"I'm from the Westwood area of LA—I've lived there my whole life. My mom, who's from Ethiopia, moved there when she was pretty young. She used to model, so I very much grew up in that world. But I always wanted to be a singer, so I always wanted my parents to take me to singing competitions and things like that. Now that's coming true—I have an EP coming out soon that's being mixed right now. It's actually funny... Because both of my parents are foreigners—my dad moved here from Denmark—I think the music I grew up listening to was very different from what my friends grew up listening to. Like, I listened to Meatloaf and ABBA. [Laughs] But my biggest inspiration is definitely Sade. Her vibe is super mellow, cool, and sexy—she doesn't have to do much and she's still captivating.

I don't know if there's a particular person whose beauty look really inspires me, but Sade and Rihanna are close. I mean, Rihanna at the Met Gala last year? Stunning. I’ve always tried to have a unique sense of dress. And now when I get ready for an event, I don't want anybody to help. I know my own style! My thing has always been to collect pieces that no one else wears. I love faux fur, and then I love a good shoe. I'm obsessed with these Boyy 'loafurs', they're such a statement. It's important to me to wear things that I can move around in.

Before I head out, I'll use the Glossier Moisturizing Moon Mask to prep my face. Skin has always been really important to me because I had really bad breakouts when I was younger. I actually went on Accutane, it was that bad. Now I just have to be really careful about what products I use. I get my facials at Kate Somerville, and if I do break out I have her EradiKate Acne Treatment. For cleanser I use Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Pure Castile Liquid Soap, which I was nervous about, but a friend recommended it to me and it works really great. My skin is a little dry after I use it, so I just use Glossier Priming Moisturizer and that helps. I also love the Tatcha Luminous Deep Hydrating Firming Eye Serum—that's really good.

Any time I get the time to really do my makeup, I go HAM. I love the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger with a damp Beautyblender. It’s my favorite thing in the world and it's really good on spots. If I’m going somewhere I’ll put more on, but it does last and it looks really natural on my skin. Under my eyes I use the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser to brighten. I don’t really wear mascara, but I’ve been into eyelash extensions. It's the thing that makes me feel beautiful when I wake up—I feel a lot more put together with them on. I just ask for the shortest length you can get. I go to Treat Yourself Studios [in LA] and they’re the best. So no mascara, but I do wear eyeshadow. I'll usually have a subtle brown smoky eye from my Anastasia Palette.

In the Work music video, Rihanna had on this green lipstick, and I was like, 'I need to get some.' So I got this Coloured Rain Matte Lip Paint in Ivy because I was going to wear it to Coachella. I ended up not wanting to deal with reapplying, but I think it's so cool. They also make this color, Rockstar. I'm not good with lipsticks, but I find liquid lips easier—tonight I'm wearing Kryolan Lip Stain in Jazz. My number one makeup look is a lip, all types of colors. For my blush I use the Bronze Booster Physicians Formula on my cheeks in Light to Medium. I feel like it works well with my skin tone and gives a really pretty bronzed look. Then it's Hoola Matte Bronzer in a few different places, and a little bit of Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Golden. I’m not a contour queen or anything. But I feel like in LA, everybody watches those Youtube makeup tutorials. Makeup is huge here.

All I do to my hair is wash it—I love to wash my hair, but I try to wash only once or twice a week—and then while it’s wet I put in a little Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream. I let that sit for probably five minutes and then I’ll blow dry it with an FHI Platform Nano Salon Pro 2000. I make sure I blow-dry it downwards so the curls fall, and then I just let it be wild. I only trust myself with my hair. For an event I usually just have my hair curly or part it differently, or do a slicked-back, straight style. But when you have curly hair, you feel unique, and you have to keep up with that."

—as told to ITG

Isabella Peschardt photographed by Tom Newton in New York on May 24, 2016.

Unleash the models: go inside the going-out routines of Sara Sampaio, Grace Hartzel, and Sarah Brannon in the Top Shelf After Dark.