“I’ve had so many jobs. I thought I’d be a fashion designer—not because I necessarily wanted to be one but because that was the thing you went to school for at FIT. My first proper job was assisting someone in merchandising at TJ Maxx… and then I got fired. [Laughs] I still remember being 20 years old, standing in the middle of Times Square and calling my dad because I had no idea what I was going to do.
A temp agency hit me up and offered me an executive assistant job at L’Oréal for $14 an hour. I was adamant that I didn’t want to work in beauty. Also, I was like, ‘What’s L’Oréal?’ I had no concept of that world. But I took the job and ended up staying there for 12 years—wild to think about. I kept moving through the ranks in marketing, and even though I was always trying to get out, my survival instinct kicked in. It became about figuring out how to afford to stay in New York. I even did product development for MAC for a while—which was actually great because I’d grown up going to the original MAC store in Toronto with my mom—but eventually went back to L’Oréal.
Outside of work, dancing became my lifeline. My brother lived with addiction and had run-ins with the law, and I carried so much pain from that. Dancing was the only thing that made me feel free. But I wasn’t moving in a choreographed way—I would go into full trances. I didn’t understand what that was about for a long time, but through those trances, I got messages from ‘beyond,’ and one time, a spirit told me I was going to start an organization called Therapart. I did just that, but first there was a lot of training—yoga, teaching, meditation, you name it. In a nutshell, Therapart offers movement, meditation, and art therapy to incarcerated youth. Then I also teach at Sky Ting and Good Move. You can release whatever pent-up shit you’re feeling in those classes. There might be some weird screaming and crawling on the floor—all the things that our bodies want to do but that we’re not ‘supposed to.’
Leaving L’Oréal felt impossible until it suddenly didn’t. I heard Maggie Rogers was looking for an assistant, got the job, and spent two and a half years with her. It was my first taste of something different, and of a life that wasn’t behind a desk.
Then everything changed at once when I left my husband. When your whole world gets shaken the fuck up, you really have to believe that something good is on the other side. One day, photographer Ryan McGinley slid in my DMs asking if I’d do movement direction for one of his shoots. To be honest, I had no idea who he was. I also had no idea what the job was, but when the studio manager asked if I had experience, I said, ‘Oh yeah, babe. I do this all the time.’
I now know that movement directors are meant to guide how a character or model will move, pose, or even walk, but hours before I showed up to the shoot, I was still googling what I was supposed to do. I did know I was good at connecting with people and making them feel comfortable and safe, so I put on my favorite music, got behind Ryan, and told the models to copy what I did. That’s basically still what I do. Whether I’m working with Bad Bunny or Jake Gyllenhaal, they all look at me and mimic exactly what I do.
Ryan hired me again for Rag & Bone, and I haven’t really stopped working since. I’m rarely home for more than a week at a time and I’ve been so lucky to work with incredible people. There was Robert Pattinson, who was my first big celebrity and really gives off that vampire energy because he’s so mysterious. Bowen Yang for GQ, and also Travis Kelce—let me tell you, he was so hot and down to do anything. Keke Palmer for Paper. Olivia Rodrigo for Dazed and Confused. Bad Bunny for i-D. Every person is different. When I worked with Jake, he told his stylist to tell me that he didn’t need my help—he’s a method actor—so I hung back. Then we set up for the second shot and he kept looking around until he asked me what he should do.
Every shoot gets its own playlist. Olivia Rodrigo’s had ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ by J.Lo, Christina Aguilera, Avril Lavigne, Faith Evans, and 3LW. Bad Bunny’s had Fela Kuti, Travis Scott, ‘Incomprendido’ by Ismael Rivera, and some of his own music. [Laughs] Jake’s had Bob Dylan, Ronald Langestraat, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Ocean, and David Bowie.
GOING OUT
I would love to go dancing more, but there’s nowhere to go in New York anymore except Soul Summit, which I go to once a year. If there was a party in heaven, it would look like Soul Summit. Everyone has their shirts off and is having the time of their lives.
Otherwise, going out for me means going to a bathhouse, getting a massage, or having dinner at Souen at 5PM. [Laughs] Listen, Souen is a magical place. Years ago when I was working for Maggie, I went there feeling like I needed a sign of some sort. I walked in and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, my favorite musician, was sitting right there. He invited me to sit with him because we were the only two people there, and we talked for two hours. Then he invited me to his show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Chris Rock opened, and I got to go backstage. I mean, take this story with a grain of salt because magical shit happens to me all the time—I will say that.
