Meghan Markle’s Beauty Favorites List Contains a Hidden Nod to Her Former Life in the U.K.

Just one day after releasing her curated fashion collection on ShopMy, Meghan Markle released her beauty favorites on the same platform—and many products have deeper meanings than may have initially met the eye.

On March 25, Meghan released 25 curated skincare and beauty picks, ranging from eyeshadow to foundation to lip balm, cleanser, moisturizer, mascara, and dry shampoo. What inspired the drop, apparently, was many people asking about her nail polish on her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex wrote on her Instagram Story on Tuesday, adding she does “one coat of each.” She also added “a few of my other essentials,” including a callback to her days living in the U.K.

Meghan lived in husband Prince Harry’s home country from 2017 until 2020, when the couple and their son Prince Archie relocated to Meghan’s home country, the U.S., where daughter Princess Lilibet would be born the next year. Included in Meghan’s ShopMy beauty roundup was the 3d Moisture Infusion Mask from Sarah Chapman—who was Meghan’s London facialist.

In fact, when Meghan was in the U.K. in June 2022 for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee (celebrating Her late Majesty’s historic 70 years on the throne), Meghan visited Chapman, the skincare professional told People: “Meghan and I love to chat, and the opportunity to give her a good facial and make sure her skin kept glowing for all the events was a great combination—friendly catch-up and facial pampering,” Chapman told the outlet at the time.

Chapman spilled that she used products that included vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, a hydrating booster, and pep 8 serum, telling People, “I wanted her beauty to shine at the events, so lots of hydration, oils, and massage achieve that, and I also use an LED light treatment.”

Chapman added that Meghan has a “natural, relaxed approach to beauty” that allows her to go “formal and polished or relaxed and casual very easily and allow her personality to shine through.”

In addition to giving Meghan a facial, Chapman met Princess Lilibet during the visit, during which time Lilibet turned a year old. Chapman was Meghan’s facialist during her time as a working royal, and even before, as Chapman prepped Meghan’s skin before her May 2018 wedding day to Harry. Regarding said wedding day prep, Chapman told Town & Country, “What we do the day before is a lot of massaging—using lots of oils and serums—to really plump up the skin and give it that juicy look. But there’s also a holistic aspect. When someone is getting married, they’re pretty stressed, so I really try [to] center people as well as looking at the skin. A lot of people say I’ve got quite healing hands.” (Hands that are insured for a whopping $1.3 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.)

Chapman elaborated that wedding skin prep began long before the day before—think six months ahead, and including gentle peels and appointments every four weeks, with a good skincare routine in between. Then comes “a Skinesis 10-day kit, which is all about radiance recharge, lots of vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, and lactic acid,” Chapman said.

After Harry and Meghan stepped back as working royals in January 2020 and relocated to the U.S., Chapman wrote in a lengthy April 2020 Instagram post about her “dear friendship” with the couple, writing, “I feel very grateful to be a small part of their journey observing the passion for everything they do and compassion for the causes and people they meet, but also to witness the moments other people don’t see. Who they are at home, as parents, as partners, and friends, the kind and very down-to-earth people they are when no one is watching.”

“With Meghan, what began as a client relationship quickly turned into a dear friendship and she welcomed me into their lives,” Chapman wrote. “Every day we learn something new and I have been taught so much by them, and I always leave our time together feeling fulfilled and inspired to help people in any small ways I can.” She added that she wished the “down-to-earth” couple “love and positivity” after embarking on “this transition”: “I know there will be so many ways you will continue to touch people’s lives and enable positive change and we can’t wait to see what you do next,” she wrote.

Choosing Chapman’s product might be a direct tie to her old life in the U.K., but there are plenty of other deeper connections in her ShopMy beauty closet that those not paying close attention might have missed. For example? Her affinity for Tatcha—a brand founded by friend Vicky Tsai, who appeared in episode 7 of With Love, Meghan—which garnered two picks in Meghan’s collection, the Serum Stick and The Dewy Skin Cream, specifically. (Meghan’s longtime makeup artist Daniel Martin, who is in episode 1 of Meghan’s Netflix series, also serves as global director of artistry for Tatcha.)

One brand in Meghan’s investment portfolio is Highbrow Hippie, and the brand’s Root Replenish Active Growth Serum landed on her ShopMy list, as did close friend Victoria Jackson’s No Makeup Makeup Foundation (Jackson appears in episode 6 of With Love, Meghan).

As for the aforementioned nail polish? Meghan grabs CND Shellac in either Satin Slippers or Romantique, and she also recommended the Dazzle Dry Build Your System Kit for nail care.

RMS Beauty, Jane Iredale, Arcona, SAIE, Saint Jane, Summer Fridays, LANEIGE, Medicube, La Roche-Posay, Lottabody, Thrive Causemetics, Weleda, Tata Harper, MAC, and others also made the cut, as did a Cuyana leather travel case set to store all the products in when on the go.

As for whether Meghan intends to become an influencer through her lifestyle show, lifestyle brand, and, now, her affiliate links, Meghan told People earlier this month that she doesn’t identify as an influencer, but rather “I see myself as an entrepreneur and a female founder, and if the brand ends up influential, then that’s great.”

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