Djuna Bel, Stylist

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

"I grew up in northern California, in a small town called Santa Cruz. My mom’s Dutch so we spent the first couple years of my life in Holland, and then summers back in Holland. I definitely wasn’t exposed to fashion. My first shoot in New York as a model, I showed up and was looking through the rack pulling things like, ‘This is so cool! They have clothes for me to pick out!’ And then the stylist was like, ‘What are you doing?’ I was like 17 and totally oblivious, studying Art History. I was like, ‘Oh, just picking out an outfit.’ And she was like, ‘No, that’s not your job,’ and I was like, ‘Whose job is it?’ She was like, ‘It’s my job, I’m the stylist.’ My mind was blown—I was like, ‘This is so cool!’ Eventually, stylists would be like, ‘Can you pick up at Pier 59 and drop off at this showroom, I’ll give you 50 bucks,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it for two bucks, I’m 17.’ [Laughs] I loved it so much because I loved the element of fantasy—that was always such a big part of how I grew up. We didn’t grow up with a lot of money, so my mom would say we have $20 for back to school shopping, and we could go to JC Penny and get some T-shirts or we could go to the thrift store and get whatever we wanted. So I was always the weird girl in school wearing a big fur coat, or a bunch of scarves tied together.

My wardrobe used to be like 80% or 90% vintage, and now it’s kind of probably 50/50. Maybe that’s because I’m a grown up and I can finally afford to buy newer things. There are a bunch of labels I like, like Maryam Nassir Zadeh is awesome and Priscavera is really cool. But I’m also a sucker for vintage denim and a beat up vintage t-shirt, even at night. We host here [at home] a lot. We’ll do a game night—it’s this game Werewolves and Villagers, which sounds so…it’s the best game ever. I feel like if people don’t know it they’re like, ‘Okay, what’s the premise,’ and I explain and they’re like, ‘So, it’s a role-playing game,’ and I’m like, ‘Well technically it’s a role-playing game.’ It sounds so embarrassing, but it’s so fun. We have a pizza oven, so we’ll do big dinners. Any excuse to have friends over.

To go from day to night, I’ll do a refresher. I’m not the type of person who puts on more makeup throughout the day. I get ready, do my routine, and make sure I have sunscreen on. At the end of the day, I’ll spritz my face with a mist from January Labs or True Botanicals, and I’ll just give it a second. Then maybe I’ll put on some face oil. There are so many face oils I like. I’ve been switching between this CBD face oil that’s really amazing, and the Pai Rosehip Oil. I also really like the Tata Harper Beautifying Face Oil. Those have been in my main rotation right now. I just put it over my existing makeup, and reapply on top. Honestly by the end of the day, I feel like I sweat off the makeup, and I would wash my face but I feel like that’s stripping it of more oils. And I mean…success so far. I don’t have crazy clogged pores or anything. The second I do I’ll be like, ‘Gotta wash that face.’

Then I usually just put on blush—blush is my main thing, and it's usually a Nars cream blush. I also really like Laura Mercier Powder—I switch between the translucent and the colored loose one in Natural Beige. I’ve just gotten into filling in my eyebrows—it’s this new thing. I’m in my 30s and just figured it out. I use the Anastasia pencil. I’m also a fan of lip liner, so sometimes I’ll just line my lips and put on a lip mask from Laneige. As long as I have lip liner on, I feel good. Otherwise my lips are kind of the same color as my skin, and it’s just like a lot of face. I use a bunch of different ones, but my go-to is the Nars Dolce Vita lip pencil. That’s the color I feel like my lips should be, but aren’t. I like the shade, and it seems to stay on for a long time—different liners flake off, and then I’m like missing half of my lip, which is not a cute look but a look I have ended up with many times. I don’t usually bring any makeup with me in my bag, so I just deal. There’s also Dragon Girl if I want a red, which also lasts forever. That or Red Square.

If I wear concealer, I’ll put a little Clé de Peau under my eyes—it’s the only one that I know of. I love eyeliner. Same with mascara, but lately I’ve been getting eyelash extensions and it’s so rad. Especially when you have a baby—I can skip everything and just make sure my skin looks decent. It’s just putting on some blush and being like, ‘Ah, I’m good.’ But I do love a wing. If I’m on set and a makeup artist wants to try something new, I’m always down. With hair and makeup stuff, any time I work with hairstylists on set, my hair ends up being in twists of bandanas and ribbons and crazy things, and I’m like, ‘I have to go out because I have to wear this out, it’s insane.’

With my hair, I try to stick to a pretty natural routine. I change up my shampoo all the time, usually between every natural brand you can think of. I was really into Josh Rosebrook for a moment, but I’ve been switching it up. With conditioners I’m a little bit pickier. I really like Phyto. There’s also just like a Korean hair mask I got at the Korean market, and I’m really into that too. I let it air-dry, but Playa makes a surf spray and I’ve been using that recently. Phyto also makes a leave-in conditioner that’s pretty nice, and in the winter sometimes I’ll do a hair oil—it just depends on what my hair is naturally needing. It’s straight, but when it’s humid I get a curl a little bit. But just like one little ringlet. [Laughs]

I really like Le Labo Santal 33—I’ve been wearing it for like eight years. When I got pregnant, I stopped using any kind of fragrance. Sometimes I’ll put it on, but I’m afraid [my son] Fox won’t like the scent and that he’ll be turned off by it. I just use the tiniest bit if I’m gonna go out. The perfume oil is good because I can just put it on in certain spots. I usually just put it on my wrists and behind my neck, and sometimes under my armpits in lieu of deodorant. Any label that’s like, ‘Oh, this is also going to be wellness related.’ I’m like, ‘I’ll take it! I’ll take two!’ I take a lot of supplements—I’m really into Standard Process, which is a food-based supplement you get from a nutritionist. I’ve been on a plan since I’ve been pregnant and I’ve kind of stuck through it. It’s all made from real food, which I really like.

No matter what, at the end of the night, I would never miss washing my face. It just feels gross to not. I really like the Tata Harper Oil Cleanser. I was using the Sunday Riley Oil Cleanser before that, which is also really nice. Sometimes I’ll just use this really simple cleanser from January Labs—I like that, too. I do all the steps. There’s this thing called Sculptor Plus that I’ve become really obsessed with. I just ran out, so I’ve been using Kate Somerville hyaluronic acid, and that’s also been really awesome. The Barbara Sturm hyaluronic is also amazing. After the hyaluronic acid, I’ll do a different serum. True Botanicals has one that I like, and so does Tata Harper. There’s also a Fresh serum that I like—I just mix it up. I’m like, ‘What do I need today? Firming? A little toning? What is it.’ And then I’ll put a face oil on top, or I’ll use a moisture mask from January Labs. I just wear it as regular moisturizer. I’m also a big masker, so I’ll do masks like twice a week. I love SK-II—that’s my flying mask, always. Last night I did this Fresh mask that’s ‘perfecting,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah tell me more!’ This brand Circumference also makes this one I really like, and they have a vitamin C serum I use in the morning. Afterwards, my skin feels super hydrated. January Labs does a super light glycolic mask, and that’s amazing. The January Labs Resurfacing Night Lotion that has AHAs usually is my last step. If I’m really needing to look cute the next day, I’ll use that. The best thing is to put my jade roller in the fridge—it’s to nice if I’m hungover to take it from the fridge being like ‘I hate my life.’ And it feels so good. I’ll use it with eye cream. Sometimes I’ll do it with a mask to really get it in there, but it’s just an excuse to play with it."

—as told to ITG

Djuna Bel photographed by David Cortes in Los Angeles on June 9, 2018.