• Mothers of teenage shoppers are furious about the risqué photos in Victoria's Secret stores and say they are inappropriate for young girls shopping the company's PINK line. 
• A customer shared photos of a Victoria's Secret store in the Columbiana Centre Mall in South Carolina.
• Oversexualized ads like those in the photos could threaten Victoria's Secret's teen apparel business, which has been a bright spot for the retailer.

Victoria's Secret is ostracizing some customers with its risqué ads. 

"It's basically pornography," shopper Jessie Shealy wrote on Victoria's Secret's Facebook page, referring to the ads on display in her local store in South Carolina. Shealy has teenage daughters who shop from Victoria's Secret's PINK apparel brand, which is targeted toward younger consumers. She told Business Insider she has called and emailed Victoria's Secret and her local mall, Columbiana Centre, to complain about the images she's seen in the store. 

Shealy's biggest complaint is that her store doesn't have a divide between PINK and Victoria's Secret's racy lingerie collection. This means that younger PINK shoppers are subjected to some of the more risqué imagery while they're shopping.

"I've not been happy with the displays for a while but when the models are spread leg, pulling down panties and even bare bottom women on the walls ... it is VERY embarrassing for a family," she wrote on Facebook.

These displays don't seem to be consistent in all of Victoria's Secret's stores. We visited a store in Manhattan and found that it did have two distinct sections for each brand, with separate checkout areas. 

Victoria's Secret did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. 

The ads are in danger of damaging PINK by putting off its shoppers. This is especially concerning as PINK has become one of the most successful parts of the company, reporting stronger sales than the other parts of the store in recent years. During the third quarter of 2017, total sales at PINK increased in the mid-single-digit range while sales in its beauty and lingerie sections were down, the company said in its earnings call.

Shealy shared photos from her local Victoria's Secret store with Business Insider. 

Editor's Note: Some of these photos might not be considered safe for work. 

SEE ALSO: Teen retail's hottest lingerie brand is supercharging its biggest weapon against Victoria's Secret

This image hangs directly behind the checkout area at the store. Shealy described the images as "obscene."

Shealy has reached out to the company to request separate checkout areas for PINK and Victoria's Secret shoppers.

Victoria's Secret has been called out for its oversexualized ads in the past. Another shopper wrote on Facebook: "The sexualization of girls has gotten worse and worse over the years."

• Victoria's Secret customers are complaining on Facebook that its ads, which feature scantily dressed models, are targeted more towards men than women.
• Meanwhile, rival brand Aerie has doubled down on its efforts to promote female empowerment.
• We visited the two stores to see how their ad campaigns differ. 

Victoria's Secret has an advertising problem, and it's putting off customers. 

In January, Business Insider reported that mothers of teenage children who shopped at its teen-centric brand, PINK, were revolting online because of the oversexualized ads in Victoria's Secret's stores. 

"It is basically pornography that everyone (children and teens) are subjected to viewing because there is only one area to check out between PINK and Victoria's Secret, which happens to have the most obscene photos behind the registers," shopper Jessie Shealy wrote on Victoria's Secret's Facebook page.

PINK has become one of the most successful parts of Victoria's Secret, reporting stronger sales than other parts of the store in recent years.

But it's not only PINK customers who are being put off by these racy photos. Some Victoria's Secret customers are also complaining that its ads are targeted more at men than women.

Meanwhile, rivals such as American Eagle's underwear brand, Aerie, are doubling down on their efforts to appeal to their female shoppers, ditching photoshopped images and partnering with women activists to promote female empowerment. 

We visited Aerie and Victoria's Secret to see just how extreme the differences are:

SEE ALSO: These risqué images in Victoria's Secret stores are infuriating moms of teenagers — and it's threatening the best part of the business

We visited two stores in Manhattan's Soho area. The stores were on the same block and therefore in direction competition with each other.

American Eagle's Aerie lingerie brand is known for its body-positive ad campaigns using "real" women.

The brand famously doesn't Photoshop any of the images in its ads. In 2014, it swapped its airbrushed ads for unretouched photos and launched a body-positive campaign known as #AerieReal.

• Ex-Victoria's Secret Model Jessica Hart recently took to Instagram to show off a cropped pink sweatshirt with the phrase "Four letter bad word," and underneath it "Taylor Swift."
• The two have reportedly had drama in the past, starting in 2013 when the singer performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
• Swift reportedly agreed to perform the following year as long as Hart did not walk in the show.

By now, you probably know the main celebrities who Taylor Swift is feuding with: Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Karlie Kloss (that one is still a question mark.) But did you know that the 28-year-old singer has been embroiled in a heated, torturous feud with a Victoria’s Secret model since 2013?

Confused? Let us break down the drama. On Tuesday, ex-Victoria’s Secret model Jessica Hart posted an Instagram of her modeling a cropped pink sweatshirt with the phrase, “FOUR LETTER BAD WORD,” and underneath it, “TAYLOR SWIFT.” (We assume the “four letter bad word” is f--k.) Hart proudly modeled the sweatshirt in three Instagrams, leading fans to wonder what Swift did for Hart to throw such savage and blatant shade.

Here’s the backstory: In 2013, the “Look What You Made Me Do” singer performed in her first-ever Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which Hart also walked in. Swift became an instant favorite among viewers and the Victoria’s Secret crew, so she was invited back to perform the following year. She was reportedly happy to do it, under one condition: Hart not walk in the show.

You see, in 2013, at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show afterparty, Hart was asked by Women’s Wear Daily if Swift had what it took to be an actual Victoria’s Secret model.

