One of my all-time favorite hairstyles is Victoria’s Secret inspired hair…think sexy, loose, voluminous, windswept curls that have beautiful movement. Achieving this look is incredibly easy with a few simple tools that you probably already own, and anyone with shoulder length hair or longer can rock this bombshell look. To see photographs of everything you’ll need, as well as a tutorial and more pictures of the finished hair,
A hair clip to section your hair off with. You can use any type of hair clip you own, and you may need to use a smaller or thicker clip depending on how thick your hair is. The clip I use is shown below:
A heat-protectant spray. It doesn’t matter what brand you use, but using a lot of heat on your hair can really damage it, so always use a heat protectant spray ahead of straightening or curling. I am using CHI Iron Guard:
A teasing brush/comb. I purchased this tool from my local Sally Beauty Supply, and it only cost me a couple of dollars. I use this every single day, and it comes in handy for parting and sectioning your hair, as well as teasing to create volume.
A flexible hold hairspray. My favorite hairspray ever is the L’oreal Elnett Hairspray, which you can purchase at drugstores. It does tend to be a little more expensive, but I found mine on clearance at Walmart for only a few dollars. I absolutely love the formula because it holds a curl or hairstyle without that yucky stiff feeling. It’s extremely important that the hairspray you use for this doesn’t weigh down your hair and doesn’t make it stiff, because we want the hair to be extremely movable.
A curling iron. Some are picky about what barrel size curling iron you should use for this type of hair, but it is my belief that you can use any barrel size (and I’ll explain why later). I personally use a 1 inch curling iron, but you can use smaller or larger depending on what you already have in your bathroom. I love Hot Tools brand for curling irons…they always heat up extremely quick and hold my curl like no other brand does. It also has a great feature – a temperature gauge that you can turn up or down depending on your hair texture and thickness.
- Start with day old hair if possible. Hair that hasn’t been freshly washed will have better texture and hold the curl easier.
- Separate everything but a small section of the bottom part of your hair closest to the nape of your neck. You will be curling in sections to make the process easier, and allow each section to set and cool before you work with it. For this look, you can safely work with 1 to 1 1/2 inch sections of hair at a time, since we don’t want a super tight curl. Spray each section you are working on with heat protectant spray, and lightly comb through.
- Curl each section of hair with your curling iron. You want to alternate curling your pieces away from your face, and towards your face so you get an “unexpectedly curly” look. As you curl each 1 to 1 1/2 inch piece, be sure not to touch the hair at all so it can cool. Once you’ve curled that section, un-clip the next section of hair, working your way eventually to the outermost layer of hair (the ones that frame your face). This whole process can take anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes or more depending on how much hair you have. Remember not to touch any of the curls at all as you are going along. Your head will look slightly weird at this point, with a bunch of sectioned off curls. If you have bangs or a fringe, curl them slightly away from your face (think Farrah Fawcett’s signature retro style, but modernized).
- Allow your curls to cool. This usually only takes around ten minutes or so, if not less, since by the time you’ve gotten to the last section of hair, your other curls are already set and cooled.
- Separate your curls with your fingers and your teasing brush lightly. I like to tousle my curls with my fingers with my head upside down for added volume. You can also use your teasing brush to very lightly brush out any extra tight curls. You will be left with modern, sexy curls that look very Victoria Secret-esque. This is why it doesn’t matter what size barrel of curling iron you use, because you can always brush the tightness of the curl out. Also, if you have bangs or a fringe, you can use this brush to shape and create your “windswept” bang look since you curled them slightly away from your face.
- Using your teasing brush, lightly tease the roots of your hair. Hold a piece of hair up at the roots of your head (it can be along your part), and using your teasing brush, backcomb the section of hair. Then, use the brush again to smooth that piece down, and you’ll be left with crazy voluminous roots.
- Use your flexible hold hairspray to spray your entire head. Once you’ve achieved the volume and look you want with your curls and roots, spray your head with your flexible hold hairspray. This will keep everything in place while also still allowing your curls to move.
Remember that the longer your hair is, the more Kardashian/Victoria’s Secret inspired the look is going to be. My hair is down past my cleavage when completely straight, for reference, and the end result makes me feel sexy and feminine.
The finished product is meant to look somewhat disheveled and reminiscent of modern day bombshell hair you see in Victoria’s Secret. My inspiration photographs are below…
Have a question about how to achieve this hair style or any of the products listed above? We’d love to hear your feedback via a comment!
[ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THIS SITE IS TAKEN BY REBECCA KAZIMIR. NO PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.]
Stephanie Giannotta says
I would LOVE to achieve this hairstyle but I have very thick curly hair naturally. I have tried curling my hair after straightening it, and oddly enough it will not curl! Any suggestions? Thank you!
Rebecca says
What kind of straightener do you use, Steph? My niece has super tight, thick ethnic hair and I use a straightener to straighten and curl her hair at the same time. You basically use your hand to flick the straightener the same way you would a curling iron, and run the straightener through for a curl. I often curl my (and others) hair with my straightener instead.
Annabella Freeman says
Wow you have gorgeous hair. Mine used to be as long as yours but I had cut it off a few years ago and kept it shorter but I’ve been growing for the wedding and it’s slowly getting there. I’m lucky my hair is naturally wavy so it doesn’t take much to achieve a look like this. x
Stephanie says
I use the Royale Hair Flat Iron. I’ve tried curling with the it but my hair won’t curl after being straightened.
Rebecca says
What if you curl with the straightening iron as you go down the section of hair? Meaning you clamp the root of your hair, and then twirl your hair around the straightener as you work your way down. It straightens the curl so it’s not super tight, but it also curls it into a loose curl like this look. I might have to do a video on it using my niece to show you what I mean since it can be a little tricky to explain what I mean with words 🙂
Rebecca says
Thank you so much Annabella!
Chelsea Alise says
I LOVE this look, could you do a tutorial/products used for the makeup? I really want to know what you’re wearing on your lips!
BeautyGala says
Absolutely Chelsea, I’ll work on doing a look for it this week 🙂
Chelsea Alise says
So, I can’t wait any longer… Haha. What’s the lipstick/gloss you have on in this look? I can’t find the perfect light pink lipstick for me. HELP!
Danneil says
Can somebody find a picture of that pink bra that Alessandra wearing and email it to me please?? My email is dannielgrande@aol.com. Thanks