Meghan Markle's Makeup Transformation Through The Years Is Hard To Ignore

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has long been a fan of all things beauty. Years before meeting Prince Harry, Meghan Markle lived a lavish life that involved spa treatments and makeovers galore. She documented these experiences on her blog, The Tig, providing fascinating — and at times alarming — insight into her beauty regimen. 

In a 2014 post titled, "A Life Changing Facial," Meghan described an intensive beauty treatment that she underwent at the hands of the Sanctuary Spa's Nichola Joss. "To call it a 'facial' doesn't really do it justice, given that the woman literally puts plastic gloves on and literally gets her hands all up in your mouth to reshape and massage your face from the inside," Meghan wrote, per The Tig Archives. 

But if the duchess engaged in some pretty intensive beauty treatments at the beginning of her career, she's certainly evolved considerably over the years. These days, the Duchess of Sussex is known for following a simple beauty routine — one that emphasizes skin care and health. Rather than cake on piles of makeup — as she was asked to do in previous jobs — Meghan has now embraced a simpler look that focuses on lighter makeup. While it may have taken Meghan a while to find her favorite products, she has since developed a look that is truly her own.

These days, she's known as an actor-turned-royal, but before she got into acting, Meghan Markle had a different career. In 2007, she worked as one of suitcase models on the show "Deal or No Deal." While the job certainly helped Meghan pay her bills, it was not exactly her dream gig. Years later, in her podcast, "Archetypes," Meghan would comment on the fact that her position as a suitcase model focused more on her looks than on her brains. "I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn't the focus of why we were there. And I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage," she shared.

One of the hardest parts of appearing on "Deal or No Deal" was apparently dealing with the makeup routine. On her show, "With Love, Meghan," the duchess chatted with fellow former briefcase model, Chrissy Teigen, to discuss the eye-heavy look embraced by the game show. "I remember all standing in line to get our lashes put on, like, in a row," Meghan commented. Teigen was quick to respond, "I do remember coming off stage one day, and they held, like, a Ziploc bag open, and we all took our eyelashes off and just put them in there."

"Deal or No Deal" was not the only television show for which Meghan Markle had to wear a lot of makeup. Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan was an actor on the hit legal drama, "Suits." Her role as Rachel Zane required quite a bit of makeup — no thanks to the fact that "Suits" was filmed in high definition. Noting the differences between her makeup routine and Rachel's, Meghan told Allure, "I am so much more low-key in real life. [Rachel is] so polished. And it's in HD, so the steps that go into looking good on a show are very different than in real life."

In the same interview, Meghan described the all-natural day-to-day looks that kept her feeling fresh when off-screen. "I don't wear foundation in real life. My routine is very simple — I call it the five-minute face. It's just Touche Éclat, curled lashes, mascara, ChapStick, and a little bit of blush. That is my favorite kind of look," she revealed. 

If that all seems pretty simple, that's because it is. At the time, Meghan told Makeup.com that she tried to keep things natural after laying her makeup on thick for the cameras. "Honestly, we wear so much makeup at work at the end of the day you just want to clean palette," she admitted. Tea tree oil cleanser was one of Meghan's favorite ways to keep her skin clean.

During her time on "Suits," Meghan Markle engaged in a wide variety of makeup looks. Interestingly, though, not all of the combos that she wore on the red carpet were necessarily her favorite. In 2017, she appeared at a few "Suits" promotional events wearing simple eye makeup and a bold red lip. While this makeup was very trendy at the time, Meghan was not a huge fan. As she revealed in a conversation with Makeup.com, "If you ever see me on the carpet with a dark lip, I was strong-armed into doing it! I love the way it looks on other people — but it makes me nervous so I don't take that risk as often. I prefer a strong eye."

Because of these preferences, most of Meghan's photographs from her "Suits" era show her wearing very powerful smokey eye makeup paired with a light nude lip. As Meghan herself put things in the same interview, "For events, yes, I love a strong eye and a really light lip. I love contoured and highlighted cheekbones too." That being said, the fact that Meghan did occasionally go out with bright red lipstick shows she had to defer to what the "Suits" higher ups expected from her at the time. Because Rachel Zane was known for her flashier, more attention-grabbing style, Meghan was often expected to embrace those looks, as well.

