“As I look back on my childhood, I can see the throughline of my intensity around food. But I didn’t come from a family that cooked much in our free time. It wasn’t until I lived abroad in college that I really learned. I lived with an Italian nonna who didn’t speak any English, but she cooked so gracefully. I basically learned Italian so I could ask her a million questions and learn her recipes. That spun into my career.
I started working in restaurants. The next chapter led me to food media, food styling, recipe development, recipe testing, being a food editor—that was the Epicurious and Bon Appétit era of my life. Now I’m in an entrepreneurial phase. There are things I miss about working for others, but none of it outweighs the satisfaction that I get out of operating exactly how I want to. I have my cookbooks, Cook This Book and More Is More. I always say that if someone told me I had to give up all the fun little things I do and pick just one, I’d choose writing books. I love the long, thoughtful process they require in a world where so much of my work is turn-and-burn, social media, and digital. My day-to-day, though, is my subscription recipe club, where I publish new recipes every week.
Then there’s my wine company, Drink This Wine, which I started four years ago. I work with Andy Young, the incredible winemaker behind The Marigny in Oregon, to make wines that are approachable, unfussy, and highly drinkable for people who love natural wine but don’t really know their way around the wine aisle. And my latest baby is Ayoh!, a line of ‘mayonnaises gone wild,’ as we call them. I’m a huge sandwich enthusiast, and I built it out of necessity. We can all agree sandwiches are having a moment, but when you look inside most home kitchens, the sandwiches people are making are still pretty uninspired. That’s not because they lack creativity but because they lack the time, bandwidth, and energy to make all of the ingredients you need—most people aren’t pickling onions or making Calabrian chili paste from scratch. Every mayo is designed to get people one step closer to the kind of sandwich they’d buy at their favorite shop.
SKINCARE
When it comes to skincare, I was in a unique situation where I basically had a lifetime supply of products disappear overnight when my house burned down during the LA fires last year. Obviously, that loss went far beyond skincare, but it did force me to reassess what I wanted to bring back into my routine—and thankfully, my dermatologist helped me. Right now I’m really into the Marini Skin Care Management System. It’s five products, starting with their Bioglycolic cleanser—although I don’t know what Bioglycolic means. [Laughs] Then comes their vitamin C serum, Bioclear face lotion, Transformation cream, and tinted mineral SPF. The whole system was recommended to me in tandem with three rounds of BBL photofacials to expand the results and lengthen the impact of the treatments. The BBLs in particular completely transformed my skin, which was really freckly and sun-damaged from years of being outside—and frankly, years of neglect. After that, I just add a few products depending on what my skin needs.
Every morning and night, I also use Venn’s red oil serum. It’s a Korean product that’s super hydrating. I put on a thick layer, especially before makeup because it keeps my skin moist and prevents my makeup from drying out. Every other day, I use an azelaic and kojic acid serum from Formula Fig, where I get facials. Formula Fig is so beautiful, by the way, and I love that you can get 30-minute facials in addition to full-length ones. I always walk out feeling and looking great. And once or twice a week, I use Derma E’s retinol serum.
I also have Borboleta’s Lash Bath cleanser, which I use because I started getting really, really light natural lash extensions for the first time. I’m kind of obsessed with them because I barely have to wear mascara anymore unless I’m going to an event. They definitely require upkeep—I go to Iris+West in Echo Park every two and a half weeks—but my ultimate goal is to walk out the door with just a really good moisturizer and SPF and feel fresh and delicious. So I’m committed to any practice that gets me closer to that.
MAKEUP
When I get to makeup I start with Saie’s Slip Tint. I really love it because it’s borderline greasy, which I hesitate to say because I know how that sounds, but I mean it as a genuine compliment. It leaves me glowy without turning matte. I don’t love a full-coverage situation unless I’m doing a photo shoot, in which case I use Armani’s Luminous Silk foundation. I used to use their Maestro foundation, which was a lighter version of Luminous Silk. It went on wet but turned into this smooth powder for an airbrushed finish. They discontinued it, which is tragic.
