“I’m drinking Chimarrão. It’s a tea—it’s really popular in the south of Brazil, where I’m from, and in Argentina. My family gets together every afternoon for Chimarrão, not tea or coffee. This is the traditional cup, the straw, the powder—I bring bags and bags of it back to the states with me and freeze it! It tastes less like tea and more like an herb. So I’ll drink it all day long, you just keep putting more water in it. My friends here think it’s weird but I don’t care. I miss my family so much and this brings us together—sometimes I talk to my mom on Skype and I say, ‘Oh, I’m drinking a maté,’ and she’s like, ‘Me too!’ It makes me feel closer to them.

I cook a lot at home. I make salads, vegetables, soups, chicken, fish, all that. When I was little, every day I had to cook and clean the house, so I’ve always been really independent. I’m a big eater—I love love love food—but I’m not big on sweets, and I’m not big on a lot of stuff, and I’m really active. I keep myself moving all the time—I run, do Pilates, basketball. And since I’m cooking, I know what I’m putting in my food, so it’s much safer. But I eat everything in reasonable proportions.

I had really bad skin at the very beginning of my career, when I was fifteen, and that really bothered me. When you’re a girl, and especially because I’m a model, it sucks, you know? I was so self-conscious; I’d look in the mirror and cry. It was really painful. I took Accutane for a while and that helped. It’s a strong thing but it really changed my life. The only thing is, my skin became dry after taking that—it kind of dried everything in my body—so I make sure to moisturize very well. I like the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, and I love Rodin Olio Lusso. I put it on after a very hot shower and it soaks in. Oh—and Egyptian Magic. It really has the right name because it is truly magic. It cures everything from sunburns to chapped lips, anything. When you have really beautiful skin, that’s all that matters, so I protect it from the sun, clean it very well. I really care about removing the makeup. I use Lancôme and [Bioderma] Crealine, which I get in Paris every time I go. I carry around two things: Laura Mercier concealer, which I really like, and this tinted MAC lip balm which I also use on my cheeks. I wear mascara when I go out—I like CoverGirl LashBlast Length. At this point I pretty much know what works for me. For example I know I need to extend my eyebrows a little bit with a pencil, because they’re a little short, so makeup artists will fill that out. And people know not to put much foundation on my face because I have freckles. I hated my freckles when I was little—my best friend and I did everything we could to get rid of them! We got teased so much. Now of course I like them.

I don’t do very much with my hair. I change shampoo and conditioner a lot—I think it’s good for your hair, and I like to mix up the scents. Right now I’m using Bumble and bumble Creme de Coco. And I got this Moroccan Oil from Orlando [Pita] last season that’s great just to smooth over your ends. I also love Bumble and bumble’s Surf Spray for that beach-y look. But my hair is in the best shape ever thanks to Julien [d’Ys]—he told me to take Viviscal. I used to have such thin hair, because of genetics but also because I used to do so many shows, and it wouldn’t grow. Viviscal is a miracle. But you have to stick with it—I’ve been taking it for five years, and my hair’s never been so long. Thank God—or, thank Julien—for Viviscal. I tell everybody about it. For color, I go to Christopher at Garren’s salon for highlights once in a while—he’s the best.

I love nail colors—I just do. I was working with Jin [Soon Choi] yesterday and I was like, ‘Jin, what do you have? What’s the new thing? What’s the new color?’ I’m a nightmare at the nail salon—I’m like, ‘Can I try this one, and that one, and this one…” I’m such a pain. I like taupes by OPI, and all the colors from Impala which I get in Brazil. At least once a week I get them done.”

—as told to ITG