Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Backstage Body Sculpting Secrets

This was perhaps me at my A-game as an "investigative reporter."  What I do for my BeautySweetSpot readers, let me tell you. Picture this – me in a 5' x 8' area, enclosed by a curtain backstage surrounded by three buck naked Victoria's Secret models and two women hand painting them with self tanner. Yes, I was the reporter who had to see for myself exactly how the ladies were being self tanned and how they took the extra step to perfect their already perfect bodies.  So allow me to fill you in:

First of all, all three models back there were concavely skinny with A cup boobs.  I was not surrounded by bombshell bodies.  It's amazing what VS lingerie can do to a stick figure!  I have to say though, none of the girls I was back there with were the core VS models.  They were cast just for the show.  The core models were all shapely and very toned.

I had to get that out.  Their beachy glowing bodies started two days ago when the models met with spray tanner, Jimmy Coco at the Giraffe Hotel in NYC to begin the process. Then, at the show the girls whole bodies were rubbed down by one artist under makeup artist, Tom Pecheux's lead with a combination of moisturizer and Victoria's Secret Sunkissed Bronze Instant Self Tan Lotion with Tint.

Once their whole bodies were covered, they went to a second woman who used the Victoria's Secret Flawless Airbrush Body Tan to sculpt their bodies, a paint brush with foundation to cover flaws and bruises and finished by using a light shimmer product coming out this holiday season.

The girls said they didn't feel sticky and that the formulas dried quickly.  None of them looked tanned, just sun-kissed.

Less is More at Walter

Known for his contemporary clothes that easily transition from day to night, Walter Baker is certainly a force in the fashion industry. The models sported a surprisingly laid back and unfussy look. Lead Sebastian stylist, Janine Jarman, opted for a very clean and healthy look. All of the girls wore their hair down, with a simple, middle part tucked behind their ears. (She gently put one mini bobby pin right by the ears to make sure that the hair remained in place).  “It’s a juxtaposition with the collection, which is a bit more fun and undone, and a mix of fabrics, textures, and colors,” Jarman said of the look. Prior to blow drying, she sprayed Volupt, a new Sebastian volumizer from the roots to ends. The goal was to get maximum volume, but still have it be touchable, so it didn’t appear that there was anything holding up the hair.  “It’s funny, some of the easier looks take a bit more work so that they can look effortless,” Jarman remarked.

For makeup, Napoleon Peredis wanted “instant gratification and satisfaction” to compliment the very chic Walter collection. Using all of his own products, Peredis created “a freshness all over the skin," which he claimed was "a very easy look that a New York girl can do in an instant....”

Peredis used products from his own collection including Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer, Boudior Mist Spray Foundation, Barely Blushing- Barely Rouge lip finish, and Mesmer-Eyes Mascara.

When I asked him how to translate this runway look to real life (you know... for girls like us), Peredis could not have been more optimistic. He said to use primer, (once again uttering his mantra “not to prime is a crime!”) and instructed to put on mascara first followed by spraying on foundation, and opting for lipstick or a bare lip.

I was a huge fan of the silky straight hair of the models, which was the perfect choice since so many of the clothes had asymmetrical silhouettes and layers. The makeup and hair stayed true to Walter’s modern aesthetic, and was a good counterbalance to the rough, downtown edge of some of the clothes. Even from the runway, the looks appeared not so difficult to achieve- despite the hours put in by the stylists- and this wearability is what makes Walter such a standout designer.