Alsou is giving away her secrets. Some people are enraptured and others are envious of her. Young teenage girls want to be like her, not only because her impetuous breakthrough at Eurovision 2000, that made her one of the most sought after artists, and also because she is a beautiful woman: Stylish, sexy, a dazzling smile and an admirable figure. So how has she managed to look like this: in beauty salons or is it simply a genuine gift of nature?
- Alsou, when you’re only seventeen, is there any need to pay too much attention to your appearance or does being a star oblige to do so?
- All depends on what I have planned for a particular day. On a regular day basis I prefer less makeup and simple hairstyles. Before concerts, photo sessions and other important meetings it takes much more time: I normally spend not less than an hour just to do my hair and if I don’t like the result, everything has to be redone again, in that case it takes me up to two hours or more , plus an hour for a makeup.
- Do you do your hair yourself or you seek for the help of a professional hairstylist?
- First a hairstylist, then myself if I don’t like what he’s done to me.
- Do you like experimenting with your hair?
- Sure. Is it obvious just by watching my videos. When I was fourteen I tried to color my hair and it became yellow, almost like a chicken. Since then I haven’t been doing coloring myself. Two years ago during performances in Moscow I met Albina Trotskaya, a hairstylist. Now I trust only her to do my hair. In London, where I have been living for many years I go to special boutiques. Have you noticed that my hair is constantly changing its length?
- Yes, it’s really weird to see your hair reaching to the middle of the back when just a month ago they were up to the shoulders.??
- Right, it’s one of the innovations that London boutiques offer.?
-What about your face? Do you trust it to a makeup artist? Or it’s only your hairstylist?
- Earlier I did my own makeup for performances, but lately I almost always go to an makeup artist. Sure, I tell him first in details how I want to see myself and what kind of makeup would be better for my stage persona.?
- Do you create your own stage image?
- Yes. My stage image and my image in general, is not only my hairstyle, makeup and clothes, which is the outer side, but there’s another side also, an inner side of mine and it’s more important: songs, their meaning, my feelings and so on. And sure we have to work on it: me, my producer, composers, engineers, director and even photographers. Yes, I have personal stylists but I’ll repeat myself if I don’t like what I’m offered I will definitely say no would it be a makeup, clothes or a song. I believe that you can’t do something professionally if you don’t enjoy it.?
- Alsou, does English fashion have any influence on your looks?
- I live in London with my older brother Marat and his wife Yulia. Yulia and I often exchange our clothes, happily we have the same size. Actually I don’t like going shopping.?
- It’s not a distinctive trait for a young girl like you.?
- No, I do go shopping sometimes to the supermarket “ Harrods” for example, and not because members of the royal family go there, but I l live near by. Usually I wear jeans and sweaters, all dark blue colors, those are my favorite ones. When going out I wear jeans too, they are tighter. One time in New York I saw a sweater and fell in love with it, I bought four pairs at once. Generally I like clothes by “ Emporio Armani” and “ DKNY “. But lately I prefer outfits from young designers like Gulzhan Stein who live in London and opened up a new boutique in Moscow , “ Image Control “. I don’t really like to differ from the crowd, that’s why I don’t normally wear bright colors, clothes need to be comfortable and not garish. Couple years ago, being a blonde I wore only black and gray outfits, although I love bright stuff that a friend of mine, future designer makes. He buys casual jeans, embroiders it with stones and then paint it.?
- Oh, you’re totally like a normal teenager, you talk about jeans all the time!?
- I am an average college teenager in London, and like all my contemporaries I just love going out to the club. Sometimes my close friend and I go to the “ Bar Madrid “ where it’s hot, dirty, loud music playing and everybody smokes. No one pays attention how you’re dressed, you can even go in your pajamas and nobody would care much about it. We order some cocktails and have lots of fun.?
- I bet you have to exercise a lot too after partying like this…?
- I try to take care of myself and go to the gym 2-3 times a week, run, do exercises on machines and the most pleasant procedure is a two hour long massage. I have a special trainer nutritionist who guides my exercises. I normally do exercises to increase endurance and my trainer watches me doing them the right way, so there would be no overload. Moreover, every day I do exercises with dumb-bells and stretching exercises at home.??
- That’s what makes you look so astounding!?
- Yes, you’re right, figure really requires sacrifices. What else can I do if I love Italian cuisine so much, especially lasagna, which has a lot of calories. I even have to be on a diet from time to time.?
