"Since it's so hot in New York, I'm trying to use as few products as possible. I also have super sensitive skin... My dermatologist, Dr. Ingleton, told me that the less harsh my skincare products are, the better. I like a good cleanse in the morning and I use Cetaphil, which is cheap but really works. Then there's this amazing line called The Organic Pharmacy. Constance Jablonski took me there once—it's all she uses—but they have a Carrot Butter Cleanser and all of this stuff, oh my God, it's amazing. I use their Antioxidant Serum as a moisturizer in the summer. Skinceuticals is another amazing brand—I'll put the Phyto Corrective Gel on an acne scar and it just goes away. The products really give results, so they're worth it.
In the daytime during the summer, I only wear Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer for coverage. I keep that in my bag at all times. I love RMS Buriti Bronzer because it has a little bit of red in it, and my skin is on the reddish side, so it matches really well. And then for nighttime, I’m so boring, I always do the same makeup because it’s what works with my face. Just eyeliner and lots of mascara, very '60s. My eyeliner is this Kat Von D Tattoo Liner... I’ve tried every single eyeliner and this is the best. I use it in Mad Max Brown. Black liner looks harsh on me because I'm so blond, so I do a brown liner with a black mascara. My favorite is L'Oréal Voluminous, on my top and bottom lashes. For a while I only did mascara on the upper lashes, but it makes me look too pretty. I need it to look fucked up a little bit—a little more rock n'roll, for sure.
On my lips I just do a little bit of liner, just a color silhouette. I don’t want to tell anybody about this lip liner because it’s the best one, but I’ll tell you—it’s the nude pencil from Prestige. I don’t see them a lot anymore, but every time I’m in a new pharmacy I scan the aisles for this brand and buy every single lip liner they have. I’m so scared they’re gonna discontinue it. It just makes my lips look a little bit fuller—not like, 'Oh, she’s got liner on.' Just when I need some definition.
I just started using a little SPF on my hair—right now it's Biotherm, I used it on vacation and it was so so good. I also love Kérastase. I've used their products for all of my life. I did a show in Sweden when I was about 13 that was sponsored by them, and then they left all these boxes of product afterward. When my dad picked me up, the guys who were cleaning said I could grab everything... We just took all of these boxes and we had a freaking lifetime supply. Then I moved to New York and had to buy it for the first time, and I realized how expensive it is and how lucky I was. But I’m hooked forever, they're so good. Sachajuan makes amazing shampoo, too. They make a purple one that takes out any yellow color, and it leaves you with the coolest shade of blond.
In the summer, I don’t do anything with my hair. I feel like there’s just nothing you can do in this heat! I go crazy when it's this hot, I'm much more into the cold. I do have a summer fragrance, though—Victoria's Secret Crush. It's inspired by having a crush, that flirty and fresh feel, which I love. But I'm over the heat. I’m just like, ‘Here we go, summer. We’ll all just sit inside.’"
—as told to ITG
Elsa Hosk photographed by Tom Newton in New York on July 26, 2016.
