Quotes from Joan Smalls

I try not to go to sleep with makeup, because I think it clogs your pores. I always wash my face with something that contains salicylic acid.

I don't want to be on such a strict diet that I don't have fun. So if I eat sweets, I'll just put in more of an effort when I go to the gym.

I still get butterflies when I'm doing a runway show. The music starts, you're wearing these gorgeous clothes and your nervous about your high heels, if your shoes are going to break, if your going to slip or do something wrong.

People might think that because I'm skinny and tall, I'm fragile. But I always knew I wasn't. And it's comforting to know that I can throw a proper punch if I have to.

I was always very, very insecure about my height. Even as a 15-year-old I was a foot and a half taller than everyone.

I always believe, as a woman, it's powerful to be able to pull your own body weight and be able to defend yourself.

I always use eyelash curlers - always makes you look extra 'woken.'

I also work out because I have scoliosis. I have to maintain certain strength in my core.

I just want to continue to break barriers and to show the industry and the world that beauty is diverse, and you don't have to be a certain stereotype to be beautiful.

When you look at the world, the world isn't just one palette. It's a beautiful rainbow, and why not have someone to represent that rainbow?

I don't diet. I'm Puerto Rican! You can never take my rice, pork, and beans away.

Fashion is part of our culture, and it's about more than just a pretty dress.

My personal style is bipolar. Sometimes I feel like dressing in a boyish leather jacket; other times I want to dress more elegantly. Most of the time it's what I like to call 'comfortable chic': Giuseppe Zanotti flat sandals, Rag & Bone jeans, slouchy Isabel Marant shirts.

I would always hunch over, I was always taller than the boys. I had the extremely skinny legs... I would double up my socks, those ones from Footlocker, to make my legs look thicker.

I really don't go out. I love watching movies, and on a day off, I'll work out, do groceries, do laundry, see a friend.

I remember when I started modelling and being the only non-white girl in the fashion show. I was grateful to be there, but at the casting, there had been many beautiful women of different descriptions, and I was wondering why they were not being represented.

I work out almost every day, and I mix it up: I do Thai kickboxing. I have a personal trainer. I work out at my gym.

My career has always thrived on hard work and good relationships with people I work with and just continuing grinding.

I think it's nice to know that people in the industry are paying attention to all of the hard work you've done throughout the years and rewarding you for it. It reminds you to keep doing it, to keep pushing yourself, and to always remain that way.

I need someone who always wants more out of life. Like me - I'm just that way.

I felt most beautiful on the red carpet in Givenchy's sheer lace dress at a dinner hosted by Givenchy in honor of Marina Abramovich at the closing of her Museum of Modern Art retrospective, 'The Artist is Present', in 2010. It was the first time I had been dressed for an event, and everybody just fell in love with the dress.

You should be reflective of the world you live in.

I always knew that whenever you go out there, you're not just representing yourself. You're representing a heritage that's behind you, your culture, so you always have to do things, like, bigger, badder, better.

I'm Puerto Rican! You can never take my rice, pork, and beans away. Plus, I love to cook. I'm one of those people who stay in the kitchen standing while everything is cooking, checking on everything.