SKINCARE
My whole face broke out in cystic motherfucking acne a month ago. It went into teenager mode again. It was so triggering—when I was younger, I wouldn’t even get ready with the lights on because I couldn’t look at myself. I’m not sure why it happened now, but my guess is all the traveling. But I just had to wait it out. There were moments when I was convinced my skin would never look good again, and I had to work hard to stop thinking so negatively.
Now I’m washing my face more than ever. I use iS Clinical’s Cleansing Complex and Vanicream’s gentle cleanser twice each for a total of four cleanses. Then I mix Dr. Althea’s 345 Relief Cream with EltaMD’s tinted sunscreen. That’s it—I really believe less is more.
That said, the glass of lemon water with salt I drink as soon as I wake up is just as essential to my beauty routine. I love using the Lesse Ritual serum with their gua sha. I also meditate, ice my face for 15 to 20 minutes, and give myself a lymphatic face massage. And by the way, I literally wrap ice in a paper towel—fuck a little device; give me the real shit.
MAKEUP
I’m a uniform girl. I wear the same shit every time I go out, but I feel different, yet confident, every single time because every day is new.
I start with MAC’s Studio Fix concealer in NW45 on my eyes. Then I draw two big Xs on my cheeks with Kosas’s concealer in 7.8 N—I have no idea who taught me to do that, or honestly why—and blend everything together. MAC’s concealer is more matte, so it’s great for my eyes, and Kosas’s has a nice glow for my cheeks. I don’t like foundation because I still want to look natural—and concealer is just enough.
Red lips are everything. Wearing one every day takes a certain boldness. To me, it signals strength and freedom—like having my tits out. But I had to build up the confidence because it felt like something you wore for a night out, not every day. Mine is Fashion Legacy from MAC. It’s liquid, matte as hell and doesn’t move. I can eat a meal, and it’ll still be there. The color is perfect for my skin tone—not too blue, with just enough orange to make me look snatched. I wear it so often I can literally apply it in the dark.
The only other lipstick I wear is MAC’s M.A.Cximal in Whirl with Make Up For Ever’s liner in Total Taupe. I’ll grab that if I’m running to the grocery store and want to be a little more peeled back. Then I draw on freckles with the Soft Brown pro pencil, also from Makeup by Mario. That’s newer for me, but it’s been a lot of fun to play around with. I’ve definitely gone a little ham sometimes and ended up with freckles all over my face. [Laughs]
HAIR
Clearly, everything in my life is very low maintenance. I don’t dye my hair. I don’t cut my hair—I think the last time I got it cut was three years ago. I just wash it once a week with Innersense’s Hydrating Cream hairbath and conditioner. Then it does what it does, and that’s fine by me. I actually love it best when it’s a little dirty because it gets bigger. Then I tease it even more. It makes me feel so free, which ultimately everything circles back to.
My brows are another story. My friend Evanie Frausto, who does Sabrina Carpenter, Bella Hadid, and Manon, dyes them bright red. We call them my ‘joker brows,’ but they fade quickly. Since I’m always on the go, I learned how to bleach them myself whenever I need to touch them up. But I love going to Evanie’s. It’s my little moment to go to his salon and try on all of his wigs—I’ve even tried on Lady Gaga’s.
NAILS
I go to pH7, this really nice organic salon in my neighborhood. I always do the same thing: Three coats of Rouge Noir, a dark red, from Chanel. I actually think it’s the same vamp-y color my mom always wore. I never go for another shade on my hands unless I’m feeling really froggy, but that’s rare. Meanwhile, I always pick a fun color for my toes.
FRAGRANCE
I still have my mom’s original Chanel Coco bottle—her signature scent. My signature is Frédéric Malle’s Portrait of a Lady. It gives me the same feeling of confidence as my red lip, and I find so much comfort in it—it’s almost like a baby blanket. [Laughs] Funny enough, I hated it at first. I got it for free because I was working for Frederic, and I thought it smelled like an old lady. But I kept wearing it, and it started changing on me. It’s funny because people will literally stop me on my bike to ask what I’m wearing; it draws so much attention. I like to mix it with Music For A While [Editor’s note: discontinued]—just a little something to throw people off when they think they’ve nailed it.”
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Shana Trajanoska in Brooklyn on June 22, 2026