A huge part of my career and how I want to participate in the world is being unapologetically myself and being honest and vulnerable.
Embrace the grease, if any, and look fresh and human. I like to look like a glazed doughnut.
For makeup, I swear by a base of Embryolisse, Nars concealer, that Bobbie Brown foundation stick, Pat's highlighter, a brow fill-in with dark brown eyeshadow and angle brush, a groom with Anastasia brow gel, an eyelash curl, and two swipes of drugstore mascara.
It's important for people to understand where things come or what they represent.
Growing up, people would always say, 'You have such a pretty face.' It's kind of backhanded. That's the kind of things we have to stomach.
We have to tokenize in order to normalize.
I am trying to be the girl I didn't have. That's important to me. I have to be conscious of that. In this weird, dark, small, very intimate way, there's a girl out there who relies on me. And that's super important to me, and I don't want to let her down.
The International Girl Crew isn't supposed to be super exclusive - that's a really important part of our brand and message. It's not just our crew - it's a lifestyle. It's for everybody to know how empowering it is to be surrounded by friends who motivate and support you and who you feel like you can exchange ideas with and do projects with.
You're dealing with all these foreign agents, foreign brushes, and different time zones. So, you have to put just as much work into taking that makeup off as you do into putting it on.
The Internet really offered a space for me to thrive.
I wasn't scouted in the mall as a kid; it just kinda happened naturally 'cause of Instagram and New York and being visible, which is cool. Things just started rolling in. Timing was in my favour 'cause the Internet acted as a catalyst for the fashion industry to change and be more open 'cause people demanded it.
I remember going to the Gap when I was in the fifth grade, and I desperately wanted a pair of blue jeans. I was with my dad, and I remember picking up the jeans, looking at them, and thinking that they had to fit me. But there was nothing that fit me. This was before the age of stretch, so I was trying on adult Gap.
It took a lot for me to be able to say that I'm a plus-size model or a model at all without feeling terror or this kind of panic, because it was something so unplanned.
I originally went to school for writing, for non-fiction. I'm specifically a poetry major within literature, but I don't know.
New York has influenced me a lot in terms of my own independence. I'm really struck by the idea of authenticity, and I think New York embodies that idea, even though people are like, 'I miss the old New York.' But at its core, it has this natural, authentic energy. L.A. lacks that idea; it's painted over.
I moved to New York for school right after I turned 18, but I started getting into trouble - so I went home to L.A. to regroup.
My version of makeup is a really intense skin regimen. I just think it's a healthier way to look at beauty.
Wearing too much makeup definitely makes my skin worse.
Having a multi-cultural background has granted me access into different ideologies, cultures, and ways of living. It has shaped who I am and how I participate in the world.
My parents are artists and have always instilled great pride in understanding of various backgrounds.
