Now that the cast of “Love Island USA” has officially reunited for more tears, confrontations, and behind-the-scenes tea, fans finally get to see which couples are still together in the outside world – and which friendships have survived beyond the villa walls. While some might argue that Casa Amor brought the biggest relationship tests of season six, there was no single place more important than the show’s glam room. This was where those real, meaningful friendships bloomed.
Located somewhere off the villa’s main stairwell, the glam room was exactly as it sounds: a place for the women to congregate and get ready for the day, equipped with dedicated hair and makeup stations, cabinets full of free beauty products, and full-length mirrors. More than that, it seemed to become a safe haven for the cast of “Love Island,” where vulnerable conversations, heated arguments, and sometimes even breakfast came with a side of hairspray and contour.
Olivia “Liv” Walker, this season’s first bombshell, tells PS it was also where they could open up, crowdsource advice, and air frustrations – all while learning new beauty skills and sharing clothes. “Watching the show back now, I can see how many big moments we were having in the dressing room,” she says. “Our girl group was so strong; we had each other’s backs. We fight like sisters, we get ready like sisters, we share each other’s clothes [and] makeup. But the best thing about having the glam room as our own little space away from the boys was that we were able to open up and be very vulnerable with each other.”
Walker says the “comfortable” atmosphere of the dressing room – a space fully stocked with Dyson styling products, First Aid skin care, and Maybelline makeup that she calls “beautiful, stunning, and every girl’s dream” – made it an ideal escape to blow off steam or get advice from the other girls.
As the season went on, you could see the islanders begin to share clothes, makeup, and beauty tips as their comfort levels with one another grew. Everyone was trying to help each other look and feel their best. Take the moment before the Casa Amor re-coupling for example: the women came together in the glam room as a united front to help each other decide what to wear. The same can be said as they all ran to their closets to help Nicole Jacky pick out lingerie for her Hideaway date with Kendall Washington. It made for some of the most relatable scenes of the show that felt like friends helping someone get ready before a first date or running into an ex.
If you’ve ever befriended someone in the women’s bathroom, swapping lipstick recommendations or complimenting someone’s outfit, or have gotten ready in front of the same mirror as your friends for a night out, this scenario might sound familiar. There’s no place or bonding moment that’s more universal. That’s why watching the friendships unfold in this familiar territory on “Love Island” was especially refreshing to watch.
Walker agrees, arguing that “getting ready is the best bit about every single night out,” whether it’s in the villa or at home. “It’s so much fun to put makeup on with your friends, dress up, do hair. Honestly, a lot of us didn’t know how to use the Dyson Airwrap until Nicole came in and taught us how to do the curls,” she says.
On the show, Walker says the ritual of getting ready also helped smooth over the tension as the cast put their differences aside to help each other get glam. “Someone will go at it one second, and the next second it’s like, ‘Oh my god, do you mind doing my winged eyeliner?'”
This camaraderie extended beyond filming, too; Walker revealed the women had silly behind-the-scenes hangouts in the glam room, including taking advantage of some of the beauty freebies. “Leah, Kaylor, and I did blind makeovers where one of us would sit in the chairs in the change rooms, and then the other two would just go ham on each other’s faces and we couldn’t look,” she says, laughing. “We’d do blue eyebrows, we’d do designs, and we’d go to the next person, and the next person. Those were the funniest moments ever.”
The best thing about having the glam room as our own little space away from the boys was that we were able to open up and be very vulnerable with each other.
Walker also credits co-star Serena Page for helping her nail a braided half-up look, Leah Kateb for doing everyone’s pedicures, and Kaylor for making sure her winged eyeliner looked snatched. Even now that she’s left the villa, she says she still uses Leah’s go-to moisturizer, Weleda Skin Food ($20), as well as the Maybelline products introduced at the villa, particularly the Fit Me Pressed Powder ($9) and the 24-Hour Foundation Powder ($13). (She’s still getting the hang of the Dyson styler.)
In the end, though, it wasn’t about the products or how someone chose to style their hair that day. Rather, Walker says beauty became a way to decompress and bond on a lighter note before some of the more stressful parts of the show. “It sounds silly, but when you are doing your makeup and trying on dresses, you really see people’s real personalities. You’re giggling and you’re just talking about silly stuff that you don’t necessarily always get in villa because it’s all about opening up and having those [serious] conversations.”
In between all the drama, relationship ups and downs, and unexpected moments of connection that made this season of “Love Island USA” so riveting, the glam room remained the one constant – and that’s what made it the secret sauce of the show’s success. The universal ritual of getting ready together helped bridge the gap between a reality show and real life, and to that we say: we’re buzzing.
Lara Walsh is a PS contributor.
