How Love Island Contestants Really Got Camera-Ready on the Show

“We are thrilled to be returning to the Love Island villa as the official beauty partner for the third time,” says Peter Markey, chief marketing officer at Boots, in a statement obtained by Allure. “The partnership performs extremely well for us and allows us to showcase our brands in front of an engaged audience of both new and existing customers. This winter, we want to inspire customers looking to enhance their beauty regimes or upgrade their makeup bags to try out the islanders looks for themselves at home.”

Other than stocking the aforementioned products, production takes a hands-off approach and generally lets contestants style themselves however they please. “I, personally, never felt any pressure to look a certain way,” says Dipman. “They do ask that you model your look for the villa around the look you had for interviews because that played a role in why they picked you. But I think since you’re on TV you naturally want to look your best, especially in the evenings. I went makeup-less a lot.” 

“They fully encouraged us to be our natural selves,” adds Morrison. “They wanted us to look good, for certain, but that didn’t mean [always putting on] makeup. At times, they’d tell us we are the ones putting pressure on ourselves to put makeup on. They totally encouraged natural vibes, if that was our vibe.”

Even if they didn’t find love, some contestants walked away with a few beauty lessons.

The lack of a regular glam team also provided the opportunity for bonding moments among the contestants. “The girls do their best to help each other when getting ready, especially when we’re under a time crunch,” says Dipman. “All of us have different ‘strengths’ or styles of makeup, so it was really fun to learn from one another.”

For her part, Brown says she learned how to use cream contour (“That has changed my life,” she says) and discovered her favorite body moisturizer, Clarins Moisture-Rich Hydrating Body Lotion. She even recalls the girls attempting to wax each other. Although, after many of them ended up with bruises from failed attempts, “The show decided to take [wax strips] away for our own safety,” she says. 

“My smoky eye look was definitely perfected from watching all the different ways the other girls did their eye makeup,” adds Mighty. “I learned to do the perfect French braid whilst I was there, which I still use pretty much daily now.”