What Monica Lewinsky Can’t Live Without

I have been using this for a little over two years now. It was actually started by a friend of mine, Victoria Jackson, who had a makeup empire a long time ago and brought her signature brand back and reformulated it. It was funny because before she had given me one to try, we had gone to dinner with a friend, and I was like, “Amy, what are you doing with your skin? It looks so flawless.” And she was like, “Oh, well, it’s Victoria’s No Makeup Makeup.” So of course I quickly tried it. I have rosacea, and I love that this does a great job of covering it without looking cakey. And it lasts all day, which is bananas. It’s got a really smooth, creamy texture, and you buy this brush that goes with it. I think the shape of the brush and the kind of bristles probably have a lot to do with how it goes on, but I don’t know all the fancy properties to it, like reflecting this and absorbing that, which I am not aware of. I just love it. Sometimes I just use No Makeup Makeup and some mascara, a little lip gloss, and that’s the look for the day.

Oh my God. I have been eating this ice cream since I was at least 10 years old. And while I won’t discriminate too much with peanut-butter-and-chocolate ice cream, I will say Baskin Robbins is hands down the best because it has the biggest chunks of frozen peanut butter and just the salty-sweet combination. It is definitely my go-to. I am not ashamed to say I have DoorDashed some very expensive ice cream. Just make sure if you go into the store, tell them you want a lot of peanut butter in the scoop. It’s much better that way.

When I first moved to New York in 1999 the Grey Dog was a place I felt really safe. We’re talking like a year coming out of the impeachment and investigation in New York City. Dave and Pete, who are brothers and the owners, always made me feel so welcomed. And actually, one of my best friends to this day is someone I met there in 2001. What I love about the coffee is that it’s perfect for me. It’s a perfect combination of strong and kind of flavorful. It’s a little jet fuel-y but not too jet fuel-y. I take my coffee with real cream. Grey Dog is a must-visit for me when I’m in New York.

Definitely the black-currant flavor. They’re just the perfect consistency, like a harder gummy bear, and they’re tart. They’re great as a little treat.

Funnily, my friend who started No Makeup Makeup is also the friend I learned to play mahjong with about two years ago. She had bought this beautiful set from the Mahjong Line for me as a gift. The brand has fantastic rummy tiles and other games, but I have become addicted to mahjong. I’d say I probably play a few times a month. I’ve been in New York for a week and I managed to get in a few hours. It was fun. It’s a great way to catch up with people, and it really takes all your concentration. I find in today’s world, with everything going on, to have something that engulfs all of your attention really is a gift.

Let me start this way: I am a mosquito magnet. I think almost every scar on my body is from mosquito bites. I am one of those people who are literally always thinking about mosquito exposure wherever they go, especially in summer. I keep a small bottle of Buzzie in my car; I have it at home. I love that it’s all natural and doesn’t smell like bug spray. It’s not sticky, and it doesn’t compete too much with whatever scent I’m wearing, which is nice. And it protects me from the big bad mosquitoes. I feel like mosquitoes are a demarcation between people: If you are not a person mosquitoes love, you do not understand the plight of someone who is bitten by mosquitoes.

I started doing a little self-directed art therapy three or four years ago and drawing not for perfection but just as expression. And then I discovered these markers. I was traveling in New York; I had something happen, and I was like,Oh, you know what? I really feel like drawing it out.So I went to the little store at theArt Students Leagueon 57th and Eighth and they had these markers I thought looked interesting. They were stupid expensive, like five bucks each, and if you bought three, you would get three cents off or whatever. There’s something about the way they move that is so smooth it just feels relaxing to me to use them. I also happened to buy thisCanson paper, and it’s very thick. I ended up with a visual diary. I don’t do it every day, but I’ve probably gone through five of them at this point. I’d be mortified if anybody ever saw them. Whether I’m sketching something or just choosing colors I want to use, there’s no rhyme or reason why, but it’s probably one of my coping mechanisms — which also makes it funny that they’re called Copic.

I have done much better using mylabel-makerin ways that are actually effective for me than I am at buying things to help me organize, which usually just create more clutter. I labeled my entire pantry a few months ago. It’s just really satisfying to open the pantry door and see that everything has a home. I made labels to differentiate my travel Whitestrips from my 30-minute and one-hour Whitestrips. I’m not very good at staying organized, but being organized makes me feel calm.

I’d say in the past decade or so I have become a big collector of crystals — so much so that my then-8-year-old nephew made me a crystal out of Play-Doh or something for my 50th birthday to go on my crystal bookshelf, understanding how much crystals mean to me and that they’re special. Crystals come from the earth, they’re forged in trauma, and yet there’s so much beauty and natural color to them. I find they can absorb energy or give energy in different ways. I often joke that I will not go to rehab for crystal meth but will go for crystals. I have them on a shelf in my apartment, and I sometimes carry them with me. Actually, onmy podcast, I give all my guests a crystal at the end, just as an exchange of energy as a thank-you.

The polka-dot Ref mules are the shoes I’m going to change into when I get to my event later. I’m obsessed with them because (a) they are comfortable and (b) they give a little zhuzh to every outfit. I don’t know how they do it, but they’re both feminine and sporty, which is so weird to say about a pointy-toe mule. I have them in black suede, zebra, polka dot, and distressed silver.

[Editor’s note: Lewinskymodeled for Reformationas part of aVote.orgcampaign last year.]

Richard Christiansen has been a friend for a few years, and I texted him one afternoon not all that long ago and was like, “I have this crazy idea. Do you think we could do a candle for Bullying Prevention Month with some of the proceeds going to some amazing anti-bullying organizations I’ve worked with for years?” And he said, “No, all the proceeds.” He said, “Of course we can do it.” He’s just such an extraordinary person and then we were off to the races and ended up with the Blossoming Camellia scent because when I texted Richard, he was writing about camellias for his next book. He realized the importance of the metaphor that camellias bloom in their own time and can bloom in the dark. I think that is so much a reflection of resilience and individuality, which are things people who’ve been bullied have to deal with very often. There’s something very feminine but strong to this scent, so in a way it feels a bit maternal. That’s how I feel; it’s sort of like a strong hug, like a reassurance.

[Editor’s note: The candle has sold out, but you can donate to the organizations that the profits from the sales support:The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Program,The Tyler Clementi Foundation,Project Rockit, andHetrick-Martin Institute.]