Before she dives into her daily beauty regimen, Nicola Coughlan teases mystery and intrigue ahead. “I’m gonna tell you my beauty secrets and some deep, dark secrets,” she promises. “We’re all gonna be in a secret club together.” But first, she has to remove the French pimple patch she’s employed to take care of a little blemish. Herewith, the Bridgerton actress shares her tips for face sculpting, rolling, and a glossy red lip.
Coughlan’s skin-care routine begins with her NuFace. As the microcurrent device buzzes over her skin, the 37-year-old marvels: “It lifts your cheekbones—look at that!” While she hydrates with The Ordinary’s serum, Coughlan explains her longstanding commitment to combating dryness.
“I used to work at Lush Cosmetics when I was, like, 19 years old,” she says. “I have really, really thirsty skin, and my boss was like, ‘You need to start using eye cream, and you need to start moisturizing your neck.’ I was like, ‘Okay, girl!’” Still taking direction from her manager of yore, the actress applies Tatcha’s peony-infused eye cream with her ring finger before slathering on The Dewy Skin Cream. Next, she picks up an ice roller from a discount chain in Ireland. “I’m doing a lot of traveling at the moment,” she says. “You get really puffy on flights and early mornings. These [ice rollers] are a complete godsend.” The depuffing continues with a roller-ball facial massage, which Coughlan administers while sharing one of those “deep, dark” secrets she promised. “Do you know a big thing that’s part of my beauty routine that I did before I came here? I plucked my one long chin hair,” she confides. “Unless you have one of those, have you come into your womanhood?”
As she leaves her audience to ponder this, Coughlan applies a swipe of Fenty SPF; after that, it’s time for makeup. She uses an Evian-misted sponge to dab on NARS concealer, then reaches for her foundation.
After using her fingers to dust on Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow, she tends to her eyebrows with a Chanel pencil, topped with Glossier’s cult gel. “I do love a Boy Brow moment,” she confides. Moving onto her cheeks, Coughlan gets a dewy sheen with Charlotte Tilbury’s highlighter. “It makes you look really fresh and glowy, and I just love that,” she says.
The Galway, Ireland native confesses that she’s “very obsessed with mascara,” as she happily coats her lashes with Lancome’s Lash Idôle. She doesn’t shy away from a bright lip, either. Her next step is coating her pout with a cherry-hued liner, a slick of hyper-pigmented Pat McGrath Labs lipstick, and a glossy touch of Tatcha’s lip mask.
Before her routine is a wrap, Coughlan brushes her flaxen tresses with The Belle Brush, then adds a hint of shine with Olapex No. 7 Bonding Oil. With that, the actress’s glam is intact, and she’s ready for a New York pizza party with friends. Before she leaves, she imparts some confidence-boosting advice: “If you feel good in something, if you feel happy, just go with that,” she says. Hot red lips included.