"I was born and raised in Manila, in the Philippines. I love Manila so much—people always ask me why, and I'm like, 'Why not?' Everyone is so friendly and warm, and life is so convenient. People are much more relaxed... You have to go, it's amazing. I can't even explain it. You have to experience it yourself.

I'm also French—but not in the typical sense. I'm French in the way I leave parties. [Laughs] The ideal night is something much more casual, like chilling with friends. But wherever we're going, I wear makeup. I'm always excited to get ready. You'd be surprised! Sometimes I'll use a primer, but mostly, I'll mix a face oil with Hourglass' Liquid Powder Foundation in Sand or Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer—that's probably my favorite because it's a little sheerer. I love the Nars Sexual...something. I'm blanking on the name, but it's a duo. Sexual Content! It has an orange shade and a pink shade, and I mix them. I just put that on the high points of my face. I'm wearing it now, it's subtle. If I don't do that, the Benefit Dandelion Dew is nice. Or Hourglass' Ambient Lighting is amazing. I like to swipe my brush all over it—I feel like it works with my coloring.

I'm all about highlighting now, but I used to do these green panda eyes—that used to be my look. Now I use much less eyeshadow. Sometimes a makeup artist will use a little brown on my eyelids. You know the Anastasia Contour Kit? It's that brown. The only mascara I use is Lancôme Hypercurl because I find the other ones to be too heavy. Then I have this Korean mascara from Etude House that I use on my lower lash line, drawing tiny dots that from a distance look like lashes. But a cat-eye is me. I feel like I can't leave the house without it. I use the Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen, but only to draw. Then I go back and fill in with the Benefit Push-Up Liner. I swear by it. Everybody complains about it, no one can handle it. But that's a good thing—more for me. [Laughs]

Then I'll use a bit of the Glossier Balm Dotcom before lipstick. I love Charlotte Tilbury for a lip color. Love her! My favorite has got to be Super Cindy—I mean, look at it. It glides, it’s creamy, matte, and it doesn’t dry. I also love So Marilyn if I want a red. That's when I want to look fierce. Tonight I'm wearing Hourglass Influencer. It's a crayon, which makes it pretty easy to use.

The only hairdresser I trust is Celeste at Symmetria Salon. Only her. When I went to get this cut, I just said, 'Make me look good.' [Laughs] This is my first time having bangs and I am so happy about them. My hair is naturally wavy and crazy, so after I get out of the shower, I air dry and use this Bumble and bumble Dryspun for my texture. Then I’ll use the Oribe Sculpting Cream for more texture, and the Tresemmé Finishing Spray for when I'm done. My fragrance is Maison Francis Kurkdjian Apom. I'll wear that all day and all night. Serge Lutens L'eau de Paille is also great—I wear that when I'm looking for something fresher.

My favorite thing to use to take my makeup off at night is the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil. I’ve loved it since high school. It’s so quick, two minutes and then everything is off. Chanel's eye makeup remover is great, too... I'll never sleep with makeup on no matter how drunk or sleepy I am. At night, I use Shani Darden's Retinol Reform. That, or the Sunday Riley UFO, or Luna Oil. I want to start retinol on my neck. It's important! I want to do more masks, but they all sting on me. There is this Casmara mud mask that I love. I just got a very expensive facial done and I was asking the girl what the product was. She didn’t want to tell me, but I saw it and looked it up—it was six dollars! I ordered so much. It’s like gold on you."

—as told to ITG

Liz Uy photographed by Tom Newton in New York on February 13, 2017.