Jasmine Tookes has used her stunning face to help sell a little bit of everything: cosmetics, lingerie, high fashion apparel and shoes—you name it. But what about laundry care essentials?
Check! These days, she’s the face of Downy’s Unstopables Unlimited Collection, elegant scent-boosting beads that bring luxurious, long-lasting fragrances to your laundry. But this collaboration isn’t entirely unexpected, because Tookes is a soon-to-be mom of two children. If there’s anything we mamas know, it’s that keeping the laundry of our littles clean is a round-the-clock job. And despite the glamorous and busy lifestyle she lives, it’s Tookes, not a housekeeper, who is the one lugging around laundry to wash for herself, her 2-year-old, and her husband. But she enjoys it.
“Music is so important,” she tells ESSENCE about the essentials for a great laundry day experience. “And then the Unstopables Unlimited scents are great. Whenever the clothes come out of the dryer, you smell them and it just makes you happy and feel alive.”
She was so into this particular collection of aromatic beads that Tookes was given the chance to make her own. Her limited-edition scent is available now at Walmart, bringing luxury to the laundry aisle. “I wanted something that really felt like me or true to me or close to fragrances that I use,” she says.
In addition to talking about all things laundry, Tookes also spoke about preparing for her second child, a baby boy to join her daughter Mia, the importance of practicing self-care (including with her own beauty brand Brunel‘s collection of rich body oils), how clutch a good, organized Google calendar is as a working mom, and more. Check out what the beauty had to say.
ESSENCE: Congratulations on your curated Unstopables Unlimited scent. Love the product. What inspired the fragrance that you went for, and how would you describe it?
Jasmine Tookes: So I love bergamot, which is one of the scents in the scent beads. I also love jasmine, which is in the scent beads. So, really pulling those things together to create something that would just mesh really well with my perfume. And then, just making sure everyone smells amazing in my house when it comes to their laundry was my goal. It was also important to keep it really fresh. Nothing too heavy, nothing too sweet, but just that perfect amount of crisp freshness.
Nice! I think people view you as a fabulous supermodel, and they might believe you don’t actually do your own laundry. That you’re probably not pulling stuff out of hampers and folding loads. But you are a mom. So what does laundry day look like for you, and how do your Unstopables Unlimited scents assist you in your laundry day experience?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s so funny you say that because, yeah, on Instagram and TikTok and whatever apps there may be, people are like, “Oh my gosh, everything’s so perfect and curated.” But I’m like, no, if you’re in my house, I’m running around in my pajamas trying to get my laundry done. And between my husband and my daughter, there’s always something that needs to be washed. But I think what makes this so special is that it can become a luxury and not something that’s like, oh no, I have to do the laundry again. It just feels so elegant and elevated to have a scent that I’m actually excited to do laundry with. So it just makes it fun. And I try to make laundry time a fun moment. I’ll put on music and just sort of dance around. Maybe my daughter will help me sometimes, hand me things, and she loves being helpful wherever she can. So, the Unstopables collection really takes laundry to another level.
I love that. And speaking of your daughter, congratulations on baby number two on the way. How are you physically feeling and preparing to be a working mom of two?
I’m feeling good. First trimester, as I know many women go through, was a little bit difficult, especially with a toddler running around. Anytime I would try to take a rest, my daughter would be like, “Mommy, mommy, get up!” And I’d just want to sit down for two seconds. But I try to push through it and keep her happy, keep myself happy as well, and try to rest when I can. And yeah, I mean, I have my business, I still model, and there are so many different things going on. So my calendar is everything to me and keeps me sane and on time. Luckily, my mom lives 20 minutes away from me as well, so she’s been really helpful with my daughter, too, making sure I get everything done before the baby arrives. And I would say this time around, I’m definitely calmer with the way I’m thinking of everything because I have already had the experience with one baby before, so I know what to expect. It’s less of a shock, but every baby is different, so you never know what this baby will be like. But I’m just really excited, and I think just enjoying every little moment I can until the baby’s here. And after the baby’s here, it’s going to be even more magical.
I know that with Unstopables, you love the scents. But are there any aversions that you’re having right now with scent or food as you go through your pregnancy?
Mostly food, I would say. The smell of ketchup drives me insane. That is the one thing where, if I’m sitting next to someone eating a burger and fries with enough ketchup, I’m like, “Oh, get the ketchup out of here.” It has to go. But any luxury scent or fragrances, those are all fine, which I’m super happy about.
Got you. And what things or routines help you feel gorgeous and your best right now? I know you have your brand Brunel. That’s probably keeping your skin on point. What is making you feel good as your body continues to change?
