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In this reported feature, culture editor Kaitlyn McNab examines the beauty machine of Caribbean carnival, specifically studying the intricacies and impact of Grenada’s Spicemas 2024 Pretty Mas parade.
Have I ever felt more beautiful? Standing in the mirror, I can’t help but stare. The cut crease's pinks and blues mimic island sunsets. The rainbow iridescent gems dotting across my browline and cheekbones dance, even in the fluorescent bathroom lighting. Rhinestones on my neck, my chest, my thighs, my arms. The hands that made my costume from scratch have guaranteed that I will shine without effort. This is the power of Pretty Mas. This is the power of carnival.
Many who are not of West Indian heritage are usually not familiar with the carnival lexicon — words and phrases like J’ouvert, playing mas, frontline, section — but can likely recognize its Pretty Mas iconography, an endless stream of bejeweled bikini-esque costumes and colorful, grandiose feathered wings. The Pretty Mas (mas from masquerade) parade is visually alluring in nature, and playing mas is almost literal in its definition: it is play, a presentation of total joy, and a commemoration of life. But carnival is more than feathers — it is, most importantly, about freedom.
The cultural entity of carnival in the Caribbean began in the 18th and 19th centuries as private celebratory processions among enslaved Africans imitating the elaborate Lenten celebrations of slave owners. Post-emancipation, the processions evolved into festivities of freedom, into what we now know as Carnival, and is today one of the most sacred cultural traditions of the Caribbean and across the global diaspora, with celebrations in Brooklyn, Notting Hill, Miami, Toronto, and more. Each Caribbean nation has its own carnival season and its own festivities, customs, and traditions, ranging from weeks to months of celebration. However, carnival season usually culminates with a grand finale, the Pretty Mas parade.
Playing mas is a spectrum of disruption and expression, with the most popular forms being dutty or pretty. “Dirty” or dutty mas, which typically occurs during J’ouvert, the dawn-breaking street parade that happens before the final parade, is steeped in centuries-old tradition and is free to participate in. Masqueraders of all ages cover themselves in paint, powder, or charcoal, paying homage to our ancestors who painted their own bodies with soot and molasses to celebrate their emancipation and commemorate their resistance.
Pretty Mas, in contrast, is about opulence, honoring the costumes our ancestors handcrafted and donned in the name of freedom. I played mas for the first time during Spicemas 2023 in Grenada as a guest of Industry 360, Mel&N Media, and the Grenada Tourism Authority. It was only then that I understood the full scope of the Pretty Mas machine. Resplendence requires dedicated labor — and this year, I returned to the Spice Isle with Industry 360, Mel&N Media, and the GTA to dive deeper into the inner workings of the carnival industry and what it takes to pull off the coda of carnival season, what it takes to make thousands of revelers feel like royalty.
THE COSTUMES
When a mas band launches and reveals its section designs for the new carnival season, the presentation is pretty much like a fashion show, complete with a runway and live models. Pretty Mas is perhaps one of the largest elements influencing the commercialization of Caribbean carnivals around the world today and can cost up to thousands of dollars. Masqueraders pay to play with “bands,” organized staffs of designers, customer service personnel, DJs, trucks and drivers, security, food and beverage servicers, and more who curate an oftentimes all-inclusive experience that can include a costume and various accessible amenities while on the parade road. Some mas bands, like popular Grenadian band Lavish, offer amenities like portable toilets and air-conditioned buses in addition to sound-system floats and food and liquor trucks.
This year in Grenada, I played with Lavish the Band, led by bandleader Ebony Telesford. Carnival is in Telesford’s blood — she is the daughter of soca star Tallpree and has memories of attending J’ouvert at age six. Telesford was crowned the National Carnival Queen in 2014, and just a few years later, in 2019, she established Lavish the Band with her father.
“Carnival has always been personal to me, growing up seeing my grandmother sewing my father’s outfits for soca competitions, seeing him incorporate many aspects of our culture into his music… [It] all had a part to play in my interest [in] Spicemas,” Telesford tells Teen Vogue. “This band is my child, my legacy, which I grew from the ground up."
For Spicemas 2024, Lavish grew “twice [in] size” of masqueraders compared to its pre-pandemic numbers. Due to this rapid increase in size, Telesford says Lavish’s preparation for the next carnival season typically begins “immediately after” the present season ends. “The process from idea to production requires meticulous planning and execution,” she says.
