Sarah Ferguson: Insider reveals how Fergie ‘broke protocol’ after Prince Andrew split

Sarah Ferguson first began dating Prince Andrew in 1985, after their paths crossed at a celebration hosted by the late Princess Diana. The Princess of Wales was good friends with Fergie, and was reintroduced to Diana’s brother-in-law, a childhood acquaintance, at the ‘do’. The pair began dating in 1985, and they announced their engagement in the following year – before tying the knot just months later. However, their romance, it seems, was not meant to be – as they split in 1992 and were granted a divorce in 1996.

Ariane Poole, founder of Ariane Poole Cosmetics, is an international make-up artist to the stars, and has previously done Fergie’s make-up.

She has exclusively shared her insight into Sarah’s beauty decisions.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Ariane has now shared her analysis on how the Duchess of York’s make-up has changed over the years.

“Generally speaking, I think Sarah Ferguson’s makeup looks good,” she said. “It definitely reflects the time in which the photographs were taken and we can see a shift in the amount and the boldness of her makeup from before and during her marriage to after her divorce.

“I personally think she looks better now than ever.”

The analysis saw Ariane take a look at photographs of Fergie from over the years.

1982

In 1982, long before she began dating Prince Andrew, Sarah was pictured stepping out with Princess Diana.

“Here she is wearing a natural, appropriate very light makeup look,” Ariane said.

“Sarah has great skin and always has so she doesn’t need lots of heavy face makeup or concealer.

“I love that with the more natural makeup looks her freckles come through which give her a very youthful look.”

1986

Four years later, and Sarah was seen stepping out with her then-fiancé Prince Andrew, while they enjoyed a holiday in Scotland.

“The first thing I notice in this photograph is her eyebrows,” Ariane told Express.co.uk.

“In 1986 we didn’t have the brow products we do now and whoever did her makeup was probably trying to avoid her from looking overdone so left the brows alone. You can really notice that without any brows she lacks definition in the eye area.

“Fergie has beautiful big eyes, which most people spend hours trying to achieve. However, when you’re working with someone who already has large eyes you need to be careful not to overemphasise them.

“Here her makeup artist has used a kohl eyeliner pencil along her waterlines which looks beautiful. She has definition without looking overdone.

“During her royal marriage Fergie didn’t really experiment with colour, it’s very soft, muted tones which can look lovely but here her hair, lips and face are all the same colour where as having a slightly brighter, lighter pop of colour on the lip or cheeks would have lifted her face.”

1991

Ariane also took a look at a photo from 1991, a year prior to the Duke and Duchess of York announcing their separation to the world.

“Here we see another natural, no makeup makeup look. You can see how beautiful her skin is in this picture – it’s even toned and luminous so she can get away with very little face makeup.

“She has a touch of colour on her lips and cheeks but a stronger colour would have given more life to her face.

“Although, when you’re working with royal you really do have to follow their guidelines – if they want to keep the colours muted and soft, you listen and follow,” Ariane said.

“There are many protocols the royals have to follow and makeup is of course included in this.”

1994

Following her split but ahead of their divorce, Fergie and Prince Andrew were pictured together at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

“Again the first thing I see here are her brows,” the make-up artist said.

“Fergie doesn’t need lots of eye makeup but she has fair colouring and without doing her brows her eyes lack definition despite being large.

“The lack of brows actually ages her as it makes the eyes appear slightly hooded.”

According to Ariane, it’s at this time of her life when the royal, who no longer had to follow the so-called “protocol”, was starting to opt for different tones when it came to her make-up.

“I love her bolder lip colour here, we can see post-separation that she is starting to use bolder colours,” she shared.

“I would have used this lip colour on her in the 1986 picture. It works well with her skin tone.”

1996

Fast forward two years, and Fergie seemed to continue opting for bolder makeup choices.

“The change in her makeup is evident here! After her divorce from Prince Andrew we can see Fergie experimenting with bolder makeup looks,” Ariane said.

