In many ways, the fourth season of Bridgerton is unlike any other. Its new lead heroine, Sophie Baek, played by Yerin Ha, is not a blushing debutante nor a diamond of the first water, but instead a humble maid who sneaks her way into a society masquerade ball. There, she meets Benedict Bridgerton, the free-spirited second son of the Bridgerton family, who falls head over heels in love with her.

What follows is a class-clash Cinderella story that gives audiences the first real look at the downstairs world of the ton. Working for her wicked stepmother, Lady Araminta Gun, Sophie does not have the luxury of wearing beautiful gowns or ornate hairstyles. For Nic Collins, the show’s makeup designer, the character was a welcome departure from the glitz and glamour of previous seasons.

“Sophie is very guarded and very neat, so she keeps herself immaculate so she can’t be criticised,” says Collins. “She’s living in a household where she just wants to disappear all the time. So that [maid] look was something very simple, something she could achieve without drawing too much attention to herself.”

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Since the makeup look was minimal, Collins put the focus on Ha’s incredible skin with plenty of luminous skin care (more on that later). But it’s not all work and no play for Sophie. As fans of the book know, Sophie is not only a maid but also the mysterious Lady in Silver, who enchants Benedict at his mother’s masquerade ball.

Designing different looks for two sides of the same character came with its own unique challenges. “The Lady in Silver, the dream of who she really is underneath that guardedness, represents the society she feels she’s missing a part of,” Collins says. “She wants to be in that world. We took some references from that period, the simple styles, but still very elegant. So that’s how we separated the two styles from her work, look to her secret masquerade look.”

Ahead, Nic Collins shares more about designing Sophie’s makeup look for the hit Netflix show, the products she used for Ha’s masquerade lip, and the subtle change to Benedict fans should keep an eye out for. Plus, the one on-set beauty hazard you would never expect.

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