Whether she’s working to finish her third album, due for release in 2024, starring in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, renovating her London house, revealing a left-of-field runway collab, serving a gratifying quantity of style, beauty and travel inspiration, or interviewing Billie Eilish for her arts and culture “concierge” Service 95, Dua Lipa, 28 visibly fills her days with an array of multi-pronged pursuits, ever expanding her skill set and establishing her reputation as a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur. Such attributes and freedom to roam are certainly alluring to collaborators, including YSL Beauty who first signed Dua as the face of their Libre fragrance franchise back in 2019 and whose latest iteration L’Absolue Platine, a sharp, sauve, more concentrated iteration of the OG floral with french lavender and soft, silky Moroccan orange blossom, lands next week.
To celebrate the new arrival we talked to Dua about scent memories, home cooked meals and being proudly outspoken.
What’s your first, your favourite, and your forever scent memory?
“My first scent memory is my mom. She always smells amazing and made me want to have a signature scent when I was little. My favourite scent is any amazing home cooked meal with my family. And my forever scent is anything that makes me nostalgic for home, like fresh cut grass and the smell of rain.”
The fragrance is called Libre. Where do you feel most free?
“I feel most creatively free in the studio. Writing and experimenting with new sounds always gives me a feeling of release. Performing on stage has a similar effect, and I love the exchange of energy between me and the audience. When I’m not working, travelling is something I love to do that to me is the truest form of freedom and escape.”
Being free sometimes involves breaking the rules. What’s the rule you’re proudest of breaking?
“This isn’t necessarily rule breaking, but I’ve been proudest of myself in moments where I’ve been outspoken about a cause that’s important to me. Whether that be rights for refugees or advocating for other women in my industry.”
Where and when do you feel most yourself?
“I feel the most myself around friends and family. I can be anywhere in the world surrounded by the people I love and it will always feel like home.”
When it comes to your beauty and fitness regime, what’s the highest and the lowest maintenance thing about you?
“I’m not sure if this is considered high maintenance, but sticking to a routine is incredibly important to me. Getting up and going to a yoga class or having a morning coffee while reading are the little things that keep me grounded. I like to keep a fresh face on days where I’m not working, so my beauty routine on those days is very low maintenance.”
Which beauty and health products could you not live without?
“Never skip SPF! This is the most important part of my beauty routine. I’m also obsessed with hydrating lip products. Drinking tons of water every day is the best health and beauty hack everyone should try adopting. I also never travel without a yoga mat and a good work out set that’s cute and breathable.”
Do you have any surprising or unusual rituals?
“Before any big moment like a red carpet or performance, I always take a minute to center myself. These situations can be really overwhelming so it’s important to take a moment for deep breaths and a quiet meditation.”
Wearing YSL makes you feel, how…?
“The YSL Libre and L’Absolut Platine fragrances are incredibly empowering. These are bold, crisp scents that really make you feel your most confident.”
What are you up to for work at the moment?
“I’ve been keeping busy with Service95, where I just launched a book club. Service95 has always been an outlet for me to explore my passions outside of music and share those with others. The immensely positive reaction I’ve been seeing from our community of readers on our newsletter, podcast and book club has been really heart-warming.”
What do you think surprises people most about you?
“I’m always flattered when someone says I have an admirable work ethic, which I think I’ve inherited from my parents. I really hold myself to being on time and prepared for whatever I have planned on any given day. I find that being super organised eases some of the anxiety that comes along with a busy schedule, and allows me to pack a lot into a day.”
YSL Libre L’Absolue Platine, from £110 for 50ml is available at yslbeauty.co.uk from 27th September 2023
