Dynamic force and serial entrepreneur Erin Lichy is making waves once again as a fan favorite on The Real Housewives of New York season 15. Beyond her television presence, Lichy is co-founder of Mezcalum, an all-natural mezcal brand, where she oversees marketing initiatives and branding strategies as CMO. With more than a decade of experience in design and business, Lichy also spends her days running her design-build firm, Homegirl, now Erin’s Studio. In between it all, the New Yorker recently chatted with us over Zoom to talk about her super low-key beauty routine.
When you are shooting, what’s your typical game plan for getting into glam?
I feel like I go with the energy that I’m feeling that week or that day and the weather. I don’t know…I think it’s safe to say I go with the flow when it comes to glam. My team is so amazing. They’ve been working with me for a while. We’ve gotten to a point now where they know what I like. I was going to the ballet a couple weeks ago and I was wearing this really pretty silk top with this feathered skirt. They were like, “Oh, we got to go ethereal.” They gave me long, wavy hair and we just went with the flow.
When you are wearing makeup on-camera or at an event, do you have any skin care and cleansers you rely on at the end of the night to take it off?
I keep forgetting the name of this brand. I must get it. Hold on. I want to say this is a fairly new brand because I haven’t really seen it anywhere. Have you heard of Akar? I truly am obsessed. They just sent me a box. They have this booklet that describes exactly where everything was from. It’s made out of florals and it’s super clean. Their oils are incredible. They have this really nice cleanser. I’m usually a bar of soap girl. I’m not that fancy about my skin care. The Akar cleanser is really gentle and gets all the makeup off. I use that first and then after, I actually use Dr. Bronner’s bar soap.
That oil looks beautiful. I should try it.
I love it for travel. Look at this! When it’s open, you see the top come out. Then, when you twist, it goes back in, which is really helpful.
Very smart. When you’re running around New York, are you a wellness, massage, facial person? Is there anything or anywhere that you’re liking right now in the city?
I love all of it. I just have no time to do anything for myself, which is unfortunate. But, yes, I am a wellness person. I think probably the one thing that I make sure to do is acupuncture. It has been incredible for me. I had trigger finger on this finger and I actually did two steroid shots because that’s what the doctors told me to do. It wasn’t until I went to an acupuncturist that I started to feel better. There’s actually one that I’m going to next week, ORA, on the Upper East Side.
There’s another guy I go to in East Hampton who started his firm because he had cancer. He was healing himself through acupuncture. I went to him and he put this device on to release the nerve in my arm and it really helped. I’m all about alternative medicine. I also love a green juice. When I feel sick, I go to Juice Press and drink a bunch of fireball shots. Medicine, at least conventional medicine, is last for me.
Do you do anything for fitness?
One thing I love about New York is the movement. You’re always moving. I do walk a lot, but mostly, I go between private training and Pilates.
When you are getting ready to film, do you mentally need to get into it? Do you need to step into it and then out of it? What’s your mindset when you have to be on?
Being on for me is second nature, so I’m okay with it. With filming, I really try to have fun. I think that’s the main difference between season two and season one. Season one felt more serious. It was so new, so we were all pacing around each other. Now, I feel like it’s more organic and we just have more fun together, which is nice and we’re more comfortable. Sometimes, I do need to meditate before we start filming though.
How do you balance it all? The show is just one of your jobs and then you have kids. What’s your secret to keeping everything balanced?
It can be very challenging, I won’t lie. There are two things I’d say are the biggest ways that I rely on myself to keep things going. One is being really organized. Having different folders for things has been really helpful. Also, sometimes you need a quick vacation just to clear your mind; even if I just go out east for two days and I’m really disconnecting. It helps to be in nature, not talking to people. That helps me.
Also, asking for help. I feel like over the past couple of years, I’ve hired a lot more people. I have Mezcalum now, which is a give-and-take…I have a team now that I have to focus on and train and work with. Having a team also provides me with the ability to do other things because I know that they have the day-to-day locked down.
My last question: What are you excited for as we get into the end of the year?
I’m excited to see where Mezcalum continues to go. It’s been honestly unbelievable. To your wellness question, that’s why I started the brand. It’s really pure, very clean. You don’t feel like crap the next day. It’s gotten such a nice reception and it’s very exciting. I love watching my kids grow up. They’re becoming real city kids, which was my goal in life: to raise more city kids. It’s great. I’m excited about life.
