If you're not a current member of Bachelor Nation, meet Hannah Brown. Hannah made her primetime-TV debut on last season of The Bachelor, and after that, was picked to become ABC's next Bachelorette. Following her season and a brief cameo in Paradise, Hannah came to the ITG offices to talk make out lipsticks and dealing with acne on network TV.

"Somebody randomly nominated me to go on The Bachelor. I had no plans to go on the show—actually, I had just started Accutane. I had never had acne, but as soon as I turned 23, it literally hit me out of nowhere. For the first few months everything was purging… and I was on national television. I just stayed on a really low dose the whole time. When people go on really high dosages to get it done fast, that’s when their skin peels or bleeds. Mine never did that. My lips got a little dry, but they were never crusty. Aquaphor was my lifesaver—I should be a sponsor for Aquaphor. I had it with me at all times. And when I wasn’t on a date, I didn’t wear makeup. I had the worst skin out of all the girls, but I was one of the only ones who wouldn’t wear makeup when we were just sitting around. It was really important to allow my skin that time to breathe.

When you’re on The Bachelor, you have to bring all your own clothing and do your own hair and makeup. I did pageants growing up, and in some of them you weren’t allowed to have professional makeup and hair backstage. That helped me a lot going into the show. It was really important for me to have a good foundation for when I went on dates and needed to cover up blemishes. I wear Nars, and that’s pretty good coverage, or Charlotte Tilbury. And I knew I needed to bring a good primer—we went to a lot of hot places, and the foundation would just fall off. If I didn’t have [any other] makeup on, a little mascara made me look alive. MAC Extended Play Gigablack is my favorite mascara, though I don’t know many other people who love it. It’s so great for separating—I have pretty full eyelashes, but this makes them look longer. It’s not totally waterproof, but the water has to be hot to get it off.

I had the worst skin out of all the girls, but I was one of the only ones who wouldn’t wear makeup when we were just sitting around.

As the Bachelorette, I had somebody do my makeup, but I still did my own hair. I have mastered curls—I can do a loose wave, or start at the bottom to make a real curl, twist it up for a beach wave, or curl them all the same direction for the old Hollywood type. I use my old faithful Hot Tools 1 ¼ inch curling iron with the gold barrel, and it’s great. If I want to wear it super straight, I use the Paul Mitchell Neuro Straightener. It heats up really fast, and I’m usually in a rush.

I like the Oribe texturizing spray, but R+Co makes a really great one that’s a little cheaper. If I want a look to really stay, Big Sexy Stay and Play is the best hairspray. Oh, Big Sexy Powder Play is great, too. That stuff… it’s powder, but it feels like cement in your hair. Say I had to go from day to night and needed my hair to be sexier and bigger, but didn’t have time to re-curl it. I would run the Powder Play through the crown of my hair, and it would make my hair look like I was about to walk a Victoria’s Secret runway. It was a lifesaver.

I would get my makeup done in the morning, and then again right before the evening portion [of filming]. That’s it. They don’t want to interrupt a conversation if it’s heated or if it’s going well, so there weren’t many touch-ups. When I watch it back, I always focus on my hotspots—the corners of my lips that get dry when I talk too much. I carried a baggie that had my lip color and a little sponge, and fixed things when I could. I have a really red nose naturally, and when I made out with a guy the makeup on the tip of my nose would come off. You could always tell. The guys totally would know from my lipstick, too—sometimes it would rub off on them. They’d be like, ‘Oh, Peter, nice lip color.’ [Laughs] If I knew there was going to be a lot of macking, I went for Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk. Certain nights were definitely Pillow Talk nights.

I have a really red nose naturally, and when I made out with a guy the makeup on the tip of my nose would come off. You could always tell.

I never actually finished Accutane because of the shows—you have to go back into the doctor’s office a lot, and do pregnancy tests, and take a monthly quiz. It’s extreme. But Accutane literally changed me. It was truly life changing to feel good about my skin again. I still get blemishes of course—when I’m traveling, all the time. It helps to schedule Hydrafacials to suck out all the nasty stuff. My dermatologist Dr. Ginsburg in Alabama also helped me with a really great skincare routine. I use Alastin Gentle Cleanser, First Aid Beauty exfoliating pads, and Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 serum. I’ve got to find a dermatologist in LA now, if anybody has any suggestions.

Accutane literally changed me. It was truly life changing to feel good about my skin again.

My skin is going to hate me now that I’m on Dancing With The Stars. It’s a full production—the lights, the stage, the costumes, the hair, the makeup... There’s a lot of makeup. It’s not just normal makeup, either—I don’t know what it is. It’s like paint. I use the Nivea makeup remover wipes to take off the eye makeup, and then the Simple one from the drugstore for the rest. Then I cleanse twice with my Alastin cleanser. And I still get bumps, but it’s OK.

I forget that I can’t wake up and go out without getting recognized. I’m so bad about it. I went to Bloomingdales the other day looking like trash, and of course people started noticing me. I hadn’t showered, I wasn’t wearing makeup, I looked so bad... It’s hard, because I care more about my skin than I do about wearing makeup 24/7. I’m a normal person, I just had this extraordinary, extreme, random thing happen in my life. I want to be accepted for who I am...which is sometimes a girl who hasn’t washed her hair in a few days."

—as told to ITG

Photo via ABC