If Meghan’s hotly anticipated appearances at the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf this summer proved anything, it’s that ‘Meghan fever’ is still going strong. The duchess crashed the J. Crew website after the ‘sweater blazer’ she wore at the Merkur Spiel-Arena for a wheelchair basketball match between Australia and Ukraine went viral. But fans were also full of praise for her low-key hair and make-up looks.

At first glance all the hallmarks of Meghan’s signature beauty style were present and correct – loose, glossy waves, full lashes, an immaculately applied nude lip, but flash back to 2022’s Invictus Games and you’ll likely clock a marked transformation.

Last year Meghan travelled to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games accompanied by one of her go-to hair stylists, George Northwood. Northwood’s working relationship with the Duchess began when he delivered the iconic twisted chignon she wore to her wedding reception along with that Stella McCartney gown. A series of royal tours and walkabouts later and Northwood remains one of Meghan’s most trusted beauty experts. Speaking to Grazia earlier this year Northwood said, ‘She’s a Cali girl and she wanted to bring that relaxed vibe to her hairstyling, but that’s a very different look for a royal, so we worked hard to hit on a style that still felt appropriate for a duchess.’

As a working royal, Meghan flitted between Northwood’s undone bun – a low ballet-style updo with teased-in volume at the crown of the head and a few face-framing strands pulled free – sleek ponytails and long, sculpted waves. Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in January 2020, but two years later at the Invictus Games, traces of that polished approach to beauty remained.

Meghan’s make-up that year was entrusted to her dear friend and long-time make-up artist Daniel Martin. The pair first began working together during Meghan’s time on Suits and quickly struck up a bond. Renowned for his red carpet work – Martin is regularly enlisted by the A-list likes of Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Gyllenhaal to get them awards show ready – Martin knows glossy make-up and Meghan made headlines with her full lashes, radiant skin and satin-finish lip at the Invictus Games in 2022.

But a year on and today, Meghan has subtly switched things up. Her go-to colourist Kadi Lee, who took to Instagram earlier this month to decode the duchess’s ‘classic, rich espresso brunette,’ revealed in her caption that Meghan styled her own hair at this year’s Invictus Games. Lee wrote, ‘Meghan’s hair was styled by herself for the duration of @invictusgames2023 (crazy impressive I know!)’. Scroll through press shots of Meghan that week and you’ll notice she often goes from loose waves, to a ponytail secured with slim silk scrunchies or an updo held in place with a claw clip in a matter of minutes – no mad dash to a hair and make-up team required.

Speaking of make-up, it is reported that Meghan took a DIY approach to that too and sales of one lipstick in particular spiked when a handful of Meghan fans turned their hands at sleuthing. A number of impressively active Instagram handles exist for the sole purpose of breaking down Meghan’s latest fashion and beauty looks and they do so in double quick time. One such handle, @meghansclosetchronicles, joined forces with the now iconic @meghansmirrorblog to lock down the exact shade of lipstick Meghan wore to watch the Invictus Games 2023 wheelchair basketball final between the United States and France.

Underneath a @meghansclosetchronicles post that detailed Meghan’s outfit, jewellery and accessories, one follower – @malina.cw – asked for her lipstick shade. Instagram user @nickibeautiful replied with the details and @meghansmirrorblog jumped in to confirm, writing ‘confirmed this colour with our sources! Great colour on her, isn’t it?’

A rosy take on nude, Meghan’s satin finish lipstick is none other than Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution Lipstick in Very Victoria, £27. Kate Moss was spotted wearing the same shade at her Cosmoss party later that week.

So, what does Meghan’s new relaxed approach to hair and beauty really mean? It goes without saying that this woman is about far more than her hair tie choice or the contents of her make-up bag, but could this laid-back styling speak to the dawn of a new carefree era for the duchess?

Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir Spare made clear that Meghan is a relaxed Cali girl at heart. He remembers her being ‘barefoot’ and ‘wearing ripped jeans’ when she first met Kate, the Princess of Wales. He writes fondly of the moment she arrived for their secret trip to Botswana, ‘bright-eyed and eager’ after finishing up with a holiday Harry labelled ‘her Eat, Pray, Love thing,’ and flying from London to Johannesburg. ‘She wore cut-off jean shorts, well-loved hiking boots, a crumpled Panama hat,’ that the Prince had seen on her Instagram page. ‘She opened her small suitcase, she needed to get something,’ he wrote. ‘”Here it comes,” I thought, “The mirror, the hairdryer, a make-up kit”,’ he was shamefully stereotyping, he admits, ‘American actress equals diva, but to my shock and delight there was nothing in that suitcase but bare essentials – shorts, ripped jeans and snacks and a yoga mat.’

Then there’s the moment in this year’s blockbuster Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, when the pair discuss their second date. ‘I had come back from Wimbledon and you get all dolled up,’ Meghan remembers, ‘I wanted to go home, take a shower and arrive looking more like myself.’

Hark back to the shots that filtered through from the paparazzi when rumours of her relationship with Harry were rife – pursued relentlessly through the streets of Toronto, Meghan became known for her uniform of beanie hats, khaki parka coats, leggings and sweater tops. Informal, easy-going and back then blissfully uninhibited, this appeared to be Meghan at her most unedited and authentic and there are indications that the duchess is en route to reclaiming that side of herself – from the beauty markers on display at this year’s Invictus Games, to videos of the Sussexes dancing and laughing like teens mid-way through a Beyoncé concert on TikTok. These are signs that a weight has been lifted, that the burden of media scrutiny no longer weighs so heavily on Meghan’s shoulders, that life is starting to feel a little more light-hearted and joyful. And it looks good on her.