"New York is surprisingly small—especially downtown where I live, in the Lower East Side and Chinatown. Add social media into the mix and it’s tiny. Like, I met my boyfriend Mitch, who works at Models.com, through Instagram. He totally slid into the DMs. [Laughs] And I met Sandy Liang because I’d told Mitch to do a shoot with her and her clothes, and then he told her how much I loved her stuff. She lives in my neighborhood and now we’re really good friends. When I first moved here a few years ago, I was modeling a lot more...now it’s more of a side gig that I get to do with friends like Sandy. Working with people you like and collaborate with is 100 times cooler than anything else.
Skincare...well I have pretty oily skin and I sleep with Kate Somerville EradiKate spot treatment on my face. When I wake up–if it hasn’t all come off onto my pillow–I use Bioderma with a cotton ball. I always double cleanse so next I’ll wash with Glossier Milky Jelly which I love because it’s so gentle. Recently I started using Sunday Riley Start Over on my eyes. It’s an eye de-puffer. Not sure yet if it does anything, but it feels nice! For moisture I use Embryolisse, which you really have to let soak in. I’ve been using this for so long I feel like I can’t do anything else, and it doesn’t break me out. I layer with Glossier Priming Moisturizer. I actually feel like my skin doesn’t look as oily because I stay moisturized.
When I want to really deep clean, I wash my face with La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser with 2% Salycilic Acid in the shower. I like it to massage and it keeps my skin clear. After that I use Aura Cacia Restoring Rosehip Oil with Vitamin E. By the time I get out it’s been absorbed and my skin feels so amazing. It’s really good clearing up dark spots.
Before I go to bed I use a very tiny bit of the Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion Eye Cream on my eyes. I don’t want wrinkles. I know I have oily skin but just in case! I also don’t like my eye area to be dry at all. It’s really uncomfortable.
For coverage I’ll put on Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free, it has sunscreen in it. And Glossier Concealer in Medium under my eyes and around my nose every day, anywhere I’m red. I like how creamy it is. Then Boy Brow in Brown...I have really thick eyebrows so I just use it to fluff and set them. Day to day, mascara is my thing because I have long eyelashes to begin with, so it’s accentuating what I already have. And it’s easy to put on–you don’t need any actual talent. [Laughs] I use a high-low mascara mix–CoverGirl Bombshell Volume Lash Blast which has two sides, lengthening and volume. I like my lashes kind of clumpy, but it really fluffs them up, too. Then Too-Faced Better Than Sex. It’s so nice. The brush is really fluffy and it evenly distributes. If I’m feeling fancy I use the Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion for a little flick. It’s not felt, it’s a bristle because I feel like the liquid or the material doesn’t go on as thick with the felt pens. This goes on really black–and it stays.
Out of everything, my hair is very low maintenance. I don’t get it done, I don’t use any styling products. I just put the front pieces behind my ears when it’s wet so it dries kind of wavy in the front. And I cut it myself with shears from a Chinatown dollar store! It’s easy because it’s always long. When I do wash it I use the Suave Naturals Refreshing Waterfall. It’s like $1.50 at Duane Reade, but it’s really clarifying and I need that. Then Dove Intensive Repair Conditioner–my ends get really dry even though my scalp gets oily. I never put conditioner on the top, only the very ends, which my mom taught me. She's my beauty icon, so I listen to her."
—as told to ITG
