Plus, the beauty products she can’t live without
She first captured the hearts of many Australians with her incredible voice on Australian Idol in 2004, and has since secured a number of awards and nominations over the last few years (Favourite Singer at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, Cosmopolitan Fun, Fearless Female Women of the Year Awards, the ARIAs, to name a few!). As for her latest gig, she’s working with Pantene for a new campaign. Here, the singer shares her best tips for taking a good selfie, her advice for looking and feeling confident, and much more.
On what she’s working on at the moment…
“Well I’ve been working on some new music for the past year – slowly getting there. It’s always fun discovering the direction of a new album – I never go into writing an album knowing what it’s going to be about, it always just kind of uncovers itself as you peel back the layers. I’m really happy with what I’ve written and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it all. I’ve also been working with Pantene on the new #StrongFromTheCore campaign. I have always been a big advocate of women loving themselves and being confident in who they are. I believe that strength comes from confidence – so I love that Pantene is a brand that wants to inspire and encourage women to feel good about themselves, and to feel confident in themselves. Throughout a woman’s life – her hair changes can be a show of bravery, of courage and control. Making drastic changes to our hair can be a sign of the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, of moving forward from the past, of being daring and trying something new. I have done that so many times in the past – whether it be a big change for a new chapter in my life or a new look for a new album or just wanting to try something new. And as women our hair can be such a huge part of our identity – so when we have great hair, it gives us confidence. And the Strong From The Core campaign is all about looking after your hair so that your confidence never waivers.”
On her career highlight…
“I’d say in 2011 when I released Raining Diamonds and then my album Fear & Freedom. It’s a highlight for me because a year before I released that song I didn’t want to make music anymore, I was done – I had pulled through a really tough couple of years and through that time I lost a lot of confidence in myself and I was a little bit broken. But thankfully my husband encouraged me to give it another try and I went on to release the most successful albums and singles of my career…and now I couldn’t be more in love with what I do. And Raining Diamonds became such an anthem for me – because it is about believing in yourself and not settling for being unhappy when you deserve to be over the moon – and knowing that it is YOU who sets that standard in your life. People will treat you the way you allow them to treat you. But you have to have the confidence and belief in yourself first to be able to say that to anyone else, or to be able to make that a rule in your life.”
On her advice for taking a good selfie…
“Good lighting is EVERYTHING! It’s all about frontal lighting – that’s why I hate the person who created downlights, they’re HIDEOUS! I bet it was a man who invented them, because a woman would know better than that! Haha. Frontal lighting blows out and softens any lines or bags under the eyes. Afternoon light is beautiful and soft and warm – and makes you look a million bucks...that’s why they call it the golden hour. And if you wanna be creative use backlight, which means the sun or the bright light is behind you and looks really cool because you’re kind of in silhouette and the rays of light give awesome flares.”
On her favourite beauty products…
“Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo & Conditioner: It keeps my hair strong and hydrated through all the torture it goes through.
La Mer Crème de la Mer: I’ve been using it for 10 years on my face and it has made my skin amazingly soft!
Burt's Bees Beeswax Peppermint & Vitamin E Lip Balm: I basically have a panic attack if I leave the house without it. It’s so good!
Alpha Keri Body & Bath Oil: My arms used to get really dry white patches and a dermatologist recommended I use it, and I’ve never turned back.
Pantene Volume Booster Dry Shampoo: I have thin hair so I need all the help I can get in the volume department – and it’s great to freshen up the hair between blow-dries.”
Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo
La Mer Crème de la Mer
Alpha Keri Body & Bath Oil
On the beauty rules she lives by…
“Never go to sleep with your makeup on! EVER! No matter how many Champagnes you’ve had! And every morning and night I will wash my face with a hot face towel and moisturise. Even when I’m on a long haul flight! And everyday I drink at least three litres of water.”
On her favourite hair look…
“I really love the way my hair is right now – I love the colour and I love the length and the blunt cut! After having really long luscious hair for my wedding last year – I felt like it was time for a change; I was terrified to make that change but I really wanted something fresh. So I mustered up the courage. Everybody knew how much I loved my long hair so they were a bit shocked to hear I wanted to go shorter – but I love it! And it will always grow back, that’s the main thing!”
On her least favourite hair look…
“Definitely my short black bob in 2008. I was going through a divorce, I gained a lot of weight and the severe black bob just wasn’t flattering. I just looked so angry….but I kinda was…so I guess that’s why I did it!”
On her secret to looking confident on stage…
“If you aren’t confident, no amount of makeup or hairspray or good lighting or loud music will make up for it. For me, my confidence comes from deep within my heart – when I believe in what I am doing and I feel good about myself, I feel like I can do anything. I wasn’t always confident: when I first started performing I was 15 and couldn’t make eye contact with anyone, I just looked at my feet and sang and I couldn’t even say thank you at the end of a song. I shied away from hitting the high notes because I was scared that if I didn’t hit it I would embarrass myself and everyone would think I’m an awful singer. But the more I performed, the more I realised how good it felt to perform and to make people feel something with my voice, and every performance I became more confident than the last. And now it is just ingrained in my soul – being on stage was what I was born to do, and there’s nothing else in the world I’d rather do and nothing can ever shake my confidence when I’m up on stage.”
On her life motto…
“If you believe in yourself and you are confident in who you are – you can do it all.Because when you can tap into your inner strength - you are unstoppable.”
Check out our interviews with our other favourite Aussie celebs like Samantha Jade and Jesinta Campbell.
Main image credit: Instagram @therickilee
Iantha is BEAUTYcrew's Beauty Editor, and has been part of the team since the site launched in 2016. Besides pinky-nude nail polish and wispy false lashes, she has a healthy obsession with face masks and skin care ingredients. Her previous work can be found in Virgin Australia Voyeur, Women's Health, and SHOP Til You Drop.