“No,” she said. “I think, you know what, God bless her heart. I think she’s great. But, I don’t know, to me, she didn’t fit. I don’t know if I should say that. I think what you find is that for a lot of us, we’ve been working for 14, 15 years; what it takes to make it here comes from experience and confidence and knowing how to be confident with yourself. I think it comes with age. It’s definitely the benchmark of all jobs.”

Trying to do damage control, Hart told Us Weekly a week later, “I adore Taylor Swift and I was so excited to be with her at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She is a true rock star and she absolutely killed it the other night.”

However, the damage was done. Not too long after, a source close to Victoria’s Secret told the New York Daily News that Swift agreed to perform at the fashion event, only if Hart didn’t walk.

“It’s not been announced that Jessica is not walking, but it was a direct request from Taylor that this be the case if she were to go,” the source said at the time. “No one can know that Taylor requested Ms. Hart not be in the show; they want to keep that under wraps but that’s the facts.”

Victoria’s Secret’s president, Ed Razek, has denied that Swift had anything to do with Hart no longer walking in the televised lingerie event. But judging from Hart’s shady Instagrams, the two definitely still have bad blood—even almost five years later. No response yet from Swift, but considering that she has bigger, A-list fish to fry, Hart is likely only a blip on her radar.

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NOW WATCH: The rise and fall of Hooters Air — the airline that lost the 'breastaurant' $40 million

• Victoria's Secret's PINK line is peaking as the company sees slower sales growth and smaller market share by other players, a Jefferies analyst found.
• Shares of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, dipped after it reported a weaker-than-expected first-quarter forecast.
• The company still beat Wall Street's expectations, posting an adjusted $2.11 earnings per share on revenue of $4.82 billion.
• View Victoria's Secret parent L Brands' stock price move here.

Victoria's Secret's PINK line — considered the company's strongest growth engine— is "peaking," a Jefferies analyst said.

Its parent company L Brands' choice to keep giving out promotions is devaluing the brand and raising customers' expectations that they can keep buying cheap products at Victoria's Secret stores, said Jefferies Analyst Randal Konik. 

The lingerie chain is "losing pricing power" because it is offering cheaper bra options that "is driving [average revenue per unit] pressure, while training customers to pay less," he said.

He was also critical of the company's use of promotions for its PINK brand, which does not need as many promotions as Victoria's Secret lesser known and more expensive products, Konik maintained. 

In an earlier note, he warned, "With PINK being used as a main driver in many VS promos it's clear the company is down to its last carrot to keep customers from fleeing to competitors."

Meanwhile, American Eagle Outfitter's Aerie line is gaining market share due its emphasis on "realistic beauty standards." The company has posted 15 consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales, Konik said.

Konik also argued L Brands is holding too many Victoria's Secret stores in the US, exposing the brand to lower declining mall traffic that will impact its sales performance.

Much of this weakness is reflected in L Brands' fourth-quarter earnings released on Wednesday. "In 4Q at VS, store traffic remained challenged, lingerie comps remained weak, merch. margins declined due to incremental promos, and PINK barely posted positive comps," he said. 

L Brands' stock took a hit despite the company posting quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations.  The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, above analysts' expectations of $2.04 per share, and revenue of $4.82 billion that was in-line with forecasts, according to Bloomberg data.

However, the company said that it expects 2018 full-year earnings to be between $2.95 and $3.25 per share, and first-quarter earnings to be between $0.15 and $0.20 per share, below Wall Street's expectations.

"This forecast reflects the benefit of a lower tax rate due to tax reform legislation and an incremental investment in wages and benefits, principally for hourly associates, of approximately $100 million," the company said in a statement.

Konik believes L Brands shares are still overvalued. He gave shares a price target of $30 per share, roughly 30% below their current level.

Read more about why this analyst believes Victoria's Secret is making a wrong move with its promotions.

SEE ALSO: Victoria's Secret is 'down to its last carrot to keep customers from fleeing'

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Victoria's Secret has been accused of failing to appeal to female shoppers in recent years, with some customers complaining on Facebook that its ads, which feature scantily dressed models, are targeted more towards men than women.
• Meanwhile, rival brand Aerie has doubled down on its efforts to promote female empowerment and is gaining market share. 
• We've compiled a list of up-and-coming lingerie brands that could pose a threat to Victoria's Secret.

Lingerie giant Victoria's Secret has been accused of failing to appeal to its female shoppers with racy ad campaigns, relatively steep pricing, and rail-thin models. 

In its parent company's most recent earnings report, released last Wednesday, same-store sales were down by 6% at Victoria's Secret stores.

Increasingly, brands such as American Eagle's body-positive underwear store, Aerie, have swooped in and taken market share away from Victoria's Secret. Aerie has seen 11 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth; its same-store sales are up 23% so far in 2017 (fourth-quarter results have not yet been reported) and this is becoming a major concern for its main rival. 

"Over the past few years, we believe the competitive landscape in lingerie (in constructed, un-constructed, and Sport) has evolved. In addition to players such as Aerie (AEO) who are offering a very clear brand proposition, new digitally-native entrants are entering the arena," Cowen analyst Oliver Chen wrote in a note to investors Thursday.

Here are some of the hottest new companies and collections that could pose a threat to Victoria's Secret:

SEE ALSO: These photos reveal why women are abandoning Victoria's Secret for American Eagle's Aerie underwear brand

American Eagle's Aerie

American Eagle's underwear brand, Aerie, has become one of the company's biggest sweet spots. The underwear collection, which includes a limited selection of apparel and swimwear, is targeted at 15- to 25-year-olds and covers a breadth of sizes from XXS to XXL.