As time went on, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, found herself moving away from the heavy makeup that Rachel Zane wore on "Suits," and leaning further into her own sense of style. This was evident when she started dating Prince Harry, as photographs from that time show her leaning further into her beloved eye makeup.

Interestingly, Meghan told Allure that she drew a lot of her inspiration from another major actor. "If I'm going to amp it up for night, then I use M.A.C. Teddy eyeliner, which is a really beautiful brown that has some gold in it. A makeup artist I work with often, Kayleen McAdams, turned me on to it. It's what she uses on Sofia Vergara, and who wouldn't want those gorgeous brown almond eyes?" Meghan gushed.

This look clearly worked for Meghan, and after she got engaged to Harry, her eye makeup drew quite a bit of applause. Dramatic yet subtle, Meghan's look emphasized her gorgeous features without detracting attention from her natural beauty. Eventually, her makeup artist, Daniel Martin, told Glamour that the secret to Meghan's smokey eye lies in the base. "The trick to this technique is to lay down a base of cream color all over your lid and layer it with an accompanied eyeshadow," Martin revealed. "I used shades of warm chestnut, cocoa, and smudge of rust into her lash line." Apparently, this combination of colors really popped.

In the months leading up to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding, the duo took on a number of important royal engagements. In March 2018, the engaged couple embarked on a trip to Northern Ireland where they visited the Titanic Museum in Belfast and made a stop at the Crown Liquor Saloon. On this occasion, Meghan wore her signature smokey eye and paired it with a light lip. However, she also wore relatively little foundation, allowing her natural freckles to pop. According to her former makeup artist, this move was typical of Meghan at the time.

"No matter the occasion, Meghan always favors a fresh, glowing complexion," shared Lydia Sellers in an interview with Today. "I love her confidence, and we always wanted to let her natural assets — like her perfect skin and freckles! — take center stage." To accomplish this freckles-forward look, Sellers said that she used a beauty blender sponge while applying Meghan's foundation. The makeup guru even went so far as to call it "The perfect tool to sheer out foundation and ensure Meghan's freckles were popping!" To prevent the duchess' foundation from becoming overwhelming, Sellers used a bit of water. "I like to wet [the beauty blender sponge] and then ring it out before applying the foundation for a sheer and natural effect," the MUA revealed. The result, according to Sellers, is "classic, timeless makeup."

Meghan Markle's life was never the same after marrying Prince Harry. The former "Suits" actor became the Duchess of Sussex — and a household name to boot. For the glamorous occasion of her royal wedding, Meghan made sure that her makeup was on-point. She asked her MUA, Daniel Martin, to prepare a natural look for her special day, and the makeup expert delivered in spades.

"But because we've known each other for so long and I knew exactly what she wanted, it was kind of a no-brainer the day of," Martin told British Vogue. In practice, this meant using a whole lot of skin care products — especially Tatcha's Dewy Skin Cream and Luminous Dewy Skin Mist — to keep Meghan's face looking fresh. Add that to a pink lip, plenty of lip liner, light foundation, and a dark eye, and the bride's look was complete.

While this may seem like more than enough makeup, Martin said that he was actually mocked on social media for not caking Meghan under more layers of foundation. "I did get dragged on my Instagram about not using enough makeup on her, but I think what a lot of people don't think about is because she was a working actress and she did red carpet in her career, she wanted her wedding day to be about her," Martin explained in the same interview. Meghan's light look allowed her natural beauty to shine.

In 2022, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a Netflix documentary series exploring their decision to take a step back from the British royal family. The show, titled "Harry & Meghan," made a number of surprising revelations about palace life. However, for makeup gurus, one of the most interesting moments came in Meghan's gorgeous makeup-free moment. In one clip shared at the beginning of Episode 1, Meghan appeared wearing a blue collared shirt, a pair of jeans, and a towel on her head. Apparently freshly out of the shower, the duchess sported absolutely no makeup. The moment revealed her gorgeous bare face once and for all — leading some fans to applaud her authenticity and genuine beauty.