Carnival costume packages commonly include Monday Wear (less elaborate outfits for the Monday parade) and a Tuesday costume (the full regalia, often completed with a set of feathered wings, referred to as a “backpack”) with multiple styles, known as “sections,” to choose from, all handmade. Frontline costumes are the most elaborate and intricate and typically include a backpack that ranges in size — from broad and mid-back to floor-grazing and widespread — while backline body wear is still heavily adorned but does not usually come with a backpack or additional pieces.
“Our production process is tedious and requires a large team,” says Telesford. “It starts from first gathering masqueraders’ sizing information and formatting order spreadsheets to send to producers. Our production team is split into multiple teams… seamstresses, decorators, wire benders, backpack featherers, and the sorting and packing team. Our bodywear and Monday Wear are produced off-island and shipped. Our backpacks are produced right here in Grenada. The full process takes just about two months to complete, not including shipping time. Every day counts.”
For Spicemas 2024, I wore a dreamy costume designed by Alejandro Gomez in the section LA LUNE, inspired by gazing at “moonlit skies.” Costumes range in price but are becoming increasingly more expensive in both Grenada and the Caribbean at large. This year, the average price of a backline costume with Lavish was around $600 USD — and that’s without a backpack or upgraded pieces, which can be anywhere from an additional $75 for a bejeweled collar to $900 for the most elaborate frontline Section Leader backpack.
“Our carnivals have evolved into large-scale productions with elaborate themes year after year — the complexity of our costumes did so simultaneously,” says Telesford. “We also saw advances in manufacturing, which means that designers now have access to a wider range of materials and techniques, allowing for more intricate designs. The rise of social media and global exposure has led to heightened expectations, pushing designers to create costumes that stand out not just in person but also online. Overall, the interplay of tradition, innovation, competition, and social dynamics has made carnival costumes more elaborate and costly over time.”
THE DELIVERY
There are more and more and more masqueraders each year. According to the Grenada Tourism Authority, 2024 saw a 40% increase in Spicemas attendance compared to 2023. A new level of demand means new needs, and last year Solange Dowden, the owner of Valini Carnival Concierge and Courier, saw a gap she could fill.
“As a born and raised Grenadian, I always had a love for our Carnival culture,” Dowden tells Teen Vogue. “We first had the idea to do the service in 2020 on the basis of seeing the need of clients [for] the convenience of being able to have your costumes delivered to your hotel or your Airbnb.” While Dowden initially had aspirations to start a mas band, she entered the carnival market with a smaller venture, albeit one with big impact.
Valini’s courier service operates in four phases: organization (finalizing their bus delivery routes and band pickup locations), collection, distribution, and post-delivery maintenance. Valini collected the costumes for everyone playing mas on our press trip, over 20 masqueraders across multiple bands. Valini delivered my Lavish costume directly to Sandals Grenada, the resort that hosted our group and set up mandatory try-on sessions with tailors present.
After a costume mishap last year that resulted in my costume being pulled together by leftover pieces, I was extremely grateful for Valini’s attention to care; I had no anxiety about my costume missing elements or not fitting well while on the road. When I expressed concerns over bra spillage due to a cup that ran small, Valini’s seamstresses were able to extend the bra for me by adding illusion mesh and creating more coverage. I wouldn’t have felt half as comfortable as I did on the road without that alteration.
In 2025, Dowden says Valini’s “360 package” will be $600 USD and include both the courier service — Valini waiting in line to collect registrants' costumes from their bands, double checking the inventory, and costume delivery and alterations — and the concierge service — pre-arrival consultations, coordination of tours, accommodation, spa, and dining reservations, round-trip airport transfers, tickets for fetes, local experiences, J’ouvert education, and more.
THE BEAUTY
With all the moving parts that go into carnival and playing pretty mas, it’s possible that glam is one of the highest priorities on that list. Everything about Pretty Mas is a production, and carnival makeup as an art form is a display of almost limitless creativity.
Daring maximalism and extravagance are downright encouraged — after all, the look has to match the look, and confidence is the name of the game. While speaking to Telesford, she mentioned that femme masqueraders consistently opt for looks with “less coverage regardless of [body] shape or size.” Carnival is about celebrating freedom from physical, spiritual, and mental slavery — and the shackles of body image are being broken in real-time. It only makes sense, then, that women are seeking the full beauty experience to feel as beautiful as possible on the road, whatever that might mean to them.
