'I moved to New York when I was 17 to model—I actually grew up as a local in Southampton. Right when I was signed there were a lot of jokes that I needed some...finesse with my look. I was a surfer so my hair needed some love, things like that. They sent me to Julien Farel on Madison and I would sit there to do hair treatments for hours. They'd give me all sorts of products to use to get my hair in shape. Back in the apartment, I'd even take an egg and olive oil and coat my hair in it, then wrap it in Saran Wrap. When I booked a Pantene job, they cut 11 inches or something off, and my agent was so happy because my ends were finally gone! [Laughs] I remember it was at this Japanese studio in a nondescript building in Chelsea, and he just cut the whole thing dry—this Japanese guy with like a Samurai sword. I was like, ‘Is this life? Like, where is my hair?’

When I turned 22, I made the abrupt transition to do something else. It was such an intense world and I needed to leave it behind. It was hard—I didn't have a college degree or a resumé so I really had to dig in. I started interning in windowless fashion closets, getting exposure, and then I transitioned into event planning. I did special events with Gucci and brand partnerships with Everlane, which really inspired me to do what I'm doing now—my line of handmade ceramic products that I’m making myself, called The Setting.

SKINCARE

I've always erred more on the tomboyish side, but I think as I've gotten older—I'm 28—I've started to look at beauty as a way to be nice to myself. It's less about being social or superficial. Working with clay is so drying, so everything I do now is about moisturizing and investing in that process. My boyfriend's mom gave me a tub of Kiehl's Creme de Corps and that just started me on a tear... I go through so much of it now. And hand cream! Lots and lots of hand cream after working with clay all day.

Cleansing is where I'm most basic. For my rosacea, I use Avène Antirougeurs Redness Relief Dermo-Cleansing Milk with my Clarisonic. It's this blue-green color and I think it's the same as the La Mer Cleanser but about an eighth of the price. For exfoliating, I love the Nivea Gommage Lissant—it's drugstore but I got it in St. Barths so it feels very French to me. Nivea is one of the brands that always works, no matter where I get it. If I'm wearing a lot of makeup, I love the Klorane Floral Water Makeup Remover. It's very gentle.

As far as toning, I get very into sprays and mists—that’s what I do probably the most often to stay moisturized. It's really good for when I come home from the studio and feel dry but don't want to reset everything on my face. I have the Glossier Soothing Face Mist, the Avène Eau Thermale, the May Lindstrom Jasmine Garden Botanical Mist... Every time I go into a place like CAP Beauty, they show me a new one. But I use them all! I'm basically out of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Then I have the Chanel Silky Soothing Toner, which is a little more astringent, so I can't use it every day.

My friend got me the tub of Aztec Clay but my skin is so sensitive, I can't even do it for 10 minutes. After eight, I'm like 'OK! Get it off!' But I love it because it's so powerful. There's also Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic Acid and Retinol Brightening Solution, which is basically like retinol—you're not supposed to use it all the time, though. I bought it because I know so many people that love this brand, and it’s like a clean brand while still being pretty scientifically advanced. But again, it’s strong—I wouldn’t use it during the day. I put it on maybe once a month and only at night.

My all-purpose oil is the Caudalie Divine Oil. I use it on my face, hair, body, scalp—it's heavy but it feels right during the winter. I also have the original Crème de la Mer. Some people are like, ‘I can’t use that in the summer…’ I’m like, ‘I can use it all year round. Twice a day. Morning and night.’ I love this Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado, too. It’s so nice, I’ve been using it for years. My routine is essentially, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it.'

