Ru Whim

The Lights dim, and bronze and gold fill the room. The anticipation fills the room as
Victoria’s Secret’s countdown begins, and then the magic of the show starts. Jasmine
Tooks opened the show, stunning the crowd with her gold ensemble, baby bump and all.
The show had gorgeous looks and upbeat performances, but the real secrets of the show
derive from behind the curtain.

*“Jasmine Tookes glows while getting her makeup done.” Essence 2025*

Backstage is full of motion. Heels clicking, hair spray spritzing, and chattering echoes.
Walking on the runway takes preparation and dedication months to hours before the show.
Jawara Wauchope, hair artist, led the Victoria’s Secret hair team and shared the purpose of
wanting to add sleekness and volume to the hair of the girls. The team used the Bumble
and Bumble Sea Salt and Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Infusion to have the hair looking silky,
bouncy, and camera-ready.

For makeup, Pat McGrath and her team crafted the luminous glow to brighten the models. She used her Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation, her concealer, and blurring powder to go for the soft look. For the lips, she lined the models’ lips with her long-wear lip liner and Lust Gloss. The lids got a touch of her Holiday Palette and Perma gel Ultra Glide
Eye Pencil, to give the models a gorgeous smoky eye. To finish it off, she spritzed the Glass 001 Legendary Glow Setting Spray and Blurring Setting Spray, all from her brand Pat
McGrath Labs.

The routines the models make for themselves are the true cherry on top. To stimulate muscles, Neelam Gill utilizes Face Gym treatments, such as gua sha and massages. Jasmine Tookes applies face oil by Kora and Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow on the cheeks. For glowy skin, water intake, diet, and moisturizer are key. Kelsey Merrit adds moisturizer with her sunscreen, and at times will use fresh aloe gel to soothe her skin and coconut oil on her body. Mirranda Kerr also uses coconut cream, avocado oil masks, and fruit enzyme patches to brighten her skin. Paloma Elsesser sums it up perfectly, “feeling good in your
body is the best prep- better than any highlighter”.

The beauty of the Victoria’s Secret show lies in collaboration. Every curl, brush stroke, and affirmation feeds into the art of transformation. Angels, after all, aren’t built overnight.