"I grew up in Paris. Well, in the suburbs of Paris. My dad is French, and I was born and raised there, but my mother is American. My mom was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge, doing cabaret. My dad had a cool restaurant back in the day and the dancers would hang out there. When they met, they didn’t speak the same language. They still don’t really speak the same language, which I guess is why they've been together for 40 years? That’s the secret—ultimate lack of communication. [Laughs]
In high school, I was obsessed with '60s and mod. It was about the look, and also about not being part of whatever the standard was. I would cut class and go to this café that was directly across from school so that people in class could see me and I would smoke cigarettes and read the socialist paper. That was interesting... [Laughs] I was actually at a café when I was scouted. I had been in college for a year—one of my girlfriends and I were out, and when I got up to go to the bathroom, this guy comes up and says, 'Excuse me, who represents you?' And I was like, 'I represent myself.' [Laughs] It was for this agency, WM, which had just started, and I was one of their first models. I was a waitress during the weekends, and on weeknights, it seemed like a fun way to make money.
I started only doing shoe fit modeling for Louis Vuitton. That was my gig, and it was when Marc Jacobs was there. A month before Fashion Week I would stand and do my homework while they fit my feet. Then Bruce Weber casted me for Abercrombie, and that's how it really started. I signed with Marilyn after that. I don't think I expected anything... I just kind of took it as it went.
HAIR
I used to go to surf camp in the summers, and I remember going to the beach and thinking my style was so different from all of the other kids. I had really long, dark hair, with a heavy fringe, and I would wear skinny jeans with oversized black T-shirts and combat boots. I get it from my dad—he was always so passionate about vintage, and he would take us vintage shopping at the beginning of the school year for our wardrobes. Basically, I've been dressing the same way since I was 10 years old. I've been pretty true to denim and T-shirts, but my hair's not dark anymore. It gets really brassy and I need to use the Clairol Shimmer Lights. I use The Philip Kingsley Elasticizer before I shampoo. So you leave it on for 10 minutes, and then you shampoo. It just makes your hair just so much softer.
When my hair is dry, I love the Bumble and bumble Prep. Because my hair is really fragile, it sometimes flies up, and this just adds weight to it and it doesn’t feel like product. I hate the feeling of dirty hair, so I'll use Batiste if I need dry shampoo. Christophe Robin's Regenerating Mask is great for a deep treatment. My dear friend Ellery at GoodForm Salon in LA colors it. I have to be begged to cut it, I don't do that usually. I also don’t really blow dry it—I always just tuck it behind my ears.
SKINCARE
Darphin just send me a bunch of things. Their Aromatic Purifying Balm is life-changing, it's my favorite thing in the world. I have a really bad habit of picking at my face and that you put on and the next day it’s disinfected and healed. It also smells so good! I should put it on right now. The Caudalie Instant Detox Mask is good for breakouts, too. I use Hexomedine Transcutanée, which I buy from French pharmacies. It costs like 2 euro. There’s the Cutanée version for surface blemishes, and then the Transcutanée, which is for cystic acne. But the cystic one works well for both. You just put it on with a Q-tip. It's incredible.
My skin is combination. It's super dehydrated and really sensitive to everything, probably from all of the traveling and different waters and such, so I try to give it as much hydration as possible. That means I drink a ton of water when I wake up, and then I wash my face with the Joëlle Ciocco Lait Oncteuex—which I just ran out of. I like Biologique Recherche P50 too. I'm not using it every day right now, but I should be, because I have some breakouts. This Derm Institute Anti-Oxidant Serum I just got, and I'm really into it. It's not too greasy or heavy, but it's really hydrating. It feels like a real drink of water.
I’m obsessed with eye creams! I’ve tried every single one because I’m always tired. In the evening I love the Dior Hydra Life and it’s super hydrating—I just wake up refreshed. I also like this SCBI Stem Cell Gold Serum, which I use when I look tired because it brightens everything up. Shiva Rose's Eye Cream is great, too. When I’m in New York before an event or anything, I go to Tracie Martyn and get the Red Carpet Facial. It really does wonders for your face. The evening after, you look awesome.
HEALTH
Supplement-wise, I'm a little insane. And I'm such a phony, because if anybody talks about trying a new supplement, I'm always like, 'I want to try it too!' I'm trying to calm down and be a little less crazy about it, but I definitely noticed a change when I started taking magnesium. I get stressed out and crave chocolate all the time, and it's very good about curbing my sweet cravings. And it helps me sleep better. Any Omega 3,6 too—I was a vegetarian for a long time and then I started eating fish again, so I’m taking the fish oil. I think it’s good for you.
Stanley's here in New York is great, he's super knowledgeable. He makes me PMS shakes in the morning with Midol in it or something. I also love The Alchemist's Kitchen that recently opened in the East Village. They do weird teas with different mushrooms and herb stuff. In LA, I always go to Erewhon, which is a huge health store. Open one in New York, please! I have this Dr. Hauschka Revitalizing Leg and Arm Tonic, and I always use it after flights. I swear to God—you know when your legs feel really heavy? It just refreshes you. I need to go out and buy some more.
MAKEUP
My foundation is the Hourglass Stick in Ivory—I don’t put foundation on all over, but if I have a pimple or if I get red around my nose and chin, I’ll just use a bit. Then the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate I use more as a bronzer. It just makes me look tan. I don’t like to look glittery, but maybe in the evening, I’ll do more of a highlight. My lipstick is the pink YSL Volupté Tint-In-Balm and I use that on my lips and cheeks. It looks like your lip color just enhanced a little bit, but I haven't been able to find the shade anywhere anymore.
I always curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler. I used to never do anything else on my eyes, but lately I've been super into a dark smoky eye. I use Diorshow Mascara with the Diorshow Fusion Mono Eyeshadow in Meteore. And I’ll use that with the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Stick in Bark. It’s so easy to apply, because you just smudge it on, and the Dior shadow goes on top of that.
The Diorliner is so cool but I cannot do it on myself. Everybody is so dope in LA—they all have perfect hair and extensions and Hervé Leger dresses and so much makeup. There is a side of Los Angeles that’s like the Kardashian kind of school, and then a side that's closer to France because it’s basically nothing. In New York, I think I definitely make more of an effort. You can kind of do anything [with your look] but you’re more seen. You’re on the street and you interact with people. Whereas in Los Angeles, I don’t need to see a single person if I don’t want to. That works too." [Laughs]
—as told to ITG
Watch Camille Rowe talk through her favorite products below.
Camille Rowe photographed by Tom Newton at her home in New York on November 18, 2016.
