Does Taylor Hill have a model bestie? If her supe-stacked Instagram account is any indication, the straight answer is no. “I’m friends with pretty much everybody,” she says over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. (Although Romee Strijd and Jasmine Tookes frequently appear in her snaps.) “I’ve been doing [fashion] shows since I was 16, and I’ve known a lot of the girls for a long time,” says the 21-year-old American model. “Seeing everyone during Fashion Week is like the thrill of the first day back to school: You get to see all the friends you haven’t seen all summer.” Hill first walked for DKNY in 2013 and has since fronted campaigns for everyone from Topshop to Thakoon; she has also been the face of Lancôme for the past year. “I hang out with as many people as I can because I think they’re all really cool,” she says.

 

❤️

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What’s your best runway moment yet?

“The Miu Miu show two seasons ago. I was the ‘fit’ model [the model whose body is measured for every item in the collection], and I was there for three days trying on clothes and having fabric sewn on me. Usually the fitting is a ‘fit to confirm,’ but you aren’t guaranteed to walk in the show; sometimes they change things at the last minute and you’re never really in the show until you’re on the runway, so I was feeling really nervous. They put me in this outfit, and Miuccia [Prada] walked in and said, ‘This is the first look of the show.’ I asked, ‘This is the first one?’ and then she said, ‘I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and your great attitude these past few days; you deserve this.’ I started crying. I booked the [Miu Miu] campaign after that, so it was a really special moment in high fashion for me.”

 

What are your makeup go-tos or must-haves? Are you a lip girl or an eye girl?

“I like to keep it pretty natural if I’m outside having fun—you should be free. If you’re going on vacation and you want to go swimming, I like the idea of keeping it low-key; I like feeling fresh, like I’m not trying. The only thing that I would bring in my makeup bag is probably a waterproof mascara or concealer and highlighter. You really don’t have to worry about skin coverage—you want to look glow-y or fresh.”

 

Where do you get ideas for applying makeup? Do you watch a lot of YouTube videos?

“No. I actually get it from my job—from seeing how the makeup artists do it, like which brushes they prefer or how they use a sponge. Since I often get my makeup done in a variety of ways, I’ve really learned what’s best for my face.”

 

Makeup aside, what are your other must-haves when you’re travelling or on vacation?

“Sunscreen for your face is really important. And I use coconut oil on my body, especially after a day at the beach.”

 

What’s your vacation soundtrack?

“It kind of depends on what’s popular and what everyone is listening to—last year it was all about Beyoncé. That and the Drake album Views was out. I love pop music!”

 

Vroom vroom ?

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Shooting with Lancôme is “so natural and easy,” says Hill, who just wrapped her fifth campaign with the French beauty giant. “We shoot with Mert [Alas] and Marcus [Piggott], who are incredible photographers and really know what they’re doing. Lisa Eldridge does my makeup for every campaign, which is really cool because we get to bond.” Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara is a brand-new mascara that takes inspiration from long-wearing lipstick: The flexible polymers and gentle waxes in the formula protect lashes (and prevent flaking), while the iron-oxide pigment sets the base for an extremely deep black. The wavy bristles were designed to deposit just the right amount of product onto lashes while maxing out on volume.

 

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Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara ($31), at lancome.ca.

This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of ELLE Canada.