- Do you mean fruits and salads? - there is no A here also! I do not grow thin from lettuces 4. I have its own diet, which 4 itself invented the pair of years ago, when me greatly it was desirable to throw out several kilograms. It helped. - share with secret! - my diet - chocolate. - A - A, it is understandable, this you have the English humor of such! - no, I speak absolutely seriously. During one day it is possible to eat two batonchika of chocolate on 40 grams and to drink only coffee with the degreased milk. - precisely coffee? - coffee dulls a feeling of hunger. Effect very strong, pover'te from this diet, but for long 4 so maintain I cannot, a total of several days. It then again wants lazan'i. But generally I try to attentively relate to its nourishment. In my ration, as a rule, there are many dairy products. I adore our glazed syrki and yogurty. But it is desirable so that they would be degreased. And certainly I try to eat a little more the fruits: garnets, oranges, bananas. - To alsu, you always appear such tanned... - to light up greatly I love for me the best place of leisure it is that, where there are much sun, sand and sea. But there is no time frequently to light up on the beach; therefore I walk into the solarium. It pleases itself me by winter and to in summer be one color - brown. - in the clip "sometimes" in you on the hand stands in beauty tattooing. - it not present, but was stuck specially for the surveys of clip. In a day it itself washed off. I know that tattooing now in the mode, but i them do not have any, 4 not supporters of patterns on the tele -. Although on some girls to me it is pleasant to see tatu. - what you have beautiful manicure! - o, this French. France greatly pleases myself me, 4 there already three times it was. Here and manicure from there, I try to now always make similar. - To alsu, you still such young, where you do be going to learn further? - after completion of college 4, most likely, I will take yr for the meditations above my further fate. It can be, I will learn to the architect, I will enter into the artistic. The college, in which I learn, also artistic. - you do love to sketch? - from the childhood. 4 I now sketch still life, portraits. Recently it tried to work in the style, close to the impressionism. It is interesting, appears some extraordinary ease in the works. If we not to smog make the serious career of singer, to camp by a designer. No, not clothing. Anything other. - evil languages assert that with such a dad as in you (father To alsu - first Vice President of the company Lukoyl of Ralif Safin), one cannot fail to make the quarries of singer. Those more with this voice. - yes moreover here father? It pleases itself, as I give to drink listen to, it does not please itself do not listen to. Here and everything. My parents completely and did not try to make from me a singer. Simply all knew that I love to sing. When guests home came to us, they requested me to ripen. 4 it sang. But seriously to my enthusiasm parents began to relate very recently, after "Euro-vision". Thus far they hoped that everything will manage. - that, they did not want you to become the singer? - not in this the matter. Simply variety stars are very frequently unhappy in the personal life. My parents feared precisely this. - A that for you this happiness? - so that for the man it would be possible and to quarry to make, and to find happiness in the family. Greatly it is desirable to find its second half. And so that the parents would live for long and happy. This 4 and to your readers it would wish, yes even to all people.

Alsou is giving away her secrets.
Some people are enraptured and others are envious of her. Young teenage girls want to be like her, not only because her impetuous breakthrough at Eurovision 2000, that made her one of the most sought after artists, and also because she is a beautiful woman: Stylish, sexy, a dazzling smile and an admirable figure. So how has she managed to look like this: in beauty salons or is it simply a genuine gift of nature?
- Alsou, when you’re only seventeen, is there any need to pay too much attention to your appearance or does being a star oblige to do so?
- All depends on what I have planned for a particular day. On a regular day basis I prefer less makeup and simple hairstyles. Before concerts, photo sessions and other important meetings it takes much more time: I normally spend not less than an hour just to do my hair and if I don’t like the result, everything has to be redone again, in that case it takes me up to two hours or more , plus an hour for a makeup.
- Do you do your hair yourself or you seek for the help of a professional hairstylist?
- First a hairstylist, then myself if I don’t like what he’s done to me.
- Do you like experimenting with your hair?
- Sure. Is it obvious just by watching my videos. When I was fourteen I tried to color my hair and it became yellow, almost like a chicken. Since then I haven’t been doing coloring myself. Two years ago during performances in Moscow I met Albina Trotskaya, a hairstylist. Now I trust only her to do my hair. In London, where I have been living for many years I go to special boutiques. Have you noticed that my hair is constantly changing its length?
- Yes, it’s really weird to see your hair reaching to the middle of the back when just a month ago they were up to the shouldersn Stein who live in London and opened up a new boutique in Moscow , “ Image Control “. I don’t really like to differ from the crowd, that’s why I don’t normally wear bright colors, clothes need to be comfortable and not garish. Couple years ago, being a blonde I wore only black and gray outfits, although I love bright stuff that a friend of mine, future designer makes. He buys casual jeans, embroiders it with stones and then paint it.
- Oh, you’re totally like a normal teenager, you talk about jeans all the time!
- I am an average college teenager in London, and like all my contemporaries I just love going out to the club. Sometimes my close friend and I go to the “ Bar Madrid “ where it’s hot, dirty, loud music playing and everybody smokes. No one pays attention how you’re dressed, you can even go in your pajamas and nobody would care much about it. We order some cocktails and have lots of fun.
- I bet you have to exercise a lot too after partying like this…
- I try to take care of myself and go to the gym 2 -3 times a week, run, do exercises on machines and the most pleasant procedure is a two hour long massage. I have a special trainer nutritionist who guides my exercises. I normally do exercises to increase endurance and my trainer watches me doing them the right way, so there would be no overload. Moreover, every day I do exercises with dumb -bells and stretching exercises at home.
- That’s what makes you look so astounding!
- Yes, you’re right, figure really requires sacrifices. What else can I do if I love Italian cuisine so much, especially lasagna, which has a lot of calories. I even have to be on a diet from time to time.
- Do you mean fruits and salads?
