As a plant-based chef, culinary maverick, and co-founder of Breaking Bread NYC—the non-profit that promotes food sovereignty for those with limited access to healthy meals—Tara Thomas juggles a range of passion projects. 

Recently, she produced a Narnia-inspired menu to celebrate Lela Rose’s winter fashion collection—the evening ended with ginger donuts made from sugar infused with edible gold glitter—and co-hosted a dinner with Asia Grant of Redoux that featured focaccia with lavender chive butter, Spanish potato chips with seaweed caviar and cashew crème fraiche.

If the element of surprise is a hallmark of her cooking, then her everyday beauty regimen is steadfastly simple by comparison. Clean, clear, pristine skin is her priority, so in addition to drinking lots of spring water and eating seasonal, nutrient-rich foods (in summer, cucumber gazpacho, fresh-cut fruit, and bean salads, plus dairy-free ice cream), she showers twice a day, practices facial massage, and stays moisturized.

Vital Skincare Complexion Drops in Atelier XI

Baby Cheeks in Poppet

Bonne Brow in Slate 

Liquid Super Loaded in Peau de Rosé

Lip Suede in Les Nudes

In the mornings, she applies hyaluronic acid, an activating serum—lately, Westman Atelier’s silky Skin Activator Serum—and a cream mixed with SPF to her face, neck, and chest. Highlighter and blush are her go-to beauty products. “I love that the skincare is in the makeup, so it feels like there’s less of a barrier and more of me shines through,” she says of Vital Skincare Complexion Drops, which she uses alongside a touch of highlight in sheer shades of golden peach or sheer oyster pink.  

Thomas also likes to do her eyebrows. Normally, she just brushes them out, but if she’s hosting an event or headed to dinner, she'll add a bit of definition. “I can do a lot with a little,” she says. “Oh, and I love the [Squeaky Clean] tinted lip balm for a bit of color.”

After a busy couple of months, Thomas is looking forward to spending August at her partner’s family’s farm in Norway, where they’ll pick blueberries and forage mushrooms, swimin the sea, and work on the barn they’re renovating. She hopes to make it to a local spa for a facial, too, and catch up on the best ingredient there is for good skin: some hard-won beauty sleep.