Candice Swanepoel Talks Valentine's Day, Victoria's Secret Swim Cover, and Beauty Routine
Photo courtesy of Victoria’s Secret
Coming up roses: Candice Swanepoel in the Floral Jacquard Garter Slip, Victoria's Secret, $58; available at Victoria's Secret.
For Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel, there's no doubt Valentine's Day is the sweetest holiday. "It's about feeling appreciated and getting lots of flowers!" she tells FashionEtc.
Swanepoel will spend this V-Day with her boyfriend of five years, fellow model Hermann Nicoli, but love wasn't always quite so sweet for the stunner.
"When I was about 10, in junior school in South Africa, I had a big crush on a boy and I wanted a rose from him!" Swanepoel says of her earliest Valentine's Day memory.
(Gentlemen, she may be attached but note should still be taken: Swanepoel lists “a good sense of humor, a beautiful smile, and a caring nature” as her must-have qualities in a man. “Arrogance is a no-no!”)
These days, her preferred way to spend the holiday is decidedly low-key. "An evening at home relaxing, watching a movie on the couch, and eating a home-cooked meal," she says.
Swanepoel’s date-night beauty routine is just as low-maintenance: "Lots of moisturizer and a spritz of my favorite fragrance," she says, adding, "A good, sun-kissed glow and clean, beautiful skin make me feel sexiest."
Photo courtesy of Victoria’s Secret
Say it with hearts and teddies... (Um, not of the bear variety.) Swanepoel in the Suzette Babydoll, Victoria's Secret, $48.
That supernatural sexiness is surely cause for Swanepoel's shot to the top of the industry. In addition to her work as an Angel, she's posed for international editions of Vogue and Elle and walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana and Oscar de la Renta.
The icing on the cake for the 22-year-old, however, was landing the cover of the Victoria's Secret Swim 2011 Catalogue—though she didn't find out about it until the rest of the world did. "I saw it online at vsallaccess.com!" she says.
While working for one of the world's most famous lingerie brands could make Skivvies seem less romantic and more, well, an everyday occurrence, Swanepoel knows just how to keep things spicy: Her favorite VS pick for Valentine's Day is the "honey-flavored massage gel," with the Love Balconet Push-up bra and the new Love Me fragrance coming in second and third, respectively.
"A push-up," she says, "is always sexy!”