Aerie famously doesn't Photoshop any of the images in its ads. In 2014, it swapped its airbrushed ads for unretouched photos and launched a body-positive campaign known as #AerieReal. This seems to be resonating well with customers as it has seen 11 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales growth.

Love by GapBody

Gap's latest underwear collection, Love, is focused on "comfortable basics."

It's too early to judge how successful it is, as it just launched in February, but its ad campaign has been well-received online. One photo that showed a woman breastfeeding her baby went viral last week after being praised on Instagram.

"I have never shopped at Gap, but I will be purchasing something tonight! This is amazing!" one Instagram commenter wrote.

True&Co

Online-only store True&Co, which launched in 2012, aims to make shopping for bras more straightforward with a quiz that asks shoppers a series of questions about their shape, how their bra currently fits, and what preferences they have. 

From there, the store emails customers a selection of recommended bras, which they can try on at home and then return any that they don't like. 

The company was acquired in 2017 by PVH Corp., the parent company of brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for an undisclosed amount. 

Liu Wen is a woman of many firsts. She's the first East Asian model to work for Victoria's Secret, first Chinese woman to grace American Vogue's cover, and first Asian to ever make Forbes' list of highest-paid supermodels

While Liu success can be attributed to the fashion industry's growing focus on Chinese consumers, she also works insanely hard for it.

The model, now based between New York and Beijing, told Business Insider how she did it. Scroll on to learn more.

SEE ALSO: Kendall Jenner and Gisele Bündchen earn millions — but most models make less than $50,000 a year

READ MORE: There's a huge difference between a Victoria's Secret model and an Angel — here's what it takes to get Angel status

Meet Liu Wen: The first East Asian model to walk the Victoria's Secret runway, first Chinese model to grace American Vogue's cover, and first Asian model to ever make Forbes' annual list of highest-paid models.

She was born in Yongzhou, a city in southern China. At 5-foot-10, she towered over her classmates while growing up. "I developed a habit of bending down when speaking to others, as if my back was permanently hunched," she said in 2014.

Source: CNN, Vogue

She never planned on being a model — her first foray into the industry was when she won a modelling contest in 2008, aged around 17, to win a new computer. "I didn't have a clear goal [at the time] — I just wanted something that would allow me to travel around the world," she told Business Insider.

Source: CNN

• Many supermodels swear by boxing to sculpt their lean physiques.
• We visited a boxfit studio in London to meet trainers Antoine Dunn and Toby Huntington-Whiteley, brothers to former Victoria's Secret models Jourdan Dunn and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
• They talked to Business Insider about the benefits of boxing, the foods they won't eat, and the most important thing to do after a workout.

Antoine "A Train" Dunn and Toby Huntington-Whiteley share a couple of things in common.

In addition to working together as personal trainers at London's trendy boxfit studio, Kobox, they are both related to British models. Antoine is the younger brother of Jourdan Dunn and Toby is the younger brother of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Dunn even trains his sister Jourdan, whose enviable physique has contributed to boxing's rise in popularity as a high-calorie-burning workout regime.

Though boxing is traditionally seen as a masculine sport, Dunn said it's a great cardio workout that "won't bulk you up."

"Boxers have amongst the best power to weight ratios of any athletes in the world," according to the Kobox website. This means there's little room for excess weight, which results in lean physiques — one reason it's favoured by models and actresses.

"It's a great way to get your cardio in and destress, so you're killing two birds with one stone," Dunn said.

Starting out in boxing

Dunn started boxing at 19 when he was working at New York's Gotham Gym, a studio that's popular with the Victoria's Secret crowd.

"Everyone there either boxed or did Muay Thai, and I was the only one there who didn't know how to fight," he told Business Insider. "So the main guy there took me under his wing and I got into sparring."

Dunn also actively fights as an amateur boxer. His next fight is in May.

"Now it's all I do, when I go home for the day I'm watching boxing on YouTube," he said.

Here's a video of Dunn fighting:

Huntington-Whiteley, who played rugby and rowed at school, picked up boxing because he wanted to do something competitive.

"Since being able to walk I've always been into sport, when I left school I really missed the competitiveness and when I found boxing I fell in love with it," he said.

He also models part-time and is signed up to Select Model Management, but he told Business Insider that Kobox comes first.

Here he is modelling for Givenchy:

What is Kobox?

Kobox classes are split into two parts: exhausting yourself throwing punches on the bag and time spent on the wall, where you'll be doing hardcore strength training exercises.

Huntington-Whiteley said: "When you're on the bag it's all about learning a skill — with boxing you've got to be sharp. And when you're on the wall it's all about complementing that so we'll choose exercises to help improve your strength and power. It's a lot of explosive work, plyometrics, lots of jumping and body weight exercises. "

During a class, you will throw varying combinations of six punches, from a close hook to a sharp jab. 

"We’re not here to create fighters," Huntington-Whiteley said, "but we are simulating how fighters do actually train, and if you do want to go on to become fighter then we have connections."

You can burn up to 600 calories in class

The trainers reckon you can burn up to 600 calories in a 50-minute Kobox class, depending on the effort you put in.

"If person A and B do the same workout but only one's going really hard and the other's just going through the motions you're going to see different results," Dunn said.

The trainers recommend doing a class at least four times a week to get results.

"If anyone asks me how many times a week should I be training I always recommend four, and then you can start building onto that," Huntington-Whiteley said.

Huntington-Whiteley does about five classes at Kobox a week and complements that with weights training.

Dunn, who also adds in weights to his regime, said: "I just go by how I feel, if I can't be bothered to train I don't, like today it's not going to happen, I'm not going to lie!"

