Jasmine Tookes On Her Groundbreaking New Skincare Brand

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This summer’s about to glow a little brighter, thanks to Jasmine Tookes! The star model and Sabrina Castenfelt have just co-launched their new skincare brand Brunel with three radiant body oils, focusing on both beauty and wellbeing. As the brand kicks off its first chapter, just in time for summer, we caught up with Jasmine to learn more about her line’s new oils—plus their secret debut at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, her skincare do’s and dont’s, and much more.

Congratulations on launching Brunel! What inspired you and Sabrina Castenfelt to co-launch your line? I’m super excited that the launch is here! We were developing it for quite some time, and to see it come to life has been so exciting. Well, for Sabrina and I, we saw a real white space for body care. We felt like skincare and fragrance has evolved so much. People have these 10 to 20-step skincare routines, but they often times forget about the body. So, we really wanted to combine wellness and body care and create these beautiful rituals, so that people can start paying more attention to their body like they do their skin or their hair. We were super excited to start with body oils. It’s a niche but emerging category, and there’s so many benefits that people can learn from—not only us, but body oils in general, about how nourishing and hydrating they are, and all the benefits that they can really give.

Brunel launched with three wellness-inspired body oils. Can you tell us more about those & what they do for the skin? Starting off with our Awakening Oil, that’s in our beautiful amber bottle. It’s a very lightweight oil that dries really fast. This is the oil that I tell the girls that are maybe scared of that more oily texture to go for. You can put it on, and it literally dries down within minutes, so you’re able to get dressed right away and not ruin all of your clothes. It’s really nourishing, and it brightens and firms the skin. It’s made with castor, coconut, safflower, and jojoba oil, so it’s really smooth, and your skin feels so silky. We have some fun, key active ingredients inside of the Awakening Oil; there’s squalane, vitamin C, mangolia extract, and Vita Glow D, which are all about boosting your mood and energy and really energizing you. I travel like a crazy person, and I’m just looking for any products that can help me not look tired or like I’ve slept for only two hours. The scent of this one has a creamy coconut scent, a little bit of amber, and beautiful magnolia, so it’s really fresh floral and not too overpowering. Then onto our Renewal Oil, which is more of a calming oil. It’s deeply hydrating. It really soothes and restores your skin. It’s made with sunflower, camelina, and quinoa seed oils. It’s very glowing. It’s a little bit thicker of a consistency than our awakening oil. This one is really made to give a touch more of that glow, but really sink in and just restore the skin, either overnight or during the day. I typically wear this one during the day, because I love to keep a very calm and Zen state of mind. The key active ingredients in there…we have ceramide, squalane, magnolia extract. Then we have emunite, that really helps give you a recharged glow. This one actually is currently my favorite scent, and honestly our hardest one to develop. It has a really woody scent to it…think lavender, eucalyptus, so it really smells like you’ve just left a spa. These were really hard to achieve, while also making sure that we’re keeping everything as clean as possible.

And tell us about the Golden Hour Glow body oil. It’s our summer hit, and mainly the reason why we wanted to launch during summer, because it is a shimmer-infused, brightening and energizing oil, so it leaves a beautiful bronzing glow on the skin. It doesn’t leave speckled glitters, but it just gives you a lit-from-within glow. Our actives in there…we have a caffeine complex, which is really great for energizing and giving you that boost of energy that you need throughout your day. Or, if you’re on a fabulous location or a vacation, the scent really reminds you of a summer escape, and it’s just so delicious. Every time I smell it, I feel like I’m on a beach in Bora Bora.

Did you secretly test or wear the oils before they officially came out? Yes! I actually wore the Golden Hour Glow body oil at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. It was quite funny, because, as I would put on the oils before heading on the runway, some of the girls came over to me and they’re like, “What oil is that? I’ve never seen an oil in that tone before.” What was really important to us was to formulate the Golden Hour body oil to be universal for everyone, and something that was super blendable. All of the girls that had just got their spray tans or whatever were adding this on top, and walking down the runway with them, so it gave this beautiful glow. Recently, I also wore the Awakening body oil to the Met Gala, and then I put the Golden Hour Glow oil on my cheeks as a highlighter.

Any hints on your next Brunel product launch? Oh, my goodness. I think there’s so many exciting things coming through Brunel. We really see it evolving into a full ecosystem of beauty and wellness. We have been developing new formulas over the last year as well, while also working on the body oils. Without giving too much away, you could expect us to expand into categories where beauty and wellbeing naturally meet with each other, and our products can fit really well into your daily routine. Things that you want to take with you everywhere. I take these oils in my bag literally everywhere I go. We just want to create more of those products that are necessities for everyone.

Have you always been interested in skincare, or did it become an interest at a certain point in your career? Ever since I was a little girl, I have been very devoted and interested in taking care of my skin. Coming from my grandma to my mom, they were always very persistent with their skincare routines. Also, just coming from an African-American background, the heritage and the culture there is to really enrich and keep the skin glowing and beautiful. I’ve had an obsession with body oils for such a long time. I would even tell my friends, or my husband, you have to take care of your skin. It’s so important, and it’s the biggest organ on your body. You do so much for your face, your hair, and all these other things. But everyone’s forgetting about their skin, sometimes not even putting on any moisturizer at all after getting out of a pool or a shower! So, I’m really excited that now I’m able to teach my learnings to everyone.

What are some of your skincare do’s and dont’s? My do’s are to take the time to develop a nice ritual for you. It could take one minute. It could take 20 minutes. Just try to fit it in somewhere, before all the hectic part of your day starts. I have a daughter who’s two years old, and she keeps me pretty busy, but I always make sure to get up maybe 30 minutes to an hour before her, to make sure that I’m actually taking the time to do what will make me not only look good, but also feel really good. For don’ts, I would say, don’t fall into trends or hype, or what everyone else is doing. Really find what works for you.

What is the best skincare or beauty advice someone’s given you? The best advice I’ve received is to take care of your skin like it’s silk. That’s always really stuck with me. Your skin is something that you don’t want to fight, but you really want to nourish and protect it and treat it with intention, and be really gentle. Consistency always really wins over everything, definitely.

You’ve just launched a new swimwear collaboration with Montce, too! What are some of your favorite styles in your line? I am a huge lover of one-pieces. I think they’re so classic and chic and just timeless. So, all the one pieces from the collection. I really love the Sienna floral petal one-piece. It’s really fun, gives that Italian vibe for summer, and gets you in a fun mood.

Last fall, you reunited with Victoria’s Secret to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. How did it feel to be back on the runway in your Angel wings? It was really surreal. I never thought that we’d be back, but it was a beautiful time, and I got to see all of my friends that I had worked with for 10-plus years! It was a big family girlfriend reunion, and it was just really special. It was great to be able to relive those memories again, of some of the most memorable and fun times of my career. So it was really special, and I really loved everything about it.

You’re staying busy across skincare and swimwear—and summer’s just started! What’s coming up for you this season? Any fun new projects, shoots, or vacations in the works? First of all, Brunel is my baby. Our baby, me and Sabrina, and we’re a small but mighty team, and that takes up majority of our time. It’s been so fun, exciting, so just constantly working on developing new products and ideas and strategies and everything is something that I’m going to be doing this summer. And also a fun little trip! I’m going to the Galapagos, my husband’s from Ecuador. We’re taking my daughter there for the first time. She is such a lover of animals, so she’ll be so excited to see sea lions and all of the different fish and iguanas. It’ll just be a really, really special moment for our family.

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