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Let me guess: You waited two painful years for the release of Bridgerton season three—only to binge-watch the entire thing immediately? Dearest gentle reader, you are not alone. But luckily, we have social media (instead of society papers) to keep up with the cast, who are still feeding the fandom behind-the-scenes content.
One such gracious Instagram dump came from Nicola Coughlan, the Irish actress who plays Penelope Featherington. The first photo features a sweet off-camera moment with her costar and onscreen love interest, Luke Newton, in which the pair are costumed for their characters’ (not-so-spoiler alert) wedding. Coughlan is glowing in a lush ivory gown, a sweeping veil, and…furry Birkenstock Boston clogs. Obviously.
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Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon to find off-screen actors pairing their Regency-inspired, ornate costumes with contemporary comfort pieces on the Bridgerton set. Between shots, you might see a pair of Sambas peeking out from under a petticoat, or a down parka thrown over the back of an antique drawing room chair. The show’s third season—which hit a series record-breaking 45.1 million views in its opening weekend—shot from July 2022 to March 2023, meaning that lots of location filming took place during an uncooperative UK winter. It seemed like these cozy Dryrobes—more often used by surfers in chilly weather than period actors—were in abundant supply on set; you can see them behind Newton in Coughlan’s post and in this adorable BTS nugget from Netflix.
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As for Coughlan herself, shearling clogs aren’t the only self-care essential she brings to set. Last month, in a Vogue Beauty Secrets video, she used a Nuface facial toning device (which we’re also fans of!), and said that she could tell which days “she really went ham on it” when watching season three of Bridgerton. (“The cheekbones are cheekbone-ing.”) She also whipped out a 2024 SELF Healthy Beauty Award–winning bonding oil to smooth her hair—and dubbed herself “an Olaplex girlie through and through.”
In broader self-care terms, Coughlan told Harper’s Bazaar in May that she’s “not very good at meditating or just sitting down,” but finds that a weekly or biweekly massage helps her to “switch my brain off and just take care of my body.” She also loves to throw on a face mask or hair mask, especially while cleaning her house. (Two self-care birds, one stone!) And to prepare and recover from long, grueling shoot days, she makes habits of “the boring stuff,” like going to bed early. At the end of the day, Coughlan’s self-care philosophy completely supports pairing fuzzy Birks with a gorgeous dress: “I think it’s really good to invest in yourself. It doesn’t have to be all aesthetic stuff. Mind, body, soul, when you look after that you’ll be very glad you did.”
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