Netflix’s hit period-romance Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s book series, is known for three things: its steamy courtships, its racially retconned Regency flair, and the so-called Bridgerton glow-up. Each season follows the love story of a different Bridgerton sibling in an alternate-history London. Anyone with eyes will notice that the featured lovebirds, without fail, get a makeover right when it’s their turn to step into the limelight, to the delight of fans who love comparing before-and-after shots of the characters. Season 3 of the show—which follows the third Bridgerton son, Colin (Luke Newton), and his best-friend-turned-more romance with the girl next door, Penelope (Nicola Coughlan)—continues this grand tradition, transforming two already attractive people into even more ravishing versions of themselves.
Slate sat down with Bridgerton’s hair and makeup designer, Erika Ökvist, to break down all of the aesthetic upgrades this season. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Slate: As I’m sure you already know, there’s this concept that the internet has dubbed “the Bridgerton Glow-Up,” where, in any given season, the main couple undergoes a noticeable aesthetic improvement when it’s their time to shine. How much of these changes are expressly intentional? Is there some kind of war room where all this masterminding takes place whenever a new season starts?
Erika Ökvist: What we’ve got to remember is that all of these characters started off in Season 1 being quite young, so we got a natural glow-up that happens with these actors. Like with Penelope in Season 1, everything was round and enhanced, and obviously her chest was put away. Then in Season 2, she tried to explore who she was, and sometimes it was successful and sometimes it wasn’t. Now, she clearly has grown up. She’s a woman of her own right. She knows she’s not going to marry Colin, and she decides that she doesn’t want to be under her mother’s thumb anymore. So, she puts on what I would call a “war look.” She’s literally going in to seduce somebody. I think that the glow-up is prompted by the story and how the character needs to develop. It is definitely a glow-up, but it’s something that is totally character- and story-driven.
How do you decide what to change?
When it came to styling Nicola, the approach was entirely character-driven and rooted in what would best complement her natural features. The guiding principle was simple yet crucial: choose a look that flatters her face. Beauty was, of course, essential, but more importantly, the style had to enhance her character’s essence on screen. Initially, there were three different ideas in play. Each was tested, but ultimately, the one that truly succeeded stood out—a nod to old Hollywood glamour, evoking icons like Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe. This aesthetic didn’t just highlight Nicola’s facial features beautifully; it also harmonized seamlessly with the costume design crafted by John Glaser. The final look was a collaborative triumph—both Shondaland and Nicola herself were thrilled with the result. It was a style that evolved through exploration but always stayed anchored in the character’s story and the actor’s unique presence.
A progression of Penelope in seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton.
Let’s break this classic Hollywood look down a bit more. What are the major differences in the makeup, hair, and costuming for the character of Penelope, compared to the previous seasons?
In the first season she was childish, in the second season she’s a teenager, and now she becomes a woman. Instead of enhancing anything round, we’re just enhancing all the lines going up. So, we’ve got these cheekbones going up to God, as I say. We’ve got a snatched jawline, we’ve got the cat eyes. All of these shapes that I talk about are very well documented on almost all Hollywood starlets. Basically, we wanted to create a siren.
The first time we see her, she’s taking all the advice from the modiste, so it’s not her own yet. It’s almost like she’s been styled. Then, during the season, as she develops herself, she will then find what I will call her “final look.” As she finds herself, she finds her look.
How much discussion went into her color palette this season? In her storyline there’s a specific effort to break away from the citrusy colors and the things that the Featheringtons are most known for, and to build her own sense of style and her own presence.
What both me and John Glaser discussed was: When you see a Hollywood starlet in these films, you don’t remember exactly what they were wearing or what their hair was like. All you remember is that she looked great. With the early Penelope, the clothes were wearing her, and now she’s wearing clothes that she glows in. We use colors that are absolutely perfect for this type of alabaster skin, because a skin like that could look ruddy in these very strong yellows and greens, whereas somebody else will look fantastic in those and look really wishy-washy in the colors that we’re choosing for her. It’s a deliberate decision that we’re going with things that are more flattering for her skin. It’s the first time where she gets that, really; everybody else has got it all the time, and now she finally gets to have it, because she’s getting away from her mother and making herself her own woman. You can see that visually. That’s what I think is really interesting is that she’s a strong, super intelligent woman with means. She would be the biggest influencer if she lived now. Her Instagram would explode. She’s that intelligent, and she can still be that glamorous. I think it’s something that strong women need to realize, that it doesn’t matter how you look, you can still be really intelligent and should be respected regardless of what you wear. If you want to wear jeans and a T-shirt, you should be as respected as if you had on super high heels and a crazy amount of jewelry.
As somebody who cannot walk in stilettos, I agree.
