“Before there were ready-to-wear designers, all of the rich ladies in Venezuela would go to a nice fabric store and have a tailor make them a custom look. My grandma owned a high-end luxury store; she would travel back and forth to Europe and import fabrics that had licenses for designers like YSL and Valentino. Growing up around that was a magical thing, but I didn’t necessarily think of fashion as a career option. I come from a very academic family, so I assumed that I would end up in a more academically-driven role. But when I was 15, a friend encouraged me to get a job at the mall. I started working at American Apparel, where I ended up staying until I was 25. I literally grew up with the company. I started as a sales associate and ended up dropping out of college because they offered me a job in LA—at the time I was in Canada, where my family immigrated. By the time I left the company, I was running their print ad campaigns and women’s design department.
I was a little bit disenchanted by fashion at that point. Instagram was starting to play a major role in people’s lives, and I felt like fashion had started to turn into something that was more for Instagram than for real life. Trends started moving really fast. Even the big fashion houses that I loved started to feel like fast fashion to me. I started buying vintage because I lost interest in all of it. As it turned out, the hardest part about buying vintage was finding good basics, the essentials that you need to put together an outfit. When American Apparel fell in 2017, it really left this void and I wanted to fill it with clothes that felt more like ‘me.’ That’s why I started Gil Rodriguez in 2018, my brand of simple, yet elevated, essentials. Plus, having worked at AA in this very holistic environment—my office was literally on the factory floor—I had learned so much so starting my own company felt like the next natural step.
SKINCARE
I was a huge product junkie in my early-20s, but I developed perioral dermatitis when I was 25 and I’ve had it ever since, which means I have to be really careful with the products I put on my skin. Using less helps—I focus more on what a product doesn’t do versus what a product does—but more than anything, working on my internal health—sleeping well, hydrating—made the biggest difference.
I use Tata Harper’s Regenerating Cleanser in the morning, which I wasn’t doing until I heard Tata herself on a podcast and she recommended using in the morning. Your skin is ‘regenerating’ overnight so you want to get rid of that build-up. I was worried my skin would be too sensitive because some people say you shouldn’t cleanse in the morning if you have POD, but I honestly think that my skin looks better since I started doing that. It looks healthier. At night, I love iS Clinical’s Cleansing Complex. It’s so neutral and doesn’t leave my skin feeling stripped in any way.
In terms of targeted treatments, I just started using the Triphala Pigmentation Corrector from Sachi. I have some freckles and pigmentation from the sun, and a friend recommended it for sensitive skin. I get nervous introducing new products into my routine, but I haven’t had any flare-ups. Andrea Amez, a friend who happens to be an amazing facialist here in LA, and I have been through so much with my dermatitis. She recommended Dr. Loretta’s Intense Replenishing Serum to soothe my skin. It feels like a hug for your face. I have five bottles in my house right now. [Laughs]
When it comes to face creams, I love the Calming Crème from Tata Harper. I started using it when I was pregnant, and I loved how neutral it was—not too heavy or light. I use it in the mornings, but at night, I love the Lacto Cream from Ruth’s Skincare. I discovered it around the time I left American Apparel. I hadn’t started my line yet, so I was doing random gigs to make money. I got a modeling gig for a skincare campaign, but I had a big POD rash around my mouth. It literally hurt to smile, and I remember telling a friend I would have to back out of the job. She told me about Ruth’s, which was a facial spot on Melrose that doesn’t exist anymore, and the facialist gave me the Lacto cream and told me to put it on five times a day. Within 48 hours, my skin was completely clear.
For sunscreen, I’ve been using EltaMD for years. I use both the tinted and untinted versions—neither leaves a weird residue on my face. If I want a little more coverage, I wear Iris & Romeo’s sunscreen. The consistency is super nice. Saie’s Slip Tint SPF 35—I use shade 4—is also really good, but it’s a little more makeup-y.
I’m not a big toner person—I want to be because I like the idea of making sure there’s no residue left on my face after cleansing—but I forget about it. I do keep a bottle of Thayers’ rose toner around but mostly because it’s the only one I remember to buy because it’s sold at my grocery store. I use it maybe once every two weeks.
My NuFace is another thing that I tend to forget about over the years, but I’m using it daily right now. After I gave birth, I felt ‘compressed.’ [Laughs] My neck felt three inches shorter somehow. My posture was off, which didn’t help my jawline. I started doing a lot of facial massages, focusing on lengthening my neck and undoing all of the tension that I was holding. That started my journey with devices like my NuFace and gua sha—mine is from the Garden Club at Palm Heights.
My biggest skincare expense is PRFM, which stands for platelet-rich fibrin matrix—I get it at The Things We Do. They draw your blood and extract the platelets, which are then combined with other ingredients to create growth factors that are then injected back into your face to help with fine lines and volume and stimulate collagen. It’s basically next generation PRP, or platelet-rich plasma.
