“When I got the script for The Sex Lives of College Girls pilot—about four years ago now—I was really excited. I love anything that Mindy Kaling touches and I could hear her voice throughout it. Something I’ve really loved about playing Kimberly is that everything with her is on the surface. She feels everything, and if she sees something in front of her, that’s what it is. In season three, I’m excited that Kimberly makes a lot of mistakes because, for the most part, she’s been able to understand the significance of those mistakes and how she can fix them—whether it’s with an apology or an inner reckoning of sorts. She really grows into herself more, and although she makes a big mistake at the end of the season, it’s the right kind because it’s one of the first times she understands why she’s doing something.
When I was younger, I was a professional ballet dancer at the School of American Ballet, which means that you’re often cast in New York City Ballet performances like The Nutcracker and A Midnight Summer’s Dream. We had to do our own makeup—and this was at nine years old—but it was a different type of makeup. It was very useful stage makeup so the fourth ring of the audience could see your eyes and your cheeks and your lips. I was lucky because my friend Emily knew all of the tricks because her mom was a dancer at the Met and had taught her. Emily then taught me how to put on eyeliner and make your eyes look wide, when to curl my lashes, how to put on lashes, everything. Later, when I did my own makeup for school, it was fun discovering what I liked. But I really didn’t have any skincare, and honestly, it’s only been within the past three years that I’ve started to understand the importance of taking care of your skin. Part of that is because I’m allergic to cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic alcohol, so all fragrance basically. The FDA doesn’t require that brands list those ingredients, so every time I picked up a new product, it was like, ‘Maybe I’m allergic to this. Maybe I’m not.’ I had really bad eczema when I was in college because it was so difficult finding any moisturizer I could use. I literally had to order fragrance-free shampoo through the mail.
My best friend, Lily, is a skincare queen. Even when we were in high school, she’d say, ‘Oh my God. How are you not putting on any moisturizer?!’ It wasn’t until she gave me a sample of Schaf’s moisturizer that I was like, ‘Wait, I want to care about what I put on my face.’ Especially as I started working more and I had all this makeup on me, I wasn’t taking care of my skin and I could feel it for the first time. I tried putting olive oil on my face for a while—until a makeup artist told me it might clog my pores. But Schaf’s very basic moisturizer was my entry way in. From there, I fell in love with Schaf’s facial scrub, which I use once or twice a week. I’ve become a full stan of the whole brand. I also don’t know if I’m a total sucker, but whenever I order products from them, there’s a note that says, ‘Thanks for ordering. Take care, Peter.’ I don’t know if it’s a fake handwritten note, but I like to believe it’s real. When it comes to sunscreen, I swear by Beauty of Joseon. If Lily were next to me, she’d say, ‘You have to wear it every day,’ but I’m doing my best. [Laughs]
I’m a cleanser girl—I love Schaf’s cleanser, but I switch off between that one and Bioderma’s Créaline. Oh, and Guerlain’s Abeille Royal’s Cleansing Oil, which is honey-based, was my lifesaver during filming. After 15 hours at work, I’d just want to get the makeup off and go to bed, and it melted everything without making me feel like I needed to cleanse again. Stella McCartney’s Reset cleanser is a two-in-one cleanser, too—and it smells really good.
I never do anything to my face in the mornings. Maybe I’ll put on a little bit of mascara. Honestly, I’m so amazed by what mascara does. You go from looking one way to all of a sudden being like, ‘Oh, my face is on.’ There’s a Guerlain one that I really love. It is so hard to take off, but I love putting it on. I also love glittery eyeshadow. My favorite is from RMS. It can be a little intense but you can dilute it. I’m obsessed with their Luminizer, too. It kind of does the same thing as mascara where it makes you look more awake and ‘on.’ When it catches the light? I love that. And Homeoplasmine is the only thing I put on my lips. Well, if I want some color, I go for a deep nude but I just grab whatever’s around.
I swear by Klorane’s Ultra-Gentle shampoo. It has oat milk. I use their conditioner, too. My hairstylist, Cameron Rains, has given me their hair masks before and they work amazingly; your hair is detangled in five minutes. I’ve really gotten into brushing my hair while conditioning it in the shower. I honestly thought I invented that. I didn’t realize it was a thing, but then I talked to people who know more than me… Klorane has the best dry shampoo by the way. Oh, and sometimes I put K18’s leave-in hair mask in my hair. One of the hair stylists on College Girls recommended it, and I love how my hair—especially my ends—feels after.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Alexandra Genova in New York on December 5, 2024
