'I don’t believe in putting petroleum or preservatives on my skin. Over time, you kind of just want to go back to basics. Especially if you’ve been working a long time and you get makeup put on you, you just want to wash all that stuff off, because it’s not really who I am. I’m a really natural person; I love nature. I just bought a house in Kansas at eighteen years old! I’m a veteran now. [Laughs] With makeup, I don’t really care if it's natural. I’m obviously not going to wear it—hopefully—for more than a few hours. Work is different because I can’t control it, but when I’m doing my own thing—skin should be able to breathe.

All of Rose-Marie Swift’s stuff is somewhere hidden away in a bag, and when I find her treasures at my house, back home in Kansas, I’ll be freaking out, but then I’ll realize that I can’t bring all of the makeup back because I have to check it in through security, and then it’s a battle: What do I bring? What do I need?

Beauty wise, my staples are Dior Diorshow Mascara—iconic!—because, number one, they gave it to me. [Laughs] Two, it’s great—it lengthens, it thickens, it doesn’t irritate my eyes. Also, I have sensitive skin, so I always pack a powder that has moderate coverage, like a pressed powder by Neutrogena. It has SPF, as well. It’s so good because it covers all the little stuff—little imperfections—especially if you don’t like the greasiness of concealers and foundation, which kind of weird me out because I don’t know what’s in them… I just try to stay away from those unless I have to look good. [Laughs] Right now, I am using Erase Paste by Benefit in #2 Medium. It’s like a paste, but it’s concealer. I was just in Sephora and I picked it out myself. The saleswomen don’t usually come up to me, actually; I know exactly what I want. When I’m not working, I like to try different things, but this is basically it, plus the sheer Rose Silk Finishing Powder by Jurlique. It cuts down the shine. I’m anti-shine completely, but I like a good glow! [Laughs] So, I’ll pack argan oil for highlighting, or really any type of oil that’s good for your skin, like almond oil, coconut oil…just not synthetic oils. I also love Shiseido Luminizing Satin Face Color in RD103. It’s sort of like Nars Orgasm blush. I use it sort of as a highlighter, with my fingers. I use my fingers for everything. If I wanted to do a night look, I'd just do that with some eyeliner. Then, I add eye shadow on top. You have to blend it with a Q-tip or your fingers. I’m an artist! [Laughs] I’ve always liked playing with makeup. It’s fun. I love going places and getting dressed up. Sometimes models don’t know how to do makeup, and sometimes they just don’t care.

I feel the most beautiful with a taupe smoky eye with mascara, like Versace, old school…To do the smoky eye, I just rub on some brown eyeliner and smudge it around. I also like doing that kind of glowy, 'supermodel eyebrow' thing. Pat [McGrath] calls it a 'supermodel eyebrow' because she’ll make it super… chic. Thick and defined, but not overpowering, just sort of adding to what you’ve already got. You have to really know your face to do your eyebrows yourself. I use this brow kit called Brow Zings by Benefit in the Light color. I recently had my eyebrows bleached. I don’t really have a say in whether my eyebrows are bleached; it’s just how work is. I just go with it. I don’t care at this point. I’m fully past caring. [Laughs] And it’s part of getting into character, you know? So are the lips. My lips are a lot thinner than what makeup artists usually create, because they make them almost graphic. I love having my makeup done by Aaron de May because he knows how to make you feel comfortable. He’s one of my favorite people ever. And Rose-Marie Swift. I think those are my two favorite people.

I would actually prefer to do my own makeup. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have someone do my makeup—I think everyone is—but it gets a little intense during fashion week. Just like, they’ll put different products on and use Embryolisse a lot, I get sort of like polyps or little pimples. It’s just really gross. To get rid of little bumps, I use an ionized clay by Living Clay. It comes from California. They have a mask, they have a muscle rub with peppermint and tea tree oil, and lotions and stuff. It’s really good if you have bad arthritis or bad skin issues. I’ve had really easy skin, but I’ve always just washed my face and had a routine. I was afraid that I was going to get really bad skin when I started modeling, so I would always exfoliate. The first scrub I used was St. Ives Apricot Scrub and Aveeno Positively Radiant—the one without the sparkles. And for moisturizing, thisstuff is great: Cocoon Apothecary Kahuna Body Lotion. I’m all about natural. My mom would use any lotions and not even care what was in it. I think, for me, the Internet has been a really good resource. I’ve educated myself with what’s really going on with skincare.

If I’m having trouble getting my skin under control, I’ll use Simply Divine Botanicals Black Velvet Foaming Facial Cleanser. I found it at Lucky Duck [in Union Square]. I usually order it online; they don’t really have it in stores. I read the ingredients and I liked it. I’m really into researching things: I look for witch-crafted, natural, vitamins… Saffron Rouge is a good resource. It’s sort of like a beauty/healthy cosmetics website…they sell a lot of Dr. Haushcka’s stuff, too.

For hair my, I like Kérastase Masquintense, the orange one. It just works. It’s great for fashion week. It keeps my hair from looking like a Raggedy Ann doll—that, and the Bain Satin Nutrition shampoo, and Elnett hairspray for wisps and flyaways.”

—as told to ITG

[Lindsey Wixson](http://www.marilyn-ny.com/index.php#p=lindseywixson/portfolio), wearing Mother jeans and a Chloé blouse, photographed by Emily Weiss in New York on July 27th, 2012._