Although he added that in the leadup to a fight it's another story.

While Dunn likes the refreshing feeling of training first thing, Huntington-Whiteley said he prefers training in the afternoon because that's when he feels stronger and more alert.

"I'm not a morning person, I struggle with that," he said, although he equally doesn't advise his clients to train too late.

"I would never recommend training after 8.30 p.m.," he said. "It can be detrimental because you’re not giving your body enough time to recover. You can really throw your body in a bit of a wack situation. Exercise ramps you up and gets your heart rate pumping so it can be difficult to settle after that and go to sleep."

The one thing that's most important to do after a workout

Both trainers agree that the single most important thing you can do after a workout is to eat something.

"I can get through a workout without eating fine, but for me it's what I eat after that's more important," Dunn said. "I will usually go for something high carb or high protein. I'll got to Waitrose and get half a chicken and rice, or sweet potatoes. Something that fills me up — it's important to replace all of those calories you've just burned."

If you don't eat after a tough workout session, "you’ll only end up getting really hungry later on in the day and that's when you're most likely to overconsume," Huntington-Whiteley added.

When we met, Huntington-Whiteley was on the 16:8 intermittent fasting diet, which he says he'll do for two or three weeks usually after a holiday — he's recently back from Marrakesh — before going back to a normal diet.

"It's just management," he explained, adding that he also avoids dairy because it makes him bloated and isn't great for his skin.

Dunn also avoids drinking cows milk, as well as pork and beetroot — the latter, he laughed, "just doesn’t taste nice. There are plenty of other foods out there that are beneficial but taste good."

SEE ALSO: Meet Roger Frampton, the international model and personal trainer who chooses stretches over weights and 'can teach you to move like a 3-year-old'

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• Best Buy, Home Depot, Victoria's Secret, and other retailers use a third-party company to discreetly track how often shoppers return purchases.
• Many shoppers are unaware their returns are being tracked.
• The third-party company, The Retail Equation, keeps "return activity reports" on customers dating back several years.
• Best Buy has used The Retail Equation to ban customers from making returns or exchanges.

Best Buy, Home Depot, Victoria's Secret, and a host of other retailers are discreetly tracking how often shoppers return purchases, and in some cases, punishing people who are suspected of abusing their return policies. 

Most customers, like Jake Zakhar, don't know their returns are being tracked.

After returning three cell phone cases to a Best Buy store in California, Zakhar was told that Best Buy had banned him from making any returns or exchanges for a year, The Wall Street Journal reports. A Best Buy employee referred him to a company called The Retail Equation for further details. 

"I’m being made to feel like I committed a crime," Zakhar told the Journal. "When you say habitual returner, I’m thinking 27 videogames and 14 TVs."

The Retail Equation, which is based in Irvine, California, keeps a running list of customers' returns, called "return activity reports," to help "detect and deter potentially fraudulent consumers, while not impacting any others," the company says on its website.

It says fraud costs retailers up to $17 billion annually in the US.

Some "return activity reports" date back many years. One report obtained last year revealed returns dating back to 2011, a customer said on Yelp. Another report that customer pulled in 2013 turned up returns dating back to 2004, according to the Associated Press.

Other companies that have used The Retail Equation include JCPenney, Sephora, Nike, and Bath and Body Works. 

Customers can contact The Retail Equation to obtain their return activity reports. 

The company says its services enable retailers to offer more lenient return policies by targeting the 1% of shoppers who abuse return policies.

"Rather than forcing retailers to impose stricter return policies such as 'no receipt, no return' or 14-day limits on returns, the system actually allows retailers to offer the other 99 percent of consumers more lenient and flexible return policies," The Retail Equation says on its website. 

But its services have also raised some privacy concerns among customers. 

A Best Buy spokesman apologized to anyone "inappropriately affected" by the policy in a statement to the Journal.

"On very rare occasions — less than one tenth of one percent of returns — we stop what we believe is a fraudulent return," Jeff Haydock said. "Fraud is a real problem in retail, but if our systems aren't as good as they can be, we apologize to anyone inappropriately affected."

SEE ALSO: Walmart bars customers from buying too many items online — and it's losing sales as a result

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• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shared her beauty routine in a YouTube video with Vogue.
• The former Victoria's Secret Angel starts by moisturizing with a spray of Caudalie Beauty Elixir and a light layer of Erborian Glow Creme for a dewy finish.
• Huntington-Whiteley then lightly applies Erborian BB Creme for a subtle, sheer base of "natural" color.
• The self-professed "lip balm freak" then uses Glossier Balm Dotcom on her lips.
• For concealer, she dots the Amazing Skin Secret Concealer from her makeup line Rosie for Autograph under her eyes and blends with her fingers.
• When she applies the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzer, she advises applying some to the upper eyelid to create a nice contour.
• After applying mascara to her top and bottom lashes, she moves on to applying a light touch of the Lid Tint Satin Eye Shadow by Jillian Dempsey with her fingers.
• She then applies highlighter and the Starstruck Blush from her makeup line to her cheeks before applying lip liner and lip color.
• Lastly and most interestingly, she uses the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Powder Foundation to set her makeup instead of a traditional setting powder.
• Watch the full tutorial below.

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Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This Victoria's Secret model could knock you out

• Best Buy, Home Depot, Victoria's Secret, and other stores are tracking shoppers' returns dating back several years and, in some cases, punishing people who are suspected of abusing their return policies.
• Many shoppers are unaware their returns are being tracked.
• Home Depot engages in the practice to combat return fraud, which "is believed to be feeding the opioid epidemic," a Home Depot spokesman told Business Insider.
• Sephora says only customers with "excessive returns" are targeted.