BODY
Body-wise, I love to dry brush before I shower every day. I’ve tried a bunch of them and Goop’s is the only one that I like because the bristles are stiffer than the others. When you’re done using it, you literally feel like all of the cells in your body are tingling. It makes me feel alive, though the first time I used it? Ow. I have noticed a reduction in cellulite since using it, but I see dry brushing as a more of a holistic practice. It’s one of the many things I do to take care of myself. Nécessaire’s body retinol helped a lot with the keratosis pilaris on the back of my legs and general irritation on my butt. And I love to rub myself down with Flamingo Estate’s Euphoria body oil, too. It smells so fucking good. Since I can’t use essential oils on my face, when I get to use them on my body, I get a beautiful, garden of Eden feeling. [Laughs]
MAKEUP
On a day-to-day basis, I only wear my tinted sunscreen. If I have a meeting, I’ll wear a bit of RMS Un Cover-Up concealer in 22.5. I’ve probably been using it for over 10 years—and I actually discovered it on Into The Gloss. Erin Wasson said in her Top Shelf, ‘It’s the most amazing beauty product ever created. It’s like skin.’ If I want more coverage, Armani’s Luminous Silk Concealer is really good and still looks natural.
RMS discontinued Lip2Cheek once and brought it back—except they didn’t bring my favorite shade, Diabolique, back. I’ve been hoarding my last little pot. The product literally looks like dried blood in the pot, but when you put it on your cheeks, it really gives you the appearance of blood rushing to your face. It’s so natural-looking and highly-pigmented. I’m desperately trying to find a dupe if anybody out there has a suggestion. Chanel’s Rouge Coco Baume in Fall For Me is probably the closest thing I’ve found. It’s meant for your lips, but you can use it everywhere for that ‘just-blushed’ look. Speaking of lips, Victoria Beckham’s Lip Definer in No. 04 is the only lip liner that doesn’t make me look insane. I don’t know if the color of my lip is weird or something, but so many lip liners look crazy on me. Finding good shades for my lips is hard in general honestly—a lot of nudes look strange. Chanel’s liquid powder lipstick in Avant-Gardiste is perfect for me, but it was also discontinued. It’s so sad.
I recently got Ilia’s Multi-Stick in At Last. It’s a perfect color. I used to have the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate—I like Intensity 1—and I forgot about it until recently. It’s still a classic—and so good if you, like me, don’t really know how to contour. The RMS Buriti bronzer is similar in that it’s creamy. I always take it with me on vacation and put it on my cheekbones, eyes, everywhere. It actually looks really good when you get sweaty. Oh, and Chanel’s Fleurs de Printemps blush and highlighter duo [discontinued] is maybe the prettiest fresh pink blush I’ve found.
I love a shiny eye, and I’ve been using Chanel’s multi-use glow stick in Golden Light for years. I have multiples—it’s that perfect. It gives you this kind of ‘wet’—not shiny—and bronzy look. You need so little, so you don’t end up with a goopy feeling on your eyes. And then the Les Filles en Rouje eyelash curler is the best for my eye shape—and it doesn’t pinch me. I follow that with a swipe of Chanel’s Inimitable mascara. It’s dramatic, but it’s not too heavy—it leaves the right amount of product on the lashes.
HAIR
I naturally have really, really dark hair, and I’ve had to accept that it is what it is because dyeing hair is such a commitment. Even haircuts feel like a big commitment for me. I’ve only cut my hair once in my life—and I regretted it for the six years it took to grow it out. Long hair is just ‘me.’ But I do get simple trims from James Burks. He lives in New York, which is really unfortunate for me, but he taught me how to do my own trims for those times I can’t get to him.
I used to have a lot of seborrheic dermatitis, and the rosemary shampoo and conditioner from Nêcessaire have been great at cleansing my scalp but also keeping it really balanced. They also smell divine. Every once in a while, I put on Crown Affair’s leave-in-conditioner to hydrate my hair, which gets quite frizzy. It also doesn’t help that LA is extremely dry. And maybe once a month, if I have an event, I use Crown Affair’s cleansing scrub. I recently discovered Rōz—I’ve been trying the Foundation mask, milk hair serum, and Santa Lucia styling oil—and honestly, I don’t think my hair has ever looked or smelled better.
I also love Crown Affair’s dry shampoo. I think the brush applicator is so smart because before this product came along, I was literally putting loose powder in my hair with a makeup brush instead of spraying an aerosol, which would leave a weird residue. The Finishing gel is a game-changer, too, especially if you have frizzy hair. You can use it for a super slick look and brush it out the same day without your hair feeling dirty. I don’t know how they did it.
NAILS & FRAGRANCE
I see Ellie at Kure Spa for Gel-X manicures. Three out of five times, I’m going for OPI Big Apple Red nails. Sometimes I mix it up with a lapis blue or a mango when I’m traveling. I want my nails to look like I’m in a 1970s nail polish ad, so I always go for almond, oval-y nails.
As for perfumes, there are very few that I can live a full day in. I think the issue is that I’m extremely picky. Even if I like a perfume when I first smell it, once I put it on my body, I’m like, ‘Get it off me.’ That said, I’ve worn Molecule 01 for years. I don’t really smell it on myself, but if I spray it on a shirt, I find it intoxicating. It’s not unlike Glossier You, which I also find really subtle. I’ve worn it forever, too. I love Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse dry oil because it’s so multi-purpose. Is your skin dry? Put it on. Want to smell good? Rub some in. I picked it up from my grandma, who wears it every day.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Brittany Bravo in Los Angeles on August 23, 2024