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Beauty Tricks That You Probably Didn't Notice Meghan Markle Did — and That's Entirely the Point

14/11/2019 - 11:30 AM

Ever since becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle [1] doesn't talk about her hair and makeup routine or her favourite beauty products, instead focusing her energy on philanthropic work, attending royal appearances, and being a mum to baby Archie. But if you look closely, there are some pretty genius hair and makeup tips you can learn from Meghan that you can 100 percent apply to your own life.

For example, Meghan's first power beauty move — and one we instantly loved her for — was when she wore a messy bun [2] to an event with Prince Harry before they were engaged, something we rarely see from the rest of the royal family. And although her hair has definitely become more polished and refined after her wedding to Prince Harry [3], she made sure she did the transition in her own way. By continuously and effortlessly combining royal traditions and her own style, Meghan's redefined the modern updo and what it means to be an "event-appropriate hairstyle."

When it comes to makeup, the duchess has always leaned towards a natural look. Even before her royal life, Meghan has had one nonnegotiable request: her freckles must be on show. The same was true when she guest edited the September issue of British Vogue; the duchess's main request for the cover shoots was, "I want to see freckles!" [4]

It's safe to say Meghan is creating her own path when it comes to royal beauty. We imagine she's picked up a fair few tips from her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge [5], and possibly even found inspiration from the late Princess Diana [6]. But she's certainly created rules of her own, and luckily for us, she has provided us with plenty of tips to try out at home, too. Read on to see some of the best beauty tricks we've learnt from the Duchess of Sussex so far.

Meghan Gets Tiny Trims to Avoid a Big Haircut

Much like Princess Diana, Meghan chooses to get her hair cut with very small trims, rather than one big chop. We noticed the tiny change back in November 2018 [7], when Meghan stepped out with a slightly shorter cut with freshly snipped layers added at the bottom and along the face-framing pieces. Diana apparently did this [8] to ensure the press attention was entirely on her charity work rather than on her hairstyle.

Meghan's Freckles Must Be "Peeking Through"

One of Meghan's most widely known beauty secrets (which we guess isn't really much of a secret anymore) is that she keeps her freckles on show at all times [9]. This is just one of the reasons her makeup always looks super natural and fresh. According to a makeup artist who's worked with Meghan on an occasion, her number one request was to make sure her freckles were "peeking through," which is exactly what she did on her wedding day. And it's not just on herself; for the recent issue of British Vogue that Meghan helped edit, she requested all the models' freckles be seen [10] — no Photoshop allowed. If there's one tip we love most from Meghan, it's embracing what mother nature gave you.

Meghan Loves to Wear Lip Liner

One of the most surprising of Meghan's beauty tips is her love of lip liner [11], which she wears in the most subtle way. She very lightly overlines her mouth with a liner that's a shade slightly darker than her natural lip colour, then adds a layer of gloss on top. The trick is barely noticeable, which makes all the difference in maintaining a natural finish.

The Secret to Glowing Wedding Makeup Is in the Skin

Of course, a successful wedding-day makeup look has a lot do with the makeup used, but it also has to do with how well you've taken care of your skin leading up to the big event. Meghan's friend and longtime makeup artist, Daniel Martin, revealed that her wedding glow was mostly thanks to facialist Sarah Chapman [12]. Martin shared that Meghan invested a lot of time into her prewedding skincare routine [13] to ensure she didn't need to wear heavy makeup on the day of. We also know that the duchess is a fan of inside-of-the-mouth facials [14] (yes, they exist), which gave her a temporary "lift" on the big day.

Meghan Adds Eyeliner For a Special Occasion

Although Meghan is all about looking extremely natural, that doesn't mean she doesn't experiment with makeup from time to time. During her and Prince Harry's tour of Morocco, she took inspiration from the country's beauty tradition [15] of using thick kohl liner, drawing her own black eyeliner both across her lashes and along her waterlines.

Wedding Hair Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

In keeping with her "purposefully messy" hairstyle preference, it was only fitting that the duchess wore her hair soft and slightly imperfect on the big day [16], which, yes, was totally intentional.

Hairstylist Serge Normant brushed Meghan's hair into a low chignon with a middle part that complemented the large circular stone right in the centre of her tiara. He also kept two face-framing pieces of hair loose to give the overall style a laid-back feel. Although you might not have a spare heirloom tiara hanging around your house to wear on your own wedding day, there are plenty of beautiful hair accessories and headbands [17] these days that can help you re-create a similar vibe for your own special day.

Meghan Wears Dark Nail Polish For a Night Out

One royal "beauty rule" Meghan stuck to during her engagement and early months of her marriage was keeping her manicure pale pink or neutral [18]. That was until December 2018, when she wore dark — almost black — nail polish [19] to the British Fashion Awards.

Other royals including the Duchess of Cambridge and the Queen — who has famously worn the same pale pink Essie shade for decades [20] — adhere to this rule, although not everyone is so keen. Princess Eugenie often adds a splash of colour to her nails — she's even a fan of nail art [21]. Maybe one day we'll see Meghan trying out one of the simple nail designs [22] we're currently obsessing over.

Meghan's Must-Have Under-Eye Brightener Is Makeup Artist Approved

Since Meghan is such an advocate for natural beauty, and of course, freckles, it's no surprise that she forgoes thick concealer and chooses something super light and brightening [23] instead. Enter: Yves Saint Laurent Beauté Touche Éclat [24] (£26). She revealed to Birchbox back in 2014 that it was her go-to for looking wide awake, "especially good when we are filming at 3am," [25] which we can imagine still comes in handy with baby Archie.


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