At least a dozen major retailers are discreetly tracking shoppers' returns and punishing people who are suspected of abusing their return policies. 

Best Buy, Home Depot, and Victoria's Secret are among the many retailers engaging in this practice.

Most of these companies have hired a third-party firm, called The Retail Equation, to mine their sales data and keep a database of customers' returns to flag potentially problematic shoppers. Customers who are flagged are often barred from making future returns. 

Retailers say they use the service to combat return fraud. Some critics say its raises privacy concerns, however, and dozens of shoppers have complained online about being unfairly punished by the system.

Business Insider compiled a list of all the companies that use The Retail Equation, based on information from the companies as well as recent customer complaints on social media. 

Here's the full list: 

SEE ALSO: Toys R Us gift cards will expire in 30 days

Home Depot

Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes said the company uses The Retail Equation to combat return fraud, which he said is "believed to be feeding the opioid epidemic."

"And returns fraud is also often the work of organized retail crime rings, thus funding serious crimes," he added. "These efforts not only protect the retailer’s bottom line, but they also help protect the communities where we do business. "

Unlike many other retailers, Home Depot only tracks returns that are not accompanied by a receipt, he said.

"The good news is that it’s pretty easy to avoid a non-receipted return these days because we can look up any card transaction or customers can opt to receive an email receipt rather than try to keep up with paper," he said.

CVS Pharmacy

CVS said it partnered with The Retail Equation (or TRE) last year.

"TRE's return management services are utilized by several major retailers representing more than 34,000 retail locations in the US," CVS said. "Since implementing TRE’s solution last year, approximately .003% (or one-third of 1%) of returns have been declined at our stores."

A customer whose return has been declined can dispute the decision through TRE, which will then initiate a review process with CVS, the company added.

Sephora

Sephora said it uses The Retail Equation, but only cracks down on customers with "excessive returns."

"We make every effort to accommodate returns, but a small fraction of customers take advantage of our policy, in many cases returning more than twice as much merchandise as they purchase," the company said. "This limits product selection and unfairly impacts other clients. When we identify excessive return patterns, we notify those customers that we may limit future returns or exchanges if no proof of purchase is provided."

• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shared her beauty routine in a YouTube video with Vogue.
• The former Victoria's Secret Angel starts by moisturizing with a spray of Caudalie Beauty Elixir and a light layer of Erborian Glow Creme for a dewy finish.
• Huntington-Whiteley then lightly applies Erborian BB Creme for a subtle, sheer base of "natural" color.
• The self-professed "lip balm freak" then uses Glossier Balm Dotcom on her lips.
• For concealer, she dots the Amazing Skin Secret Concealer from her makeup line Rosie for Autograph under her eyes and blends with her fingers.
• When she applies the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzer, she advises applying some to the upper eyelid to create a nice contour.
• After applying mascara to her top and bottom lashes, she moves on to applying a light touch of the Lid Tint Satin Eye Shadow by Jillian Dempsey with her fingers.
• She then applies highlighter and the Starstruck Blush from her makeup line to her cheeks before applying lip liner and lip color.
• Lastly and most interestingly, she uses the Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Powder Foundation to set her makeup instead of a traditional setting powder.
• Watch the full tutorial below.

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Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This Victoria's Secret model could knock you out

• Over the weekend, Victoria's Secret released promos offering discounts on its strongest brands, PINK and Body by Victoria, suggesting that its business is under pressure, Jefferies analyst Randal Konik said.
• Konik believes the brand is losing its "pricing power" because the promotions train customers to always want a lower price for Victoria's Secret products.
• Victoria's "sacred cow"— its PINK brand — is "really hurting," according to Konik.
• View Victoria's Secret parent L Brands stock price here.

Victoria's Secret is leading its "sacred cow" to slaughter.

Over the weekend, the company owned by L Brands started releasing bra and panty promotions for its PINK brand, long considered the primary growth engine and "sacred cow" for the fashion retailer, and its Body by Victoria line.

This move was in line with previous promotions the company has undertaken in the past few months to try to draw in-store traffic and drive up sales. However, PINK is one of Victoria's most well-known brands and was often spared from promotions for the retailer's lesser known and more expensive products. That has changed.

"We believe PINK is on the precipice of collapse and core VS remains pressured so severe EPS risk remains," Jefferies analyst Randal Konik wrote in a note.

Konik has warned that Victoria's Secret's promotions were eroding its "pricing power" because by offering discounts on its products, customers are trained to always expect to pay less.

The weekend's promotions for its "sacred cow" brand suggest that business is "really hurting," Konik says. The company offered a PINK panties promo of 10 panties for $35, dragging its average selling price down to $3.50 per unit. That's near the all time low of $3.11 per unit reached on March 15, according to Konik.

The same applies to the lingerie retailer's Body by Victoria bras, which were promoted down to $25 each. The bras usually range from $44.50 to $54.50.

"This is really concerning because the PINK biz accounts for near 40% of total VS sales and the Body By Victoria bra line has traditionally been one of the brand's strongest and largest," Konik said. "Promoting key franchise businesses is bad for long-term brand strength and also signals significant earnings downside risk ahead."

Konik maintained his price target of $30 per share, though he gave a bear case target of $23 per share.

L Brands' current stock price was $37.33 per share. It was down 37.69% for the year.

Read more about why Victoria's Secret's promotions are signaling that the company is under a lot of pressure.

