There she is, in all her glory: Dua Lipa, with a radiant smile on her face, as if she is really looking forward to this day full of interviews with curious journalists, flown in from all over the world. It’s a glorious day in Paris. Not far from the famous Place de République, YSL Beauté presents the latest addition to the YSL Loveshine flag, YSL Candy Glaze: a sparkling lip gloss in the form of a lipstick.
We wait patiently until it is our turn to ask the pop star a few questions, and just when we finally come face to face with the roguish Londoner, there appears to be some trouble with the lighting. No problem for a written interview, but of course we would also like to capture Dua Lipa on video. It takes so long that we wonder if she has the patience to stay put. And so we try to make some jokes so as not to send her, but especially ourselves, into total panic. After all, we also have to catch a train back to Amsterdam.
A Dutch word
When the singer hears that someone from Amsterdam is standing in front of her, she lets out a cry of joy and says almost without an accent: “What did you do today?” Dua Lipa tells her favorite sentence in Dutch later, on video. It turns out that Lipa has family in the Netherlands, and that she has been regularly in the capital since childhood. Lipa remains exceptionally calm amid the whole lighting debacle. She doesn’t snap at people, she smiles kindly, entertains us with cheerful grimaces, looks at the light boys (there were no light girls or other light people) and jokes in unadulterated Dutch: “Hey boys, come on!” Of course they don’t understand that and it doesn’t speed things up either, but we do burst out laughing.
When the lighting problem is finally solved after more than fifteen minutes of jokes and jokes, it turns out that we will no longer catch the last train of the day to Amsterdam. Anyway, there are worse places to be stranded and so we continue with the interview undisturbed. About beauty, her radical optimism and her ideal lip shade.
An interview with Dua Lipa
What does beauty mean to you?
“Beauty is so individual and unique. I think beauty lies within everyone and it is important to find it within yourself. I am learning to love myself a little more every day.”
Speaking of love: what makes you attracted to someone?
“Personality and character. For me, that remains the most beautiful thing about a person.”
You have been working with YSL as a brand ambassador for some time now . What have you learned so far?
“I learned that I can walk through the desert in heels. I learned that I can hold an eagle. The YSL team has pushed me out of my comfort zone on so many levels and in the best way possible. I feel that after each campaign I have become a little more resilient and have gained strength.”
When was the last time you thought, “If I can walk in heels in the desert, I can do this too”?
“Every time I have to get out of bed at 4 a.m., I think back to the desert and say to myself: I can do this!”
You must have learned a lot about makeup too?
“Yes, and especially how I can create the most beautiful version of myself with make-up. For example, I know that I feel more beautiful with nude than with red tones. Number 44 from the Candy Glaze collection is standard in my bag. It makes me feel like I’ve made some effort, without putting in a whole lot of effort. Do you understand?”
What strikes you most when you are in Amsterdam?
“All those bikes! I wish we cycled more in London. I find it so amazing how this is such a big part of daily life in the Netherlands. It’s something I think about a lot when I’m in Amsterdam. And then that infectious smell of waffles, wherever you are. I always go straight for the waffles and poffertjes. I can really recommend stroopwafels to everyone. And chocolate sprinkles from De Ruijter!”
Your new album will be released on May 1. Tell!
“It’s called Radical Optimism and it’s about staying grounded and graceful in the midst of all the chaos. I think you have to take life as it comes and even be able to remain optimistic when things don’t go your way. It is important to persevere and be resilient.”
What’s your favorite song?
“Difficult, but I think These Walls or Illusion .”
What are you radically optimistic about?
“About everything!”