I used to be obsessed with a NARS lip pencil in one very particular shade. I forgot what it was called—I think it had ‘Sex’ in the name, naturally. [Laughs] Devastating. A few times I even bought used ones from people because I would do anything for that perfect rosy pink. It was the one shade that looked good on me. I spent two years looking for a replacement. Then I was hanging out in the duty-free section of an Italian airport, played around in the cosmetics aisle, and found a sheer lipstick by Diego Dalla Palma. The shade Let Me Go looked like the NARS one, and it turns out it’s even better because it’s more moisturizing. Last I checked, you couldn’t buy Diego Dalla Palma in the US, so I order multiples from some random Italian website and pay way, way, way too much in import taxes. Even when I’m filming or going out, I wear a layer underneath one of Merit’s lip glosses if I want super shiny lips.
If I could choose only one thing to apply before walking out the door, it would be blush. I put it on the apples of my cheeks and drag it up toward the corners of my eyes. I’ve been loving Merit’s Flush Balm in Archival lately. Tower 28’s BeachPlease blushes are also great. Magic Hour is my go-to shade; it feels a little more summery to me because it’s lighter. I also always have NARS’ Multiple sticks around. I really don’t like matte finishes. That said, NARS’ Orgasm powder blush is so nostalgic for me. I lived off that and Laguna bronzer in high school, and I still use Laguna today. Now I do a light layer over my contour, which I do with Merit’s Bronze Balm and a really big brush.
I get my brows shaped at Iris+West. They dye my light hairs at the top to make my brows look as full as they actually are. I genuinely didn’t realize I even had those hairs. [Laughs] Huge. One thing to note: I laminated them once, and ever since, they’ve grown in every which way. It’s one of the things that annoys me the most in my life. I’m always brushing them back into place, so I’m still on the hunt for something that holds them without making them look shellacked. I think I have to revisit Glossier’s Boy Brow. My relationship with it was formed before I was into fluffy brows, so it’s time.
I oscillate between mascaras quite a bit. I grew up on Clinique’s High Impact in the dark green tube, and every once in a while I get nostalgic and buy it again. But I also really like Merit’s Clean Lash and Jones Road’s mascara—the latter is my go-to when I really want to accentuate my lashes. And finally, I just got Saie’s setting spray, and it’s been the last step in my makeup routine lately.
HAIR
I’m really low maintenance when it comes to my hair. It’s straight and fine, so it’s pretty easy to deal with. Anthony Ramirez cuts my hair—and my husband’s. Sometimes if we have friends over, he’ll cut theirs too, which is really fun. Every once in a while I decide I’m going to go short again, and then my husband reminds me that I’ve gotten depressed every time I’ve had short hair. He knows me well.
I’ve been using Rōz’s Foundation shampoo lately, but to be honest, it might not be for me because my hair still feels greasy afterward… I might go back to using Le Labo shampoo. I recently started using Olaplex’s No. 5 Bond Maintenance conditioner, and that seems to be working well. But I don’t like to overdo it because the more I condition it, the more it falls into a pin-straight situation, which drives me crazy. I mostly use it when my hair gets tangly. Then about once a month, I use Crown Affair’s Renewal mask for hydration.
NAILS
My hands need to be in good shape because they’re always on camera—gross nails around food are a big no. I get hard gel manicures because it’s easy to break nails in the kitchen otherwise. I pretty much always choose OPI’s Big Apple Red, but in the summertime I love DND’s Hot Chili Pepper because it’s a little brighter and more orange. I’ve always been drawn to primary colors. Cook This Book is cobalt blue, and More Is More, is bright red. I really entered my red nail era around the launch of my second book because I wanted my nails to reflect that color story. Then it just kind of stuck. But red is timeless—it never looks trendy, and somehow it makes food look really good.
I’ve been trying to get back into wearing gloves with hand cream overnight because my hands are so weathered from all the washing. I had really cracked hands when I was little, and I used to do it with Aquaphor. Now I use Nécessaire’s hand cream.
FRAGRANCE
I grew up thinking a put-together woman always wore Chanel No. 5. It was a luxury in our house, but my dad would buy it for my mom every Christmas. Personally, I wear—and am absolutely obsessed with—Penhaligon’s Halfeti Cedar. I think it’s technically a men’s cologne, but four years ago, I sat next to a man at a work dinner who smelled so scrumptious. Within five minutes of talking to him, I said, ‘I’m so sorry. I know I don’t know you, but you smell better than anyone I’ve ever smelled in my life. I have to know what this is.’ He sent me a photo, I bought it, and I’ve worn it ever since. Now, everywhere I go, both men and women compliment me on it. It’s a unanimously beloved scent.”
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Brittany Bravo in Los Angeles on February 2, 2026