“Her eyebrows look fantastic! The colour blends seamlessly with her face and hair and make her appear more youthful. I also love the lip colour.

“I think she looks beautiful but I personally wouldn’t have used so much eye makeup on her – especially the liner.

“Fergie doesn’t need a strong eyeliner underneath the eyes, especially when teamed with a dark shadow. Her eyes already stand out so a more neutral, pared back eye makeup would have worked better here.”

2003

It was in 2003 when Sarah teamed up with WeightWatchers – which is known today as WW.

Commenting on a snap of the Duchess at an event for the brand, Ariane said: “I think Fergie may have done her own makeup here.

“I say this because as a makeup artist you learn to change and adapt your makeup techniques for different ages. Using the same makeup, colours and techniques from your teens through to your sixties is a common mistake so many women make.

“For example, applying your eyeliner like you always have won’t have the same affect, especially as we don’t age symmetrically, which we can see here with Fergie’s eyes.

“If I was doing her makeup I wouldn’t have brought the eyeliner all the way down toward the end of the eyelashes on her left eye as this emphasises the droopiness.

“I would have stopped the liner shorter on the left eye and used an illuminating concealer, like my Mineral Illuminating Pen(£22, arianepoole.com), from the outer eye corner out towards the corner of the brow. This would have lifted the eye and given the appearance of symmetry.”

Detailing how Sarah didn’t seem to have used bolder tones for this outing, she continued: “You can see that Fergie is using similar colours to those she used during her marriage several years ago.

“The colours do suit her skin tone but she could have done with more blush here.

“When you’re younger you have a natural bloom, but as we age we lose the pigmentation in the skin, so she could have benefitted from a pop of colour on the cheeks for a fresher, more youthful effect.”

2019

In January of this year, Sarah was pictured at the Lambertz Monday Night 2019 fashion show in Cologne, Germany.

“I love this picture; I think she looks amazing! Her makeup artist has done a wonderful job,” Ariane said of a snap from the star-studded evening.

“She has a flush of colour on her cheeks, kohl inside the eyes, a luminous foundation and a very pretty lip colour. She looks more radiant here than ever before.

“The lip colour is perfect for her! It is within the colour family that she wears and suits her but is brighter and stronger.

“I like that she has a shimmer on her eyelids, it looks gorgeous without being too bold.

“As we age too much matte shadow on the eyes makes us look older, so a shimmery shadow is a great option. She looks glamorous and chic without looking overdone.”

Sarah Ferguson: Five facts about the Duchess of York

Childhood

Sarah is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Mary Wright.

Her parents divorced in 1974, with her mother going on to marry polo player Héctor Barrantes in 1975 and moving to Argentina. Sarah stayed in the UK with her father, who remarried in 1976 and went on to have three more children.

Wedding

Sarah married Prince Andrew on 23 July 1986 at Westminster Abbey in London.

She wore an ivory-silk wedding gown designed by Lindka Cierarch which had a 17 foot train and 20 foot veil. As is tradition, Sarah wore a diamond tiara, and her wedding band was crafted from Welsh gold.

The couple spent their honeymoon abroad the real yacht Britannia off the coast of the Azores Islands.

Divorce

Sarah and Andrew divorced in 1996 after separating in 1992.

However the couple remain on good terms, even living together in the Royal Lodge from 2008 until Sarah moved to a ski chalet in Switzerland they bought together in 2015.

Career

Sarah has written children’s books for many years, her first being a series about Budgie The Helicopter in the early 90s.

She has also been the US spokeswoman for WeightWatchers after famously battling her weight over the years.

On top of commercial endeavours, the Duchess devotes plenty of time to charity, including Children in Crisis, which she founded in 1993.

Social media

Fergie, as she is known to friends, uses both Twitter and Instagram.

She has over 200,000 followers across the platforms, and shares many insights in to her life.

Most of the Royal Family are not on social media, but are represented by Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, or Clarence House.

Sarah’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, are the exception, with both joining their mother on social media.