashing graphic prints adorn drawer liners and covetable candles in all manner of dazzling scents.

Precious ingredient: platinum

Sarah Chapman, London’s most in-demand facialist and the woman the Duchess of Sussex entrusted with her pre-wedding complexion, hails platinum as the skincare super-ingredient to know now and has created an entire collection around it. Tiny platinum particles are said to work brilliantly to transport peptides (a popular skincare ingredient that forms proteins such as collagen) deep into the skin. The result? A noticeably tightened complexion.

Originally published in Tattler.com

Read next: Pictures: 6 Times Queen Elizabeth Gave Us a Peek at Her Very Relatable Beauty Ritual

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