If there’s anything singer, actress, and global superstar Dua Lipa has done this year, it is to leave us—her rapt-eyed audience—intrigued. There was the lead-up to her latest musical venture, ‘Radical Optimism’, for one, which dropped just a few days ago on 3 May. The album generated buzz abound thanks to its marked departure from Dua Lipa’s signature disco soundscape; a shrewd and pop-infused exploration of psychedelic, ‘70s-inspired tracks. Then there was her foray into acting as LaGrange in spy action-comedy, Argylle, alongside big names Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard. And not forgetting, of course, her newly-cemented ambassadorship for YSL Beauty.
“Lipstick is a non-mover for me, that’s for sure,” she explains. We are seated within the YSL Loveshine Factory in Paris, France; a two-day pop-up created with the intention of celebrating the launch of the brand’s latest lipstick range, the YSL Beauty Loveshine. “It makes me feel so good. I love the colour of it, so I immediately feel more alive and more awake the second I put it on.”
This is accompanied by the purse of her lips, as well as a reveal of her go-to shade: 44 Nude Lavalliere. And that’s far from the only beauty secret Dua shared with the Vogue Singapore team. We sit down with the prolific singer-songwriter to get the lowdown on her make-up favourites, beauty wind-down routine, and more.
So, in wake of the release of ‘Radical Optimism’, tell us about some of the things you do to get hyped before a big performance.
I do my dance warm-ups with my dancers, and I also do my vocal warm-ups with my band and my backing vocalists. We all get together before the show to chat and get excited. And then we just get on stage, and that gets me hyped.
Do you listen to your own tracks before you get on stage?
No, no, never [Laughs]. I never really listen to my own music. Up until the point it’s out, at least. I listen to it before it comes out. Once it’s out, I never listen to it again until I’m getting ready for a tour, where I’m rehearsing, and then it’s like work. Or I hear it on the radio, and that’s when I get very excited. But I’m always listening to different music, and then doing warm-ups to different types of music and songs.
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Is being on stage where you feel the most confident?
Definitely. I feel so strong, happy, excited and invincible in those moments.
Does putting on lipstick make you feel the same way? Tell us about your first brush with lipstick.
My first brush of lipstick was probably something that I stole from my mum. My mum has always been the person who I’ve been the most inspired by, make-up wise. So whatever she had in her make-up bag would be the thing. It would always be Halloween or something. It would always be a lot of red lipstick or something, but I never used to wear make-up when I was very young.
On that note, how do you find the YSL Beauty Loveshine?
I love the YSL Beauty Loveshine Lip Oil Stick because it makes me feel like I’m being taken care of. My lips feel really moisturised and hydrated. And I love how it smells so good—it has pomegranate oils in it or something that just makes it so delicious.
What else is on your vanity?
I have the YSL Beauty Loveshine Lip Oil Stick in 44, this brown sort of shade that I adore. There’s mascara, bronzer, and the YSL Libre Eau de Parfum.
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Would you consider it your signature fragrance?
Yes, and for the past six years now. I think it’s because I have such a close connection to it. I was there in the room before we shot the campaign, like choosing the final fragrance for it. And I just, I don’t know, I feel so close to it. I feel like it really represents me. I have one in every bag. I just love it. And it’s like now weirdly becoming a family scent, because my mum and my sister use it as well. We all smell the same.
Conversely, tell us about what you do to wind down after a performance.
Vocal warm-downs first, followed by a cup of tea. I’ll get into something cosy then, and try to get to bed as soon as possible.
One last question that everyone is dying to know: tell us where you get your best cultural recommendations from.
Through my friends in different cities. When I tour, I just love to go around and try out new restaurants, and I think because I go and I try them out myself, I then decide if I love them or not and then I would just share them to others. I met a girl the other night at a restaurant here in Paris, and as I was waiting in the line for the bathroom she was like, “Oh, I’m so excited for your album to come out. By the way, thanks for the recommendation.” And then she named three other restaurants that I really love in Paris. She’s like, “I’m going to those as well.” And it was so funny that we met each other on the same night. It makes me very happy when people listen to my recommendations.