You nailed it. Brunel, one of our oils, the Renewal hair and boy oil, has been incredible for my pregnancy. It’s a heavier oil. Your skin goes through so many changes and it gets so dry. So I’ve just been drenching myself in that oil. I’ve probably gone through 10 bottles at this point, but it’s been so helpful. I also think having just little necessities with me, say even a concealer, to help brighten under my eyes if I haven’t gotten all the sleep I want or if I just look tired, that’s been really great. I’ve also really enjoyed doing lymphatic massages. That’s something I never really took the time to do or thought would be really helpful. And after I’ve done them, I’ve been like, oh my gosh, these massages are amazing. And it just really gets everything moving. And it’s been a really great monthly tradition that I’ve been doing, which has been really, really nice.
What are you doing in addition to that to practice self-care as a mom and as a mom-to-be? Because even you mentioned drowning yourself in your oil. I know for myself, sometimes I have all these oils and things that I’ve bought or I’ve acquired and I’m like, I can’t wait to use them! But then I’m running out of the shower like, oh, I got to hurry up, got to get the kids ready. How important is it to carve out time for this and the other regimens you are doing?
Yeah, so I feel like with just body care alone, in general, it’s often forgotten or rushed because people are in a hurry. But then when it comes to their face, they’ll take the time in the morning and they’ll do all their stuff and their gua sha. I’m like, no, get up maybe five minutes earlier if you can. I understand people have kids and busy lives, but take a little bit of extra time before all of that craziness happens and do those calming rituals, whatever that is to you, whether that’s putting on your favorite body lotion, body oil, doing a face massage, anything that really makes you happy and feel calm and ready for the day.
When it comes to any products or practices that I do, I try to keep my body moving because even just going on a walk, even if it’s like five minutes, that mentally makes me feel like, okay, whew, I did something for myself. Now I can go on, do stuff for my family, for my daughter, and for my business and just keep a level head. I feel like when I wake up and things are a little bit too crazy and rushed and all over the place, that totally just starts my day off on the wrong foot. I try to get up 30 minutes before my daughter, so that’s my me time. And it’s also before my phone starts going crazy or emails start going crazy. I’m like, okay, this is Jasmine time. Let’s do the things that I love, the things that make me feel good, and go from there.
And as you said, balancing the work and the needs of your daughter and your husband, how do you get it all done? And do you believe balance is a real thing, or is it a figment of our imagination?
I think balance is tough. I feel like I used to think that balance was a real thing, but now I’m like, we’re just trying to make it through every day and see how it goes. Every day is different. And how I get it all done, like I said, is my Google calendar. If you saw my calendar, you’d be like, “Oh my gosh,” everything is so crazy planned out. It’s like breakfast. drive to this place. This is when the meeting’s happening. It’s very organized. Otherwise, I feel like things won’t get done. Ever since I was little, I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator. So I know that if I put it in my calendar, I just have to do it. So that’s really the thing that keeps me getting things done. And then also, I think just the feeling of accomplishment and being like, okay, I did that, and I did a really good job of it, that makes me feel really good. With my work and anything I do in my life, whenever I do do something or dedicate my time to something, I give it 100%. So just that feeling after, you feel so good and so accomplished that it makes it all worth it.
For sure. What’s the greatest lesson that motherhood has taught you? One thing you mentioned is that every day is different; the accomplishment comes from knowing you’re putting 100% into everything. What’s a lesson that has really stuck with you as you now prepare to expand your family?
I would say I’ve always been a very patient person, but I’ve learned to be even more patient and more understanding of any circumstance or anything that can happen. My husband is the least patient of the two of us, so I even try to teach him my ways and I’m like, let’s just be patient. You can’t control everything, and whatever’s meant to be will be. So let’s just try to live with the most positive outlook that we can, and then, again, just take it day by day.
And lastly, what do you want people to know about not just your curated Unstopable scent, but also the collection, and the benefit of having it in your laundry room?
I just want people to, and I think we say this in the commercial, luxe up their laundry because again, it’s laundry. It’s looked at as something that’s not so luxury, but we are making it luxury. And I’m so excited for people to smell all of the scents, not just mine. And I think it’s going to take laundry to the next level, which I’m super excited about. Everyone’s going to smell amazing. I think as people start using the scent, they’ll walk out of the house, and people will stop them and be like, “Oh my God, what perfume?” And they’ll be like, “No, it’s my laundry! My laundry scent beads.” So I am really excited for it, and yeah, I am thrilled.
I love that you said that, too, about people looking at laundry as a drag. I know I do, but somebody once said, if you change your perspective on it and make it like a choice, “I love to make my home look and smell good!” It makes a difference. Going into it with the right mindset.
Exactly! The music. Light a candle. You can dance in between while you’re folding your clothes; you can make anything fun. And when you smell good, it’s even better.
Enter for a chance to win Tookes’ limited-edition Unstopables Unlimited scent at https://www.unstopablesunlimitedsweeps.com/.