Members of the Ton, we are delighted to inform you that the next installment of your favorite guilty pleasure show is just around the corner. Season three of “Bridgerton” premieres on May 16, with part two releasing a month later on June 13. This season, like its predecessors, will focus on the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton.
Unlike many TV shows, “Bridgerton” uses its characters’ hair and makeup to tell a deeper story. This season promises even more beauty-related easter eggs. “In season three, Penelope has grown up and plays around with her look, but she now needs to find her own version of glamour,” the show’s hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist tells PS. “Throughout the season, she will evolve visually as she tries to find herself and secure her future.”
Ökvist explains how the beauty moments in the show have been enhanced for the latest season. We can expect to see Colin go through his leading-man glow-up and witness the ever-ostentatious Queen Charlotte continue to steal the scene with her iconic looks.
How “Bridgerton” Stays True to Regency-Era Beauty Ideals
“You take elements from history and then you take ones from Vogue,” Ökvist says. “Then you have a beautiful marriage of hair, makeup, and costumes.” Creating these looks required extensive research and a commitment to designing ostentatious styles for the elite characters. “These people were like today’s influencers,” Ökvist explains. “They wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same look twice.” Each character’s hair, makeup, and costume had to work together in harmony to create a visual symphony. You’ll notice elements of old Hollywood glamor woven into many of the characters’ styles.
How Penelope and Colin Glowed Up for Season Three
With Lady Whistledown’s identity revealed, Penelope Featherington is still more timid than her alter ego. “She’s been under her mother’s thumb and knows she’s not going to marry Colin,” Ökvist says. “She seeks help from the modiste to seduce someone and escape her current life.” One example of Penelope’s evolving look includes a scene where she wears rhinestones in the corners of her eyes, hoping to catch a suitor’s attention. These small beauty tactics are part of her game of seduction.
Colin Bridgerton, meanwhile, undergoes the “Bridgerton” leading-man glow-up. “In season one, his hair was styled to emphasize his youth and boyishness,” Ökvist explains. “By season three, we enhance his masculine features, showing his transformation from boy to man. His new look comes with a newfound swagger.”
What Queen Charlotte’s Hair and Makeup Say About Her Personality
Queen Charlotte’s hair and makeup are always show-stoppers, and this will continue in season three. “Even with a new look every time, Queen Charlotte remains a constant,” Ökvist says. “Her hair, makeup, and costume serve as a facade, allowing her true self to stay hidden.” Her intimidating presence is crafted through the height and variety of her hairstyles, presenting her as a goddess-like figure that commands respect and fear.
With season three just days away, these insights from Ökvist promise that our makeup routines might soon get a regency-era makeover inspired by “Bridgerton.”