Jasmine Tookes and Sabrina Castenfelt have launched Brunel, a new beauty brand featuring three wellness-inspired body oils. These oils were created with the help of AI to optimize their self-care properties. Tookes, who soft-launched Brunel at the 2025 Met Gala, shared with PEOPLE how she used the brand to achieve a subtle glow.

Tookes, with almost two decades in fashion and beauty, partnered with Castenfelt, a former private equity investor and Harvard MBA graduate, to create Brunel. Tookes stated that she had been approached many times with beauty opportunities, but it never felt right until she met Castenfelt. Together, they identified a gap in the market and felt it was the perfect time to introduce Brunel.

The co-founders noticed that body oils were often an afterthought in beauty routines. Leveraging Tookes' radiant skin and Castenfelt's business acumen, they co-founded Brunel to integrate wellness and mindfulness into beauty, aided by AI. Castenfelt explained that their shared stressful lives and lack of sleep motivated them to find a way to incorporate wellness into beauty.

Brunel's initial offerings include the Awakening Body Oil ($48), Renewal Body Oil ($48), and Golden Hour Glow Body Oil ($53). The Awakening Body Oil hydrates and protects the skin with vitamin C and VitaGlow-D, derived from a succulent plant from Southern Africa. The Renewal Body Oil promotes relaxation and combats fatigue with Immunight, a blend of lavandula hybrida seed extract and trihepatonin.

Tookes showcased Brunel at the 2025 Met Gala, wearing the shimmer-infused Golden Hour Glow Body Oil, which contains caffeine to brighten and plump the skin. She mentioned dabbing the Glow Oil on her cheekbones and nose for a luminous glow.

Ahead of the May 15 launch, Tookes and Castenfelt discussed their brand's story and how they utilized the IFF Scentcube™ Algorithm, an AI-powered tool, to enhance the self-care aspect of their body oils.

Tookes explained that they chose body oils to avoid the oversaturated makeup market, aiming for Brunel to enter uniquely. She noted that people often focus on extensive face care routines but neglect body care. Castenfelt added that their conversations highlighted a need in the market for body oils with a wellness angle, aiming to modernize body oils and add a wellness experience to self-care routines.

Tookes shared a childhood connection to body oils, recalling her use of Johnson & Johnson's baby oil and her mother's emphasis on moisturizing. She noted that as an African-American woman, she always wanted her skin to shine, constantly layering lotions and oils. She also mentioned that her husband, who previously didn't use moisturizers, now uses Brunel products.

In creating the scents, AI was used to confirm that the ingredients matched the desired outcomes. For example, the perfumers crafted a floral fragrance for the Awakening Body Oil, which the IFF Scentcube Algorithm confirmed would bring more happiness and confidence. Similarly, the AI confirmed that the lavender and eucalyptus scents in the Renewal Body Oil would promote relaxation.

Castenfelt elaborated that their fragrance house's AI model analyzed 50 years of scent data to determine which scents create specific moods, balancing artistry, novelty, and science while honoring fragrance history.

Tookes hopes that Brunel's products will instill confidence in users, similar to how certain products from her mother's medicine cabinet made her feel empowered. She wants Brunel to make everyone feel capable of taking on the world.