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Clothing Restrictions, Special Beauty Brands & More — The Best Reality TV Beauty Secrets
There's plenty going on behind the scenes of shows like "The Bachelor," "Temptation Island" and "Love is Blind" when it comes to how people dress themselves.
Imagine going on TV knowing millions of people will be watching you. One of your biggest concerns, naturally, is going to be how you look!
Of course, on reality shows, everybody pretty much always looks amazing. But how do they pull it off? Well, there is a lot going on behind the scenes when it comes to hair, makeup, fashion, and grooming on shows like "The Bachelor," "Love Is Blind," and "Temptation Island." These are just some of our favorite reality TV beauty secrets.
On 'The Bachelor' franchise, you have to bring your own clothes ... and there are rules.
Yep, no wardrobe is provided for the contestants, which means they need to bring 14 separate rose ceremony gowns, according to Sean Lowe's memoir "For the Right Reasons." That means many contestants spend a lot of money in preparation — Bachelorette Jillian Harris said she had to take a second mortgage on her house because of the shopping spree she had before the show.
You do have to get all kinds of clothing to be ready for the show: There is a packing list that includes clothing “for both cold and warm weather; athletic wear; bathing suits; heels; tennis shoes; sandals; cocktail, long, and casual dresses; and heavy coats," according to Bachelorette Andi Dorfman's book "It’s Not Okay: Turning Heartbreak Into Happily Never After." And there are rules: Contestants are encouraged not to wear “stripes, small checkered patterns, big patterns, and solid white," Lowe said.
On 'The Voice,' though, outfits are provided.
OK, so you do have to wear your own clothes for the auditioning aspect. But after that, the show takes care of you.
“We shop for each artist to come up with great looks. Once we get to the live shows, looks are customized for each specific performance,” executive producer Audrey Morrisse told SheKnows.
You do your own makeup on 'The Bachelor' franchise. That means some girls have to get crafty.
One contestant, Olivia Caridi, revealed to "Allure" she actually hired someone to teach her how to do makeup before she arrived at the mansion.
"I've never been that great at doing makeup, so I had a professional makeup artist come to my house to teach me how to do everything and make me a list of everything I needed to buy. She taught me how to contour. I didn't even know what that was. She works with people on reality TV, so she knew that there wouldn't be a lot of sleeping, so she advised on buying a white or a nude eye liner to put on my eyes to make them look bigger, which I didn't even know was a thing. Then, a couple days before filming, I went to Sephora and bought foundation, eye shadow palettes, brow fillers, like every single thing you could ever imagine. That was fun and expensive, but it was worth it," Caridi told "Allure."
There's not a lot of mirror space to get the perfect makeup look ready in the mansion, though, contestant Ashley Iaconetti told the outlet.
"The lighting in the mansion was really bad for makeup, so I did mine on the balcony every day. It was my moment to get away and be alone. There were maybe four mirrors in the house of 23 girls because mirrors make it hard for the camera guys," she said.
She also added that she would help the other girls in the house do their makeup, even teaching some how to contour. We love a supportive group of girls!
But on 'Love Island,' beauty products are provided.
In 2021, one season of "Love Island" had an official beauty and "Feel Good Partner": Boots, which meant the villa was filled with beauty, skincare, and sun cream products from iconic beauty brands like MAC, Fenty, Huda, and Anastasia Beverly Hills, according to Grazia Daily.
Hey, that means more room in your suitcase, too!
A makeup artist is sometimes on hand for "Temptation Island" ... but there are clothing rules.
"We have a hair and makeup artist on set for the big days — bonfire and interviews — and the ladies are welcome to put on their own foundation and our wonder hair and makeup artist Melissa D'Angelo does the rest. Melissa also stylers their hair for them if they'd like that as well. Some of the cast prefers to do their own," executive producer Trifari Williams said.
Nicole Rémy on 'The Courtship' had someone make custom looks for her on the show.
This makes sense, as Nicole had to dress in period-appropriate clothing as she tried her hand at Regency-style romance on the dating show "The Courtship."
“Hopefully, it was easier than [the actual] Regency back when they had like 72 different components. And all the corsets!” she said about the fitting and dressing experience in an interview with USA Insider. “They made [the dresses] modern day, which was nice. They're all couture, Italian silk made in Paris dresses. And they all were fit to me, which was just so special.”
Watch more romance reality TV like "Temptation Island" and "The Courtship" on Peacock now.
