As beauty director of Teen Vogue, Eva Chen is responsible for keeping the magazine’s readers as glossy as the pages it is printed on. Pre makeup mogul, Chen was at John Hopkins University as medical student, hardly the type of place one would think to find a glamorous La Mer-wielding beauty editor. After an internship at Harper’s Bazaar in the beauty and health department, Chen decided to pursue a vocation of vanity. Envy is the word that comes to mind when one thinks of the prestigious position Chen holds at the mega-mag that is Teen Vogue. The job is not always an easy task, though: Going through thousands of options and spending countless hours researching, the job can be tedious. Chen plays gatekeeper to one of the most extraordinary places in the Teen Vogue office, a type of cosmetic Shangri-La, if you will. The beauty closet is a floor-to-ceiling utopia of the most exquisite makeup, perfumes, polishes and anything else that will make you dazzle. Chen’s charm and personality is most admirable; she really listens to her readers and by doing so she has established a direction for the magazine which has been most successful. Chen’s assistant, Laurel Pantin, had this to say about her boss: “I feel so lucky to work with her. She’s so smart and well regarded but still remains down-to-earth and has the best attitude—as well as having the best style of anyone I have ever met.” I sat down with the beauty buff to get to know her a little better.

I recall on our first meeting in the 4 Times Square cafeteria. You told me you went to John Hopkins and all of your peers walked around with their calculators, performing math equations. That does not seem like stomping grounds for a future beauty editor.
Correct! I am one of the very few graduates of Hopkins who did not end up as a doctor, banker, lawyer or engineer.

Was there ever a particular moment in beginning of your career where you had to pinch yourself to make sure it was really happening?
Oh yes, my very first day interning at Harper’s Bazaar! I was led to a huge cupboard and told that all the beauty products were ‘last season’ and that I could either a) chuck them into the trash or b) take them home with me to play with. Naturally, I did the latter, lugging home three overstuffed bags of gloss, shampoo and mascara. It was also surreal to me when I started working at Teen Vogue—the screams and excitement from girls when they heard I worked at Teen Vogue was unbelievable. One time, I went out to dinner and the 16-year-old hostess at the restaurant invited her entire group of friends to come watch me eat. That was awkward, but nice. I’ve been able to fly around the world (Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Rome, London, etc.) in the name of beauty and fashion.

Your job demands you to travel. What cosmetics do you always bring with you on your excursions?
I always get in trouble with security at the airports. In fact, I smuggle about four plastic Ziploc bags of products with me. I always bring Josie Maran’s Argan Oil Stick. It’s a great multipurpose balm that’s good on lips but also flaky noses, elbows, etc. I always have Crest Whitestrips with me too. Whenever I’m traveling. I end up sitting in a hotel room at night by myself and I slap on some Whitestrips, put on a mask (the greener and earthier the better—like Pangea Organics’ Matcha Tea scrub), order room service, and call it a night.

What is your daily/nightly skin care regimen?
Once, when I was touring the P&G labs, I was told that an average American woman uses 2.5 products on her entire body every day, versus the average Asian woman, who uses 8.5. I would be the latter. Every morning, I wash my face (lately, I’ve been using Olay Pro-X’s Restorative Cream Cleanser because it’s gentle and not so pricey), apply a serum (something lightweight, like REN Skincare’s Be Young & Beautiful, which has a nice slippery, smooth feeling), then a lotion containing SPF (I’ve been using Shiseido’s White Lucent SPF). At night, I wash my face again with the same product, unless I feel like a need a bit of a scrub, in which case I use Dermalogica’s Microfoliant, then apply a heavier serum (like Rodin Olio Lusso or Nude Skincare Night Oil) and an evening cream (just started a jar of Orlane’s Anti-Aging). I follow with an eye cream (love Peter Thomas Roth’s Power K cream) and lip balm (Burt’s Bees). Whew! I think that’s it.

Name four essential beauty products every woman should have in her purse.
Hand sanitizer. I like the spray-on ones from Clean Well and Burt’s Bees as they leave hands feeling non-sticky-icky. A versatile lip/cheek product like Nars The Multiple and a mini hairbrush (Fekkai and Mason Pearson make good ones). And Blotting papers (my favorites are from Tatcha).

What is the best part of being a beauty editor at Teen Vogue?
No doubt the amazing team I get to work with. And, of course, the gloss.