Whether she’s working a hairband and bangs as the frantically sanctimonious Clare in Derry Girls, piled high with pre-Raphaelite copper curls as Penelope Featherington (and Lady Whistledown) in Bridgerton, or dressed for the gods in full blown drag make-up in her spare time as Kylie Gender, Nicola Coughlan is a master of make-up transformation. Don’t even get us started on her haute couture-worthy beauty looks that break Instagram every time she rocks them on the red carpet. That neon pink eyeshadow? Iconic.
Unsurprisingly for the Irish actor, make-up is a medium for all things self-expression. ‘It’s something I really enjoy and get a lot of joy from,’ Coughlan told ELLE UK ahead of this weekend’s BAFTA TV Awards. Nominated in the Must See Moment category for arguably the most anticipated reveal in Netflix history – the identity of Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown – the 34-year-old used the opportunity to don yet another major make-up look. ‘When I saw the sketches of the dress from Valentino, I immediately sent my make-up artist a message saying, “You might think I’m crazy, but I think we should do blue eyeshadow.” And he replied saying, “That’s exactly what I thought too.”‘
Before the real life awards ceremony went down, we chatted to Coughlan about breaking the make-up mould, throwback beauty looks inspired by Avril Lavigne and why she’ll never buy into Instagram filters…
What role does make-up play in your day-to-day life?
‘Make-up for me is a form of self-care and form of self-expression as well. I like to sit down and take my time doing my make-up. I always make sure that I really take care of my skin and that routine is really therapeutic for me. Coming out of Bridgerton and doing all the promo, I didn’t want to come from this really lavish show and then do something really expected and boring with my make-up, like a smoky eye and a nude lip. I really wanted to express myself through it. You have to do what makes you happy through fashion and make-up. You’ve got to please yourself and not worry about anyone else.’
What is it about make-up that’s so empowering?
‘Part of what I love about being an actor is I get to become that character and not impose any of my own preferences on that. I think you can see when that happens sometimes with actors and they look the same in every role. That would be my nightmare.
‘I think there’s a lot to be said about what’s expected of women and how they’re expected to fit into a certain sort of beauty mould. But you don’t have to do that, you can march to the beat of your own drum and not look like carbon copies of each other. Life’s too short, let’s have fun. I love Lucy Boynton and Zooey Deutch, Zendaya always looks amazing, anyone who’s willing to take a chance. Emma Stone in Cruella looks phenomenal. I’m such a fan of hers anyway but I saw a photo of her from the film with rhinestones all down her nose on Instagram and I loved it.’
What make-up look just isn’t you?
‘I’ve never been into the super contoured look; I never want my face to not look like my face. I always go for fresh skin and then express myself more through colour and shape. I love trying something different and creating a look that works with the outfit. Neil Young, my make-up artist, said something really clever about make-up, he said that to do a really cool make-up look you need to leave something out. It’s not all about looking super done, which looks really great on some people, but for me I always felt like a kid wearing my mum’s make-up when I had that sort of full face look.
‘There is this make-up look I found on Instagram that I haven’t had the chance to do yet. It’s like a 1970s porn star sort of look that’s got this glowy, bronzed skin with a red/pink lip and blue eyeshadow.’
How has your relationship with make-up changed as you’ve got older?
‘When you’re younger make-up is more like a coat of armour, you’re protecting yourself by putting it on and you feel like you have to wear it to cover yourself up. I used to be scared to go out without make-up on but I don’t feel that way anymore. For me, make-up has become less about self-protection and more about self-expression.
‘I definitely fell victim to the pencil brows when I was younger. There are some pictures of me when I was about 13 or 14 and I remember having to pluck my eyebrows everyday. That’s serious commitment! Then lots of kohl black eyeliner, just always melting down my face, I was very into the Avril Lavigne look back in school. Oh and really, really sticky lip gloss that my hair would get stuck in.’
Who inspires you to be more of a beauty rebel?
‘I’m very obsessed with Bimini, that’s no secret! When I started watching Drag Race about ten years ago, I was fascinated by how transformative drag make-up was to the queens on the show. They would describe their drag persona as someone totally different – the fiercest woman in the room! There was something about that that gave me confidence and it’s something I channel into acting a lot of the time, especially in Bridgerton. Playing Penelope and Lady Whistledown, that sort of mindset was really useful to me. I did a drag Zoom quiz last year with a full face of drag make-up and it made me sit totally differently; it made me more confident and fearless.
‘Jonathan Van Ness is also the biggest cheerleader I could have. When I went to chop my hair off and got my bob I had a heavy consultation with him ahead of time. He’d seen photos of me with short hair before so he was advising me on how to wear it this time and he said, “Ok, but no bangs this time!: He’s so sweet, I’ll send him photos from shoots and he’ll reply, “Who is this queen??”’
Where do you stand when it comes to make-up filters? Helpful or harmful?
‘I’ll never use filters to try and be deceptive. If I use them it’s always to make the picture look more professional, but I’m not using them to alter my face or body, I think that can be quite damaging. I love to share my make-up looks and those fun things but that’s not my everyday, I’m heading to set right now in a tracksuit and no make-up! So when I post I want to make it clear that this is me dressing up, it’s not how I look all the time. Equally, I used to break my back slightly trying to show everything on Instagram and now I’m taking care of myself a bit more. I don’t need to explain everything to everyone, I can reserve some things for myself. Social media isn’t worth damaging your mental health over.’
Elle UK
Written by George Driver
Published June 7, 2021
