6 Beauty and Fitness Secrets I Learned from VS Angel Elsa Hosk
We're about one week out from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and VS Angel Elsa Hosk isn't stressing about following a strict diet or workout regimen. "The happier I am and the less rules I put on myself, the better I look," she insists. "It just comes across in a different way." But, that's doesn't mean she's doing nothing. The Swedish model has been focusing plenty on her beauty routine in particular. Read on for more on how she gets catwalk ready, from her beauty secrets to how she makes working out actually feel like fun.
Indulge in frequent facials
"I've been doing a lot of facials because I like to keep my skin really clear right before the show," Hosk says. "I struggle with skin sometimes, so I've been doing facials with Teresa Tarmey who just opened her salon in TriBeca." She goes once a week ahead of the VS Fashion show, but when it's not showtime she opts for a facial once or twice a month.
Have a skin-first approach to makeup
"I'm really into Dr. Barbara Strum products," Hosk says, "Her stuff is calming, all-natural ingredients and really makes my skin glow. I do a hyalauronic acid serum, then I do a good moisturizer, and then I start doing makeup. I always do foundation, concealer, eyeliner, then some rouge."
Shop and learn more about Elsa Hosk's favorite beauty products
Make cardio fun and do it everyday
While Hosk does include running in her pre-VS Fashion show regimen, lately she's been getting into an alternative form of cardio. "I've been training with Megan Roup, who does dance cardio. It's lots of toning moves for the glutes, legs, and arms. She's just really fun—I like to mix it up as much as possible," the model says.
As for how often she works out, Hosk spends a month before the show hitting the gym every single day. "I do take days off when my body's exhausted, but I'm really trying to keep up the work six, seven times a week until the show is on," she adds. She also prefers body weight training over training with weights. "I just get agh, 'I don't like this!' Heavy weights can make me really angry," she explains.
Eat a balanced diet
Hosk doesn't subscribe to any specific rules about what to eat and what not to eat, because it just makes her want everything she's aiming to cut out. "Every year I learn more about what works for me and what doesn't. I think it's really all about balance," she elaborates. "I try to stay away from processed food and eat organic with lots of vegetables and really nourishing foods to keep me strong. You have to eat properly to do the show because it's a lot of energy—and the runway is long!"
Elsa Hosk at the 2017 VS Fashion Show. Take beauty risks
Hosk says the strangest beauty product she's ever tried was Dr. Barbara Sturm's blood cream made from, yes, her literal blood. "It was during Paris fashion week and I was like, 'What do you mean you're going to take my blood and put it in a cream?'" she recalls, "I saw results right away. I was exhausted, I remember it was the last leg of fashion month and my skin was a grey-ish color. I was like 'Shit, I need some help. I wore [the blood cream] to bed and woke up and my skin was alive again. It's so crazy how your own blood can heal your skin."
Hosk is also up for crazy hair colors. Icy blonde is part of her signature look (she maintains it using the drugstore classic Clairol Shimmering Lights shampoo), has went with bubblegum pink for Coachella. "I didn't want to wear a costume but I wanted to make a statement, so I thought [pink hair] was fun. It was only supposed to stay for a couple of days," she says. "It ended up not washing out. I had to shoot a campaign with the pink hair! When it finally washed out I kind of missed it."
Victoria’s Secret Love Star Eau de Parfum, $55
Transform yourself with fragrance
"My boyfriend actually doesn’t like when I wear fragrance, so he forbids me to wear it," Hosk jokes, adding that she does, however, enjoy wearing masculine, "darker" fragrances on nights out and when she wants to get in the zone. On the VS Fashion show runway, she'll be wearing VS's new perfume, Love Star. "It's nice to get into character and wear a fragrance that fits the moment. This will help me get into that beautiful, sexy vibe my look is going to give," she says of the fruity-floral scent.