SEE ALSO: Victoria's Secret is 'down to its last carrot to keep customers from fleeing'

Join the conversation about this story »

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• PINK has become one of Victoria's Secret's only areas of growth. 
• But in its parent company's most recent quarterly results, the brand showed signs of slowing and has ramped up its promotions. 
• Jefferies analyst Randal Konik wrote in a note to investors on Monday that PINK is on "the precipice of collapse."

PINK was once Victoria's Secret's saving grace, but now analysts say the brand is showing signs of struggle. 

In recent years, PINK has become one of the most successful parts of the company, reporting stronger sales than other parts of the store.

In parent company L Brands' most recent quarterly results, PINK CEO Denise Landman hinted that the brand might be headed towards stormier waters, describing its performance as "mixed" during the quarter. This was due to "disappointing" sales in parts of its apparel collection, she said.

Over the weekend, Victoria's Secret released promotions offering discounts on PINK products, suggesting that its business could be under pressure. 

We visited one of its stores to see what was happening: 

SEE ALSO: These risqué images in Victoria's Secret stores are infuriating moms of teenagers — and it's threatening the best part of the business

We visited a Victoria's Secret store in Downtown Manhattan, which has a separate PINK section.

As we approached the PINK section, we instantly spotted its loud, 40%-off sale signs, which were tactically positioned to lure customers in to the store.

These promotions are an indicator that the brand is looking to drive traffic to stores.

The promotions were mostly on core products, such as underwear. This was confusing given that in the company's fourth-quarter earnings results, Landman said that intimates, specifically bras and panties, drove the strongest growth for the brand.

Landman said the "Wear Everywhere" collection and sports bras were key sellers during the quarter. Despite this, these bras were all on sale for $20.

• Tyra Banks revealed that she almost never worked with Victoria's Secret.
• She said in an interview with W Magazine that she was sent home during her first job with the brand because the hairdresser on set didn't know what to do with her hair.
• Banks tried again a year later, and had her own hairdresser do her hair beforehand.

While Tyra Banks has become one of the most prominent figures in the modeling world, she didn't have the easiest time breaking into the industry. 

Her early career found her making history with Victoria's Secret, becoming the first African American woman to grace the cover of its catalog and land a coveted spot as an Angel. But Banks recently said in an interview with W Magazine that her illustrious career as a Victoria's Secret model almost didn't happen — and she claims it's because a hairdresser didn't know what to do with her natural hair.

"I had to figure out how to make sure I looked good at work, because I almost lost my opportunity at Victoria’s Secret," she told W Magazine. "I was sent home the first day because the hairdresser didn’t know what to do with my African American hair, so it looked crazy."

Banks then took matters into her own hands to kick down the door she says was closed on her.

"Then a year later, I finally begged my agent to get them to give me another chance," Banks said, "and I had my hairdresser come to my apartment in Union Square and wash, blow-dry, and flat-iron my hair."

Her effort clearly paid off, as she went on to work with the brand for several years. Though she had to create the opportunity herself, she says the brand stepped up to the plate in the future.

"And I do have to take my hat off to Victoria’s Secret because that was the last time I ever had to do that," she told W Magazine. "After that, they hired people who could do my hair for 10 years."

Though Banks said that Victoria's Secret was accommodating to her success, she still feels there is a long way to go in the industry when it comes to diversity. She noted that models like Naomi Campbell and Veronica Webb were all over the runways when she was getting her start, and it seems like that level of representation is even lower than before.

"So now to see no black girls in tons of fashion shows is crazy," she said. "There was still a lot of discrimination back in my day, but now I think, damn, maybe we didn’t have it as bad as we thought we did."

Banks is currently promoting her new memoir "Perfect is Boring: 10 Things My Crazy, Fierce Mama Taught Me About Beauty, Booty, and Being a Boss," and she hasn't held back on getting personal in recent interviews. She previously revealed that she had a nose job early in her career, and even opened up about her finances. She seems to be offering a candid glimpse into how she became a world-famous supermodel, all while bringing attention to the industry's areas of opportunity. 

Check out the rest of Banks' interview on W Magazine.

Representatives for Victoria's Secret and Tyra Banks did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

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• Model Leyna Bloom started a campaign to become the first trans person of color to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
• Her campaign has gone viral on social media.
• She previously criticized the runway show for not being diverse.
• Bloom has been a professional model since 2014 and has experience as a swimsuit model.

Booking the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is one of the most competitive gigs in the fashion industry. Every year, hundreds of women audition for a few coveted spots. Despite having a large pool of talent to choose from, the runway show is routinely criticized for selecting a cast that lacks body and racial diversity.

But model Leyna Bloom wants to change that. She has started a campaign to become the first trans person of color to walk in the fashion show — and it's picking up some serious steam on social media. 

"Trying to be the 1st Trans model of color walk a #VictoriaSecret Fashion show.#transisbeautiful#LeynaBloom," she tweeted on Monday.

At the time this post was published, her tweet had over 29,000 retweets and 96,000 likes. And although the campaign has faced some negative pushback, the general response has been mostly positive.

Bloom's tweet also caught the attention of professional model Nyle DiMarco, who won both "America's Next Top Model" and "Dancing With The Stars," and is an activist for people who are deaf. "Gorgeous! I support this," DiMarco wrote.

It seems like the concept has been on Bloom's mind for some time. In November 2017, when the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was filmed in Shanghai, China, Bloom put the lingerie brand on blast, claiming that the fashion show cast lacked diversity.

"All these women of color in the VS fashion show that's amazing right. But they still have way more white girls. It's like every time they added a woman of color they added another white girl. Next year they need to cast trans and curve models all colors not just Caucasians," she wrote.

