Her charming wit and impressive acting skills thrust her into the spotlight, but British beauty Florence Pugh inspires the masses for much more than that. After breaking into Hollywood in the mid-2010s, it wasn’t long before the British actor had the world under her spell with a stampede of memorable, dramatic red carpet looks—these days, nothing has changed.
It all began with vampy red lipped looks complete with dramatic dark eye makeup and her long blonde hair styled in intricate plaits and up-dos (you can’t blame her, it was the Tumblr era), but since then, Pugh’s style has evolved with some surprising new looks.
Relatable as ever, the 27-year-old loves a phase, whether it’s dying her hair or exclusively styling it in a certain way for months on end. She nails every look, and inspires millions of fans to recreate them in the process.
Her career in Hollywood has spanned seven years—which isn’t that long in comparison to many of her A-list counterparts—but her beauty evolution has been one for the history books. Keep scrolling to witness it for yourself.
2014: Dramatic makeup
Bright eyed and bushy-tailed, Pugh attended her first ever red carpet event, the BFI London Film Festival, in 2014 wearing an all black ensemble which popped with bright red lipstick and dramatic eye-makeup. It marked the beginning of an era for Pugh—both in her career and her beauty evolution.
2015: Architectural hair
In January 2015, she attended her first ever London Critics Circle Film Awards with another bold lip look and a dark ensemble. Her hair, which was doused in bright blonde highlights was styled in a half-up-half-down look.
A couple of months later, Pugh attended the premiere of The Fallen with her usual red lipstick and her hair pulled into a chic up-do—note the 2015 trending pouf making its presence very well known here.
2016: Softened tones
In 2016, Pugh began to step away from her infamous dramatic makeup looks and instead, she injected some of said drama into her hair. For the 2016 London Critics Circle Film Awards, she showed up with a unique up-do bubble braid which reached the middle of her back.
While promoting her film Lady Macbeth later that year, Pugh stripped her makeup back ever further to a simple smoky eye and nude lip. She also revealed subtle pink highlights.
In December, Pugh’s trusty stalwart—the humble braid—had graduated to a wraparound crown-like style as she glammed up for the British Film Awards. Again, her makeup was kept simple with a nude lip and smoky, peach-hued eye makeup.
2017: Brunette
In 2017, Pugh decided to overhaul her look all over again. Stepping out at a special screening of Lady Macbeth, Pugh debuted a deep brunette ‘do, which was styled in beachy ‘I woke up like this’ waves.
Her dark tresses made her natural features pop, so she went for a simple makeup look this time.
Pugh clearly wasn’t quite ready to let go of her old go-to red lip when she made a studio appearance a few weeks later. Combined with her darker tresses, the pop of colour took us back to her early red carpet days.
2018: The top knot era
Surprise surprise, the actor kicked off 2018 with a fiery new strawberry-blonde ‘do. She also added a pop of colour to her lips as she attended the London Critics Circle Film Awards.
Six months on, Pugh was back to her (blonde) roots—it was here that a new era in her beauty journey began. The age of top knots and simple, barely-there makeup was here.
She’s nothing if not consistent. While attending a premiere in October, Pugh opted for another simple top knot and stripped back beauty look.
2019: Dewy & bronzed
The following year, Pugh’s top knot era was in full swing. She rocked the style at the Cannes Film Festival along with a subtle blue-hued eye makeup look and a peachy lip.
Pugh’s portrayal of Amy March in Little Women earned her international acclaim (and and Oscar nomination, no less), so when the film premiered in December 2019, the actor began one of her biggest press tours to date. To kick things off, the actor opted for what she does best: another top knot with a bronzy makeup look.
For the Paris premiere of the Greta Gerwig-directed film, Pugh went with a dewy peach-toned makeup look.
2020: Slicked back
For her Oscars debut, Pugh styled her hair in a slicked back top-knot with neutral-toned makeup. The demure beauty look was in perfect juxtaposition with her vibrant teal-coloured Louis Vuitton gown.
She missed out on the Oscar, but Pugh may as well have won ‘best dressed’ after stepping out in a second striking look that night for the Vanity Fair After Party. This time, she opted for a bold red lip and smoky eyes.
To complete her awards season tour, Pugh opted for this bronzy eyed look as she hit the BAFTAs red carpet. Surprisingly, she forwent the top knot for a sleek straightened lob.
2021: Hair transformations
After the lockdown months of 2020, could you really blame Pugh for debuting a brand new haircolour in 2021? At the premiere of her film, The Black Widow, Pugh showed off her dyed pink tips along with a matching pink makeup look.
One year, two dramatically different looks: Pugh rounded out 2021 with an unexpected (albeit just as chic) mullet-style brunette chop as she attended the premiere of Don’t Look Up.
2022: A full circle
Reverting to her 2015 days, the 24-year-old went bold for the BAFTAs wearing a dramatic eye makeup look with her hair slicked back into an up-do.
Pugh opted for a dramatic jewellery look at the Tiffany & Co. Brand Exhibition in London. Clearly a long time fan of the brand’s jewellery, Pugh described her favourite memory involving the iconic eggshell blue packaging: “My first Tiffany piece was actually from my first boyfriend, I think it was our two-year anniversary and I must have been 17 at the time,” she told us.
“He got me the silver knot, and I remember opening it and it was this blue box, and I remember just having goosebumps all up my skin and thinking, ‘Oh my God what have you done!'”
While attending the Valentino Haute Couture show, Pugh opted for another slicked back look (her hair was back to blonde again) with a pink-toned demure makeup look. It was the perfect low-key beauty look for her dress, which went viral for its see-through torso.
Pugh later called out the “concerning” criticism she received about the nipple-bearing dress: “It isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last time a woman will hear what’s wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be,” she shared on Instagram.
“Thankfully, I’ve come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me. I’m happy with all of the ‘flaws’ that I couldn’t bear to look at when I was 14.”
She ended the post with one final message: “F–ing free the f–ing nipple.”
Now that’s an evolution we love to see.
In the leadup to the Venice Film Festival, Pugh’s name was virtually everywhere as rumours of an alleged feud with her Don’t Worry Darling director, Olivia Wilde ran rife.
But as she descended on the red carpet in September, our minds were on one thing only: Pugh was glowing in a sequined adorned sheer dress with a peachy makeup look, her lob swept back elegantly.
It goes to show that even in the face of chaos, Pugh—and her timeless beauty—is consistent as ever.
2023: Short and powerful
When it came Pugh’s Oppenheimer premier in July, 2023, Pugh modelled a fiery look. Her cropped hair was dyed a soft orange, giving her entire look an element of stunning formidability.
In August, Pugh’s hair was cropped even shorter—this time for a campaign shoot with Tiffany & Co, as their new House Ambassador.
For the campaign, Pugh embraced soft, natural make-up and dark cropped hair. Adorned with Tiffany jewels, Pugh proved there is no look she can’t pull off.
