How I Live: Kitty Cash

Kitty Cash talks glowing from the inside out and the wonders of clear mascara.

October 22, 2014

Kitty Cash's Instagram bio reads: "Not your average PR gal." That's an enormous understatement. In addition to doing PR for denim behemoth G-Star, Cash DJs both under her own name and for her BFF Kilo Kish, and crafts empowering, game-changing mixtapes that emphasize strong, fresh, female voices. She's also an all-around babe with ever-changing hair, flawless skin, and bulletproof style. We were curious how she keeps it cold while still finding time to model and tour, so we just asked. Here are Cash's beauty, hair, and style secrets.

HEALTH

The best beauty advice I've gotten is to take care of your internal self first, and it'll show through to your skin. So when I wake up in the morning now I do grapeseed oil-pulling, which supposedly draws out all the toxins. It's supposed to be good for working in the city, DJ-ing, drinking a lot, not sleeping enough. I'm trying to boost up my immune system so my skin will glow naturally with no makeup so I use ConcenTrace; It has 72 minerals you would supposedly get from a raw food diet, but it's all in this serum. You just add ten drops to juice or food or whatever. I take Holy Basil whenever I'm stressed, so I don't get any bumps or pimples.

HAIR

For my hair, it just depends on what I have goin' on. My curl pattern is super fragile so when I have my afro, I do a lot of deep conditioning. Every girl's curl pattern is different so it's really about playing around with products and finding out what works for your hair. Right now I'm using a lot of Carol's Daughter, especially this color-care treatment system because I just got highlights. When I have my natural hair, I'll also do a hot olive oil treatment, just following the directions on a YouTube tutorial. I'm a big YouTube girl when it comes to hair. When I have a weave, I'll wash my hair every two weeks and do the same routine: wash, deep condition, dry. I have this shea butter cream I put on my scalp between the braids–the main thing is to take care of your hair underneath the weave, I've realized. When I'm on the road, I opt for a wig or my weave or braids, or something that I can like pick up and go; there's a lot less time to get primped and proper. Last tour I had box braids and it was heaven. All I had to do was go to sleep, wake up, and go.

SKIN

I'm pretty basic when it comes to skincare. I use coconut oil as moisturizer and exfoliate using these homemade sugar scrubs. I haven't perfected a face regiment yet. I do use this L'Occitane facial cream--it's super light and natural. I like to do at-home facials, which I feel like keeps my skin nice and soft. My mom recently told me about this Vitamin C face serum that you just use a few drops of to make your skin glow, so that's my new thing. I just ordered it off Amazon.

MAKEUP

My essentials are really bronzer, clear mascara, and concealer. Especially on the road, black mascara can run underneath your eyes and it makes you look like you got punched in the eye or something. Clear mascara never does that but your eyelashes still look nice and long. For my skin, I start off with Smashbox primer to keep it hydrated, and then I use Nars concealer, just under my eyes and on any blemishes. I have a Chanel bronzer that I use because I like looking tan. I don't want it to look like I have a face on, I just want it to look like, "Oh girl, you woke up like that?" Like, "Yes, actually my skin's great." Even though I have on a few things. And then when I'm dressing up, I'll do a cat eye or white eyeliner underneath, on the waterline, just to make your eyes pop.

NAILS

I'm a nail girl for sure. I do my nails religiously; Every month, I go to one girl named Jessica Tong and get gels. I can bring her a design from anywhere–literally anything–and she will recreate it on my nails. She's done some insane things: flowers, gems, 3-D stuff.

FOOD

A photo posted by Kitty Cash (@kittycash_) on

One of my favorite spots is Lovely Day; I always go there with all of my girlfriends. We have the chicken, sautéed spinach, pineapple fried rice. Lately, I have been watching my diet a bit more but it's just about making sure I'm healthy internally so my skin and everything else reflects that. I've been making quinoa dishes and eating more greens, and adding flax seeds to my usual meals. Every day for lunch I'll I buy a hardboiled egg and avocado, and mash it together on whole wheat bread and make avocado toast, then I'll walk over to Miss Lily's and get a fresh-pressed juice.

CLOTHES

My personal style has definitely evolved a lot. I grew up in Brooklyn, and I have pictures from high school of me wearing Roca Wear sweatsuits and Pepe Jeans and Timbs. I know Timbs are trending now but I cannot bring myself to wear them, because I had them literally in every color when I was younger. I still wear sneakers–I love my Nikes–but now it's more about mixing in that urban edge with a more polished look. I have a mix of places that I shop: Opening Ceremony for my cute little key pieces, Acne, and G-Star of course for denim. I do a bit of thrifting in between, for cool sweaters. I love Reformation–I think they're definitely my style. I love that that '90s type of feel. Naturally I like to feel sexy, so as long as I feel sexy I'm happy. And that's me at home, out–all my friends know this about me: Cash just wants to look and feel sexy. Whether that's me in sneakers or a lace top and bodycon skirt, as long as I feel sexy, that works. People confuse dressing sexy with, "Oh, it's time to show skin," but I think there's a lot of different playful ways to do that.

Lead image by Andre Perry, all other images courtesy Kitty Cash.

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How I Live
How I Live: Kitty Cash