But beyond just emphasizing Meghan's natural gorgeousness, the clip also set the tone for the entire Netflix documentary series. It sent the message that Meghan would be willing to "bare it all" — not just by showing her makeup-free visage but also by spilling her honest feelings about life in the royal family. In that sense, we can interpret Meghan's zero makeup moment as a declaration of intention. The clip also proved Meghan's willingness to break with protocols and expectations surrounding women in the British royal family. Whereas other duchesses are required to maintain a pristine public image, Meghan was putting a much more raw version of herself on display.

"Harry & Meghan" was not the only time that Meghan Markle came up with an interesting on-screen look. For Season 2 of her 2025 Netflix series, "With Love, Meghan," the duchess embraced a polished look — although she was careful not to overdo the makeup. Speaking about this strategy to Vogue, Meghan's longtime friend and makeup artist, Daniel Martin, explained that Meghan was all about the idea that "less is more." "I just kept thinking about what my girlfriends would do if they're hanging out," he divulged.

To accentuate this fun, casual look, Martin made sure that Meghan's perfect skin was front and center. He encouraged her to use many of the same cleansing brands that she's used for years — mainly Tatcha — to keep her skin pristine. He also tried to be really intentional about how he applied her foundation. 

"You have to understand where you want to balance out skin tone, where to powder versus not powder. I wanted her skin to look like skin. So it's about having that healthy radiance but not looking too shiny or [too] matte [and] flat," Martin added in the same interview. Part of what made Meghan's makeup work was also her trust in Martin's expertise, and his trust in her ability to lead the show. As the makeup artist put it, "She was the one who kept us all anchored."

Just because Meghan Markle has a great relationship with MUA Daniel Martin doesn't mean she always gets her makeup done professionally. Au contraire, Meghan has been known to do her own makeup from time to time. On a trip to New York City in October 2025, she dabbled in some DIY looks, even sharing footage of herself applying her own makeup in an Instagram reel. Her products of choice? As reported by People, she used several products from No Makeup Makeup to create a low-key natural look that wouldn't overshadow her beauty. To achieve a soft lip, Meghan reached for Creme Classic lipstick, and for those nice rosy cheeks, she applied the brand's Blush & Lip Color.

Interestingly, Meghan is friends with the No Makeup Makeup co-founder, Victoria Jackson. In 2022, Jackson appeared on Meghan's podcast, "Archetypes," to discuss her experience as a woman in the business world. Later, in 2025, when Season 1 of Meghan's show, "With Love, Meghan," first aired, Jackson took to Instagram to cheer the duchess on. "So excited for my dear friend @meghan and her beautiful new show With Love, Meghan — now streaming on @Netflix! Her heart, passion, and incredible spirit shine through in every moment," Jackson wrote in the caption. But the friendship doesn't just flow one way. Meghan has been known to prop Jackson up as well, including No Makeup Makeup products on her ShopMy account.

Meghan Markle is not the only royal woman who has been known to embrace her natural beauty. Princess Catherine's makeup transformation has also led her toward increasingly simple looks. Interestingly, though, some royal experts have implied that Meghan and Catherine's parallel journeys haven't exactly been accidental. 

According to royal journalist Ingrid Seward, Meghan may be trying to exude a more "homey" image, just like the one Catherine has been pulling off for years. As Seward told The Sun, "I think she really enjoys cooking so I think what she wants to project is her image as a homemaker rather than a 'royal wrecker.'"

To accomplish this, Seward said, Meghan has leaned further into the home and cooking world. "You remember with Kate — we've seen Kate cooking with Mary Berry, we've seen Kate making cakes, and we know that Kate is a very accomplished cook. So I think Meghan wants to try and get one over her too," the royal expert claimed in the same interview. While it's hard to say exactly what motivates Meghan, it is true that her super simple makeup has allowed her to transition into the homemaking sphere. As noted by Maya Jimenez of Celebrating the Soaps, Meghan's "natural palate" has helped her lean into a new public persona, one that's more focused on her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and less focused on royal drama.