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NEW YORK CITY: While in 2018 secrets aren’t necessarily sexy, Charlotte Tilbury – the Victoria’s Secret beauty sponsor – is the exception. One of the most closely-guarded hush-hushes in New York right now is this year’s VS beauty look. And as I swivel around in the makeup chair inside The Royal Suite at The Plaza in New York City – the original location of the VS show in the 90s – I purposefully coax my makeup-up artist, a close colleague of Tilbury’s, on what we can expect at today’s show. In between bronzer brush strokes, here’s what we know.

  • Charlotte Tilbury’s makeup artists were briefed on tonight’s “really beautiful, dreamy” look on Tuesday. 60 models will walk in tonight’s show and each artist will be assigned two, but they won’t know whose face they’ll be working on until the day. One of the reasons for this is some higher profiles models bring their own glam squad which kind of meddles with the system.
  • Makeup artists will begin their day at 7.30am backstage at Pier 94 on New York’s Upper West Side. They will eat when they get a spare second and some will work up until midnight. This is because they have to have the models ready for a series of press rotations and interviews throughout the day, the first taping of the show at 4pm, the second taping of the show at 8pm and then the models will return to get their after-party makeup done. This party takes place at the same venue.
  • The big screens inside the pier are so high-definition in order to capture the details of the lingerie and the costumes that every strand of hair and every eyebrow stroke must be perfect.
  • The look this year “doesn’t require a lot of makeup”. It’s very minimal. No caked-on bases.
  • Charlotte Tilbury’s famous Magic Cream is used on the model’s faces as a primer. No matter how tired or dehydrated their skin is from travelling or applying and removing several makeup looks per day, this product will ensure the skin is fresh is dewy (and was a concoction Tilbury and her family whipped up together).

Australia’s first Victoria’s Secret flagship store will open in Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne in late November.