Paloma Elsesser

I think self-love isn't some destination you get to and you are then incapable of feeling those feelings, but a journey in which you adapt your experiences to make for a happier life.

My parents always supported me and complimented me on other things, not just my looks. They told me I was capable, that I was smart, that I was creative.

Wearing too much makeup definitely makes my skin worse.

I like looking wet, sweaty, dewy, fresh.

My version of makeup is a really intense skin regimen. I just think it's a healthier way to look at beauty.

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.

I went to small liberal schools my whole life, and I was also a bad girl in high school; I went to, like, five schools.

The more and more I got into writing, the harder and harder it became for me. I still love it, but it became much more problematic than I thought it would be.

I originally went to school for writing, for non-fiction. I'm specifically a poetry major within literature, but I don't know.

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.

It's not fair for little kids to feel bad about themselves for how they look.

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.

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.

The Internet really offered a space for me to thrive.

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.

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.

We have to tokenize in order to normalize.

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.

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.

It's important for people to understand where things come or what they represent.