Just a few months after her initial tweet, Bloom is now taking the lack of diversity into her own hands.

The model told Yahoo Lifestyle that the opportunity would be a dream come true.

"It's always been a dream for me, like so many others, not just trans — POC, all women, and some men even," she said. "This is a platform that glorifies femininity. I always felt in my most natural state I am heavenly. For my trans sisters, regardless of color, this will be a moment for us all."

An active model since 2014, Bloom walked the runway for brands like Chromat and the Blonds during New York Fashion Week in September 2017, according to Yahoo Lifestyle. In October 2017, she became the first trans person of color to model for Vogue India, Mic noted.

Bloom told Yahoo Lifestyle that if she were cast in the show, she "will have the power to set the tone, and that would be the biggest leap up to date. Can you imagine what that would do for our world?"

She concluded: "We all have unique stories; we are just different, and we have every right to be. We just want to be represented, and maybe they will want to represent us too."

Leyna Bloom and representatives for Victoria's Secret didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

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• Sales of PINK merchandise declined in March for the first time.
• PINK is now dropping its swimwear line.
• A failing PINK brand could be devastating to Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret is dropping its PINK swimwear line after it pulled the brand into the red for the first time ever. 

Parent company L Brands said Thursday the decline in sales of PINK merchandise was driven mainly by its swimwear line, which the company said it is now "in the process of exiting." 

Analysts at Jeffries called the news "concerning." For them, it only adds to a mounting list of reasons of why there is trouble ahead for PINK — and ultimately Victoria's Secret. 

"PINK was the growth engine for VS in the past, and we continue to believe shares will decline as this brand continues to deteriorate," they said. Jeffries has a price target of $30 price target for Victoria's Secret parent L Brands. That's 17% below where the stock is currently trading.

The brand, which accounts for 40% of Victoria's Secret sales, has previously been seen as a primary source of success for the company. But decreasing sales and pricing power suggests the PINK era may have come to an end. 

Declining prices of panties and bras suggest it may have lost a great deal of strength with customers. Meanwhile, competitors like Aerie are grabbing market share. 

And the worst is yet to come, according to the analysts. 

"History shows when brands break, there is no real floor for valuation," they added. "And PINK is clearly breaking."

L Brands is down almost 40% this year. 

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• Tyra Banks recently opened up to Business Insider about the difficulties she faced as a young model with body image and weight.
• At the height of her high fashion career, she was called "too big" by designers during Milan Fashion Week.
• Banks naturally broke down, but said her mother gave her the tools for body positivity and the "strategy to get around all of that hardship."
• Banks went on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel and land the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Tyra Banks is one of the most famous supermodels in the world, largely thanks to "America's Next Top Model" and her legacy as the first black Victoria's Secret Angel. But Banks is the first person to admit that her road to success in the fashion industry was bumpy and demanding.

The "Perfect Is Boring" author recently opened up to Business Insider about the difficulties she has faced with body image and unrealistic weight expectations. When Banks was a "very young model" and at the height of her high-fashion career, walking runway shows for designers like Dior and Armani, she was called "too big" by designers during Milan Fashion Week.

"Her butt is getting too big and you need to go tell her to lose some weight," they told her mother Carolyn London, according to Banks.

London showed her daughter a list of eight designers who no longer wanted to work with her. Naturally, Banks panicked.

"I started crying and I was like, 'Mom, OK, what do I do. Should I diet? Should I work out twice a day? Should I just have salads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?'" she told Business Insider.

Instead, London told Banks that they would come up with a plan — and took her to a pizza parlor.

"She put a pen in my hand and she said, 'You write down every client that likes ass. Your ass. Because it's growing and there's nothing wrong with that, and I'd be damned if my baby starves for this industry,'" Banks said. "Goodbye high fashion, hello 'girl next door.'"

Banks went on to become the first black woman on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (and landing that cover twice, back-to-back); one of the original Victoria's Secret Angels; the first black woman on the cover of the Victoria's Secret Catalogue; and the first black woman to wear the famous Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra (which she also did twice). 

You can watch that section of Banks' interview with Business Insider below.

It's no secret that it can be a struggle to remain body-positive in the world of fashion — especially when success encourages more and more media scrutiny. In fact, this is not the first time Banks has spoken out about unfair standards put upon women in the public eye. 

In 2007, Banks went viral for clapping back at body-shamers on her daytime talk show after media outlets incorrectly claimed she had gained 40 pounds. She also took that opportunity to praise her mother for raising her with the tools for self-love.

"I love my mama. She has helped me to be a strong woman so I can overcome these kinds of attacks, but if I had lower self-esteem, I would probably be starving myself right now. But, that's exactly what is happening to other women all over this country," Banks said.

Banks showed her audience how angles can affect how a woman's body appears in photos, but made sure to emphasize that she loves herself regardless.

"To all of you that have something nasty to say about me or other women who are built like me, women whose names you know, women whose names you don't, women who've been picked on, women whose husbands put them down, women at work or girls in school, I have one thing to say to you: kiss my fat ass," she said.

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Tyra Banks and her mother Carolyn London outline Tyra Banks's difficult journey to success in their book "Perfect is Boring". At the height of Tyra Banks’s high fashion career, she was called “too big” by designers during Milan Fashion Week. In response to this criticism, Tyra questioned her body and how she could change it to adhere to the industry’s rigid standards. Her mother had a different plan and instead took her daughter out to pizza.

