The only reason Anthony Bridgerton had a sideburn in s1 was because the creators wanted all eyes on Simon. Cause let's face it, if it wasn't for the sideburn, everyone would have been team Anthony from day 1.
As a dark skinned brown South Asian woman, I wanna applaud Bridgerton for portraying Simone Ashley in such a sexy, elegant and attractive manner. Never in my life have I seen a dark skinned brown woman portrayed like this in a mainstream media. It makes us feel seen and represented and most importantly it makes us realize we too are attractive. It's the lack of representations that makes us feel like we can never be sexy in the eyes of the world.