When I arrived at my makeup appointment with Amanda Bugros, the head of the international Faces of Bella Rouge Makeup Artistry, the first thing she asked me was: “What do you want people to think when they see you on the road?” Bugros shaped my glam around my own definition of beauty, and I have never felt safer in a makeup chair. Bugros had asked that I make a moodboard ahead of my appointment, and we referred to it together, landing on an ethereal, glittery, eye-catching, hyper-femme look. I felt like a goddess.
Bugros has been a makeup artist for 15 years, with 14 of those years dedicated specifically to carnival makeup. “Doing makeup for carnival is incredibly fulfilling as an artist because it allows me to fully unleash my creativity,” Bugros tells Teen Vogue. “The vibrant colors, bold designs, and the freedom to experiment with different looks are exhilarating. Carnival makeup is about more than just beauty — it's about expression, culture, and making people feel confident and transformed.”
The ritual of carnival makeup is taken extremely seriously by both its respected artisans and their clients. International teams like Faces of Bella Rouge and the popular Carnival Glam Hub service multiple carnivals a year. “[Our] number of clients for each carnival usually depends on the number of artists on the team for the specific carnival period,” says Bugros. “Usually, we book 8-10 clients per day, per artist.” This year, Bugros worked successfully alongside two other MUAs: Vashti (Chan) Bhagwandeen and her talented teenage daughter, Amarah Borrell.
Mas bands usually hit the parade road around noon on Pretty Mas day — the demand for glam makes it so that makeup appointments must be scheduled as early as midnight, often requiring clients to sleep on their backs to maintain their makeup until it’s time to get ready for the road. My makeup appointment with Bugros was scheduled for 5 a.m. and took about two hours to complete. My photoshoot was scheduled for 10 a.m., so once back at the resort, I made sure to rest on my back, per Bugros's instructions, and even went to the breakfast buffet in full glam.
To produce work that can withstand sweat and humidity, Bugros relies on tools and brands like Mehron and Ben Nye for skin prep, MAKE UP FOR EVER and ONE/SIZE for primer, MAC Cosmetics for foundation, Fenty Beauty for highlighters and glosses, and BPerfect and Juvia’s Place eyeshadow palettes. But the prep goes beyond products.
“To ensure makeup stays intact overnight, I recommend [clients] avoid touching the face,” Bugros advises. “Sleep on your back or use a silk pillowcase to minimize friction, keep blotting papers handy to manage oil build-up, use a hydrating mist in the morning to revive the look, touch up with compact powder and setting spray if needed, and drink plenty of water to maintain fresh-looking skin.”
“The challenge of creating something unique for each client while ensuring it lasts through all the festivities pushes me to constantly refine my skills and the artists under the Faces of Bella Rouge brand,” says Bugros. “Getting to meet and chat with my clients during our appointments and seeing the joy and excitement on my clients' faces when they see their completed look is a reward in itself… I thrive on creating makeup that captures not just the spirit of each of my masqueraders but, most importantly, the energy of Carnival.”
THE PARADE
On Spicemas 2024 parade day, the thick, humid air was alive with that energy as masqueraders gathered behind their respective trucks, a fizzing excitement in sync with the pounding bass of the sound systems. The parade is a procession of splendor, with the richest and brightest colors you have ever seen popping against all different shades of melanin.
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Masquerading doesn’t always feel pretty, though — it can be extremely overstimulating on the road. A lack of feathered backpack etiquette (walking to the side when navigating crowds) amongst masqueraders can result in scratches, painful pokes, and hairline scrapes from pointy feather shafts. The wrath of the Caribbean sun tests the work of seasoned professionals like Bugros, making the most high-powered handheld fan feel like wafts from hell. And feathered backpacks are way heavier than they appear, often causing intense shoulder pain from the wired frames that are molded to one’s body.
But that pain is easily forgotten — it is nothing compared to what our ancestors endured, and they were still able to express their joy. By the time golden hour strikes, the instincts of those wings start to kick in, and the freedom on di road is palpable in cheeks that hurt from smiling, feet that can’t stop jumping, and a collective euphoria that was undeniably bequeathed by our ancestors. I have never felt freer and more connected to my heritage than I do while playing mas, likely because I feel as though I’m completing a cultural duty by keeping the tradition alive.
My favorite aspect of Pretty Mas, though, is one veteran masqueraders have been keeping alive for decades: Giving away your wings to a child watching the parade. When I close my eyes, I can still see the dazzled expressions of the little girls I’ve handed my backpacks to, and just as I will, I know in my heart they’ll remember our exchange, too. They’ll someday tell the story of why their love for Pretty Mas runs so deep, starting when a masquerader handed them a set of wings, their own means to liberation.
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