Tyra and her mother Carylon London, who at the time was acting as her manager, decide to leave high fashion and pursue mainstream brands. Several years later, Tyra Banks has established an empire from being the first Black covergirl on Sports Illustrated, the first Black Victoria’s Secret Angel, to creating America’s Next Top Model. And there is still more yet to come. Following is a transcript of the video.

Tyra Banks: I've been told that my butt was so big and just not marketable anymore. She gave me the tools, and the self-esteem, and the self-love, and the strategy to get around all of that hardship.

The fashion industry is a dog-eat-dog, very difficult world where you're broken down from your head to your toe, constantly told that you're not good enough, waitin' for the phone to ring.

When I was a very young model, and at the height of my high fashion career, high fashion meaning Chanel and Dior and Armani and all the wonderful high fashion designers in the world, I was told one season that I wasn't good enough.

They said your daughter is too big, her butt is getting too big, and you need to go tell her to lose some weight. This happened in Milan, Italy. So my mom came to me and she showed me the list of eight designers that did not want to hire me anymore. And I started crying and I was like, mom, okay, what do I do? Should I diet? Should I work out twice a day? Should I just have salads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? And my mom said, "You know what we're gonna do?"

Carolyn London: "We gonna go get some pizza. And we're gonna come up with a plan."

Banks: Over a big, juicy, wonderful pizza with lots of cheese and sauce, we made a plan. There was a butcher paper on top of that table and she put a pen in my hand and she said, "You write down every client that likes ass. Your ass, because it's growing and there's nothing wrong with that. And I'll be damned if my baby starves for this industry." I was like, eatin' the pizza like. Likes ass? Okay, um ... Victoria's Secret?

London: And I said write it down.

Banks: And then she was like, okay now, who has an ass? And I was like, Cindy Crawford?

London: Write it down.

Banks: So I wrote that down and other models that had curves. And my mother said, "Those are the careers that you need to look at and figure out how you can implement some of those strategies, and those are the clients that you are gonna call to see if they will hire you. Goodbye high fashion, hello girl next door."

Cut to me, you know, being the first Black woman on the cover of a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and doing that twice, back-to-back. Me being the first Black Victoria's Secret Angel. One of the original Angels in fact. Me being the first Black woman on the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog, the first Black woman to have a Victoria's Secret contract, the first Black model to wear the Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra, and I did that twice.

Most of the time the road, we all know this, the road to success, no matter what the story says on Business Insider, people are like, oh yeah, I made it and I ... honey. My mother was super instrumental in so many aspects of my career. You know, my mom was fearless and she was creating an empire, not just saying be on this cover or work this runway. I had her there. She was my rock, my mother was there.

And it all started on a pizza butcher paper in Milan, Italy with my mama sayin'

Banks & London: Write it down.

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• Dede Lagree is a personal trainer who has worked with Ashley Graham, Viola Davis, Elsa Hosk, and Bella Thorne.
• She recommends doing planks, side planks, Russian twists, bicycle crunches and mountain climbers for flat abs. 
• Lagree says you should start off slowly with a few repetitions and gradually work your way to more. 

Looking to slim your waistline? Find out the best exercises to lose belly fat, thanks to top tips from one of the best trainers in the biz.

Plank hold

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• Victoria's Secret has found itself caught up in the #MeToo moment and has been criticized for its oversexualized ads. New data from brand-insights firm YouGov showed that women's perception of the brand has declined since 2013. 
• Discontent has been brewing for the past few years, and some Victoria's Secret customers have complained on Facebook that its ads, which feature scantily dressed models, are targeted more towards men than women.
• Here's how much its commercials have changed over the years.

Victoria's Secret is alienating some customers with its racy ads.

In April, new data from brand-insights firm YouGov showed that women's perception of Victoria's Secret has seen a slight decline since 2013. Its so-called "Buzz score," which tracks how customers feel about brands based on what they see and hear, has declined as Victoria's Secret has lost favor with women between the ages of 18 and 49.

According to YouGov, the brand has found itself caught up in the #MeToo moment. Its annual fashion show featuring its famous "Angels" aired only a month after allegations of sexual harassment came out against Harvey Weinstein. Its television ratings sunk 30%, according to YouGov researcher Paul Hiebert.

Discontent towards its ads has been growing. In 2016, one of its Facebook photos got heat from customers who said it was so overtly sexual that it was borderline pornographic.

Earlier this year, Business Insider reported that the brand's oversexualized ads were also at risk of putting off shoppers at its teen brand, PINK. In complaints on Facebook, mothers of these young shoppers compared the ads in stores to "pornography."

Though some of its commercials have become more tame over time, the reality is that the brand has largely not adapted to the times, and its scantily clad, airbrushed models are still the main feature of its campaigns. 

We took a look back at the brand's commercials to see how much they've changed over the years:

SEE ALSO: These before-and-after photos show how much Victoria's Secret has changed

The brand was created by Ray Raymond in 1977. Raymond named the brand after the Victorian era in England, wanting to evoke the refinement of this period in his lingerie. The term "secrets" refers to what was hidden beneath.

Source: Slate

The brand was bought by its current parent company, L Brands, for $1 million in 1982 with its current CEO, Les Wexner, at the helm.

The overtly provocative nature of Raymond's Victoria's Secret was slightly altered when Wexner took the helm of the brand — but make no mistake, lingerie still abounded.

The brand held its first runway show in 1995. 

Source: L Brands

The idea of the Victoria's Secret "Angel" came into play in 1997 after a commercial featuring Helena Christensen, Karen Mulder, Daniela Peštová, Stephanie Seymour, and Tyra Banks ran to promote its "Angels" underwear collection. From then on, the term Angel become synonymous with the brand.

Surce: The Cut