MAKEUP

My lipstick is like my security blanket a lot of the time. I feel like, with lipstick, I don’t need anything else. My friend works at Tom Ford and whenever I see him, he brings me one of the mini Lips & Boys lipsticks—it's always a funny little surprise. My most used one though is Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Very Victoria. I actually didn't pick it out for myself either... I was in Selfridges with someone I worked with and she picked it up and said, ‘This color I think would be really nice on you.’ I was trying to be a woman but I thought it was too mature for me anyway. But then I put it on, and if you just do one layer of it, I feel like it just darkens your lip a little, plus it’s moisturizing. Her products are beautiful—I have the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder, too. It's a 'daily luminous tint' with SPF 15 in it that takes your natural skin and puts like a very light sheen on top of it. I'll still do a highlighter on top of that— Benefit Watt's Up. It fits right in the crook of your face. One time, I put it on and went out and took a photo, and it looked like I had a UFO ring under both eyes. I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s when happens when you don’t blend it in…’

I just started playing around with liquid eyeliner. I bought the Chanel Stylo Eyeliner Pen in Noir after I saw this woman on the street with the perfect little flick. She was in shopping mode, so I stopped her and said, ‘I’m so sorry, I need to ask you like a) what that product is and b) is it hard to do it?’ And she was so nice! She walked me through a tutorial. My mascara is also Chanel—it's got a rubbery brush. But I also have Diorshow, and I was using the Givenchy one for a while. It's the packaging that draws me in to all of them.

My brows are huge and the only thing I'll use on them is the Bobbi Brown Brow Pencil. Other than that, I've never known what to do about them. Part of it has to be because one time when I was younger—and I think every girl has a horror story about this—I took a razor and tried to clean them up. I shaved half of the end off and a girl at school told me, 'You know, they don't always come back...' I was so horrified.

HAIR

Right now, my hair is the longest it's been in years. I wash it every five days consistently with Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine for 'frizzy, dry, and unmanageable' hair, so it's made for me. To condition, I use the Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak. Actually, to wash my hair, I've been going to Drybar more frequently, especially when it's cold and I don't want to let it dry on its own. So I'll go once a week—it's $49 plus tip, which I don't think is that bad. Blowout's the new manicure.

BODY

When I first started modeling, I was doing a lot of Pilates and yoga to sculpt because I was a broader girl. Now one of the biggest benefits of starting The Setting—outside of all of the creative and professional rewards of doing something for yourself and on your own—would be my ability to create my own schedule. And I am somebody who works late at night and gets up early and writes emails, but I can still go for a workout class at 9:30am if I want to. It’s so nice, and it also makes me work even harder, because I really now believe in being strategic with my time and my energy and being as efficient as possible. Now I go to Modelfit on Bowery, and I sometimes train one-on-one with Noosha who’s amazing. Don’t let her beautiful face fool you—she is extremely hard. I do that three to four times a week, and then I also do Pilates at Plank. It’s beautiful and I work mostly on the tower. Then when I get home and shower, I use Aveeno Body Wash Stress Relief, which I love.

FRAGRANCE

Obviously Santal 33 is my jam. And then I used to work at Bond No. 9 when I first moved to New York, and it’s so funny because Laurice Rahme, who’s the founder, hired me because of my handwriting. I didn’t have a college degree and I was interning and had just left modeling, and so she was just like, ‘Who are you..?’ So I did a handwriting test for her, and she was a really cool person to be around, and I would just watch how she ran her business. I would do a lot of customer relations for her and a lot of gift-wrapping… Their Nuits de NoHo fragrance is the one I love. It’s a really nice sort of nighttime scent with jasmine. It’s strong, but it's also so simple. I also like to wear this oil from a boutique called Warm—the oil is called Warm, too. The owner is from Hawaii and when you put it on, you feel that.

A lot of the times, I'll just use essential oils. I have a Muji diffuser in my bedroom that I'll use every day with whatever I'm feeling. And then sometimes I'll put a few drops in the bath. My go-tos are sandalwood, jasmine, and neroli. Together I just feel like it's a bit of a moodlifter. Everyone has a mixture that they like, I feel. And I think it’s nice to get back to basics and smell things that are pure and raw.”

—as told to ITG

Amanda Shine photographed by Tom Newton at her home in New York on October 8, 2015.

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