"I went to school for theatre, but I've been doing Indian classical dance since I was four. The cool thing about Indian classical dance is that it’s a lot of storytelling through movement. A lot of acting. But dance is an ancient art, very different from how you'd study acting now. As a dancer, you have to do a lot of eyeliner for performance—Indian makeup is very eye-centric. Back in the day I used Indian kajal, and now everybody uses it. I'm like, 'Oh my God, I used to buy this in India!' Now I use the Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in the pot, with a Make Up For Ever brush. But the Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner is also good—it's so creamy and easy to put on.

I don't wear foundation, but I really like L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur, which I use in place of coverage. If I’m going out I'll do Nars eyeshadow and blush. Not like, blush blush. Just use a little Bobbi Brown Bronzer instead—pink on my skin can look a little nuts. I'll do a Josie Maran Luminizer too—it has these gold, bronze-y undertones that look great. I just put it on my cheek and brow bones. I can't mess around with any other highlighters because they make me look like I just made out with a pizza.

My lips are kind of sensitive—every once in awhile I'll get an allergic reaction on them, so I only stick to a few things. I love the Clarins Moisture Repairing Lip Balm with rose—it's the one Lupita Nyong'o put in Ellen's hat at the Oscar's! And I love the Laura Mercier Lip Balm, too, because it comes in a stick tube and feels like lipstick. For color I've gotten very into the Chantecaille lipsticks—especially Rosehip. I'm obsessed with that kind of nude shade.

When I'm not working or performing, I take extra care of my skin. I wash my face with Lancôme's Gel Radiance Cleanser in the morning and with Bi-Facil at night. Then the Mario Badescu Rosewater Toner, it’s like $7—it's so funny, because I see rosewaters for $140, but the Mario Badescu is just so good. Eye cream, always. Mine is L'Oréal's Revitalift Eye Cream, and my moisturizer is the Perricone MD Cold Plasma. It's this peachy cream, so good, I always come back to it. And it has SPF 30. My mom has always told me not to go into the sun, so that's really ingrained in me. I also have this SPF cushion compact by Amorépacific. It's translucent and really creamy, which feels good on dry skin.

I try to give my hair a rest from heat styling whenever I can. I love the L’Oréal Intense Moisture Shampoo for curly hair. Then I'll do a mask as well—Living Proof's overnight one is really good. It's funny—all my hair products are like, Intense Moisture or Ultra Repair. It makes it sound like I have dead and damaged hair, but I just need the moisture! Actually, the kind of gross thing that works better than anything is a mask made of raw egg and coconut oil. I'll wear it for a few hours or overnight, and when I rinse it out, my hair is completely new. Sometimes the stuff you make in your kitchen is better than anything you can buy at a counter."

—as told to ITG

Devika Bhise photographed by Tom Newton in New York on May 24, 2016.

Up next: Joy Bryant collects red lipsticks for sport, Lorenza Izzo advocates a skincare routine for city dwellers, and Aidy Bryant is a false eyelash crusader in The Face.