British Vogue (Dec. 4th 2017)

On Beauty: Gwen Stefani

After Marilyn Monroe, if anyone's renowned for their platinum blonde hair and bold red lipstick, it's Gwen Stefani. No wonder the former No Doubt frontwoman is a Revlon global brand ambassador, thanks in no small part to her love of the brand's classic Revlon Red lipstick. Vogue's Lisa Niven caught up with Stefani in London, to talk music, make-up and the secret to perfect platinum-blonde hair.

On make-up

I’ve loved make-up since I can remember. I used to run home from school and my girlfriend’s mum had so much make-up and that’s what we would do, you know, we’d play make-up. What I’m always trying to do is just get better, and explore new looks. When you get new products - like when Revlon sends me these care packages of make-up, which is just heaven - that’s where you learn and you do things you wouldn’t normally do. A company like Revlon has been making make-up so long they have got it down. The Revlon ColorStay Foundation is really great, especially for stage, because it really lasts. I’ve never not worn a ton of make-up. It’s an extension of your personality and mood and it’s a confidence booster. I do my own make-up every time I go on stage. I think that the process – I wrote a song called "Warpaint" about it - makes me feel like I’m ready.

On the perfect red lip

When I do red lips, I’ll use the Revlon ColorStay Lip Liner in Red not just as a liner but all over, as a base. Then the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Revlon Red on top. I do have a make-up artist I work with for TV appearances and stuff like that. But when it comes to the lips, he hands me the pencil and the lipstick and I always do my lips myself. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve learned over the years. One thing is, if you really can’t have it getting messed up then you should probably keep it to a matt lipstick, you know what I’m saying? After having kids, for me, that’s one of the main things. If I’m in church or whatever and my baby is all over me… next thing you know it’s all over your face. Or the other day we were on The Voice and I was wearing a red glossy lipstick and the guy said: “Can’t you get closer to the microphone?” And I was like: “No actually I can’t, I have gloss on dude!”

On hair

I really do take care of my hair, even more than my face. Because you have to if you’re a blonde. It’s a funny story actually because Blake, my boyfriend, has a ranch in Oklahoma, and the water there is like, out of a well. I said: “Ok I guess we’re going to have to break up if you don’t put soft water into the system because I’m not going to have any hair anymore...” I mean, it’s gonna break! So we just got the soft water, and I was like, hallelujah! But you really do have to take care of it. When I first went blonde, that was my favourite beauty experiment from the time I was in No Doubt. I’d wanted to do it for so long. I mean I’d done like grocery store frosting kits and things like that, but to actually go platinum was what I’d dreamed. For me that time period was so emotional - it was right when my boyfriend dumped me, so everything changed. I wrote Tragic Kingdom, and even though we were a band already for nine years, everything went crazy when we released "Just A Girl". But when I went blonde I felt like: I’m me now.

On nails

These are some of my favourite nails I’ve ever done. They’re tips, acrylic with gel, and then glitter.

On fitness

I do work out. I mean I haven’t lately… I never have time! I feel like working out is important, but having balance is the key to everything. Now I’ve lived this long, I know that for sure!

On beauty icons

I have always drawn from the same source - Old Hollywood. Even on the way here on the plane I watched a Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall movie. I love the style, it fascinates me. When Lauren Bacall comes on she’s so young and so beautiful. The style, the hair, I can’t stop looking, like: “how did she do that to her hair?” It’s true fascination. Anything vintage. My entire room was covered in posters when I was in high school.

It’s interesting, because the music I’ve done throughout my career has basically been about my life. So a lot of those songs were so painful really. And they still are. "Don’t Speak" still is. When I think of that video and of what I was going through at the time… it isn’t a good memory really. It’s not. But because of that heartache it helped me understand I had a gift to write music and it took me around the world and healed so many people, as music does, and so it’s been one of the biggest gifts ever. We all have to go through pain and we all have a cross to bear. That has been mine. But I do still feel those feelings now. And in terms of what’s next… I never know what’s going to happen next. I’d love to do The Voice again, it’s such a fun show to be on. And I’d like to do more music but I don’t know how yet. I would love to write a musical. I definitely want to write, I just don’t know where I’m going to put it.

On London

I haven’t been in London for four years and my life has changed so much in that time. I got off the plane and I know it sounds weird but the smell of London is very specific… I was like, wow! It’s absolutely beautiful here - the architecture, how old it is, the way the city is set up… I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for bands like Madness and the Selecter, when we were growing up. It was called the British Invasion, every band from The Cure to Depeche Mode, all the ska bands… it was an amazing time. Crazy dance music… it defined who I am. It’s an amazing place that great music comes from.