- No, It may sound odd but I don’t lose weight on salads, I have my own diet that I created a couple years ago when I wanted to drop off some kilograms. It did help.
- Then share your secret with us!
- My diet is chocolate.
- Ok, I got it. It’s your English sense of humor, right?
- No, I’m absolutely serious. You need to eat two bars of chocolate, forty grams each and to drink only coffee with fat -free milk.
- Only coffee?
- Yeah, Coffee lessens your sense of hunger. This diet gives you a great effect, but I can’t stand it for too long, just for couple days and then I want lasagna again. In general, I try to be careful with what I eat. My diet consists of lots of milk products, I love Russian sweet cheese with chocolate frosting and yogurts, it’s better if they are fat free. And of course I try to consume more fruits: oranges, pomegranates and bananas.
- Alsou, you always look so bronzed…
- I love taking sun baths. One of the best rest places for me is there where I can find a lot of sunlight, the sand and the sea. Unfortunately I don’t have time for going to the beach, that’s why I go to a tanning bed. I like to be the same color all year around.
- There’s a tattoo on your arm in the “ Inogda “ video.
- This fake tattoo was specially made for the shooting of the video. It washed off in a day. I know it seems to be very fashionable to have tattoos, but I don’t have them, I am not into that kind of decorations of the body, although I like seeing tattoos on some girls.
- What a beautiful manicure have you!
- Oh, it’s a French style. Now I try to do my nails the same way. Actually I like France very much, I have already been there 3 times.
- Alsou, you’re still so young, are you going to continue your education?
- After having graduated college I’ll probably take a year off to think about my next step. Maybe I’ll study for a architect and go to an art school. The college that I’m studying now is an art college too.
- Do you like painting?
- Ever since I was a little girl. Now I paint portraits and still lives. Recently I have tried to work in the style similar to impressionism. It’s interesting, there’s some kind of extraordinary lightness in paintings. If I can’t get success as a good singer, I’ll be a designer, but not a clothing designer, something else.
- Evil gossip says that everybody can be a star with the dad like yours ( Ralif Safin is a fist vice president of the oil company “Lukojl“ ) and especially with the voice like yours.
- What does it have to do with my father? If you don’t like how I sing, then don’t listen. it’s as simple as that. My parents didn’t try to make a singer out of me. Everybody knew that I love singing. When we had guests at home, they asked me to sing and I did. At first my parents didn’t take my singing seriously. It came only after Eurovision 2000, before they thought that everything would come to pass.
- They didn’t want you to be a singer, did they?
-It’s not about singing, they believed that stars are very unhappy in their private lives, they just didn’t want it to happen to me.
- What is happiness for you?
- It’s when you have managed to achieve your career goals and formed a happy family. I really want to find my significant other. And I wish my parents live long and happily, as I wish you and all your readers.

- W h a t a b e a u t i f u l m a n i c u r e h a v e y o u !
- O h , i t ' s a F r e n c h s t y l e . N o w I t r y t o d o m y n a i l s t h e
s a m e w a y . A c t u a l l y I l i k e F r a n c e v e r y m u c h , I h a v e a l r e a d
y b e e n t h e r e 3 t i m e s .
- A l s o u , y o u ' r e s t i l l s o y o u n g , a r e y o u g o i n g t o c o n t i n u
e y o u r e d u c a t i o n ?

- A f t e r h a v i n g g r a d u a t e d c o l l e g e I ' l l p r o b a b l y t a k e a y e
a r o f f t o t h i n k a b o u t m y n e x t s t e p . M a y b e I ' l l s t u d y f o r
a a r c h i t e c t a n d g o t o a n a r t s c h o o l . T h e c o l l e g e t h a t I ' m
s t u d y i n g n o w i s a n a r t c o l l e g e t o o .
- D o y o u l i k e p a i n t i n g ?
- E v e r s i n c e I w a s a l i t t l e g i r l . N o w I p a i n t p o r t r a i t s
a n d s t i l l l i v e s . R e c e n t l y I h a v e t r i e d t o w o r k i n t h e s t y
l e s i m i l a r t o i m p r e s s i o n i s m . I t ' s i n t e r e s t i n g , t h e r e ' s s o
m e k i n d o f e x t r a o r d i n a r y l i g h t n e s s i n p a i n t i n g s . I f I c a n
' t g e t s u c c e s s a s a g o o d s i n g e r , I ' l l b e a d e s i g n e r , b u t
n o t a c l o t h i n g d e s i g n e r , s o m e t h i n g e l s e .
- E v i l g o s s i p s a y s t h a t e v e r y b o d y c a n b e a s t a r w i t h t h e
d a d l i k e y o u r s ( R a l i f S a f i n i s a f i s t v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f
t h e o i l c o m p a n y  L u k o j l  ) a n d e s p e c i a l l y w i t h t h e v o i c e
l i k e y o u r s .
- W h a t d o e s i t h a v e t o d o w i t h m y f a t h e r ? I f y o u d o n ' t l
i k e h o w I s i n g , t h e n d o n ' t l i s t e n . i t ' s a s s i m p l e a s t h a t
. M y p a r e n t s d i d n ' t t r y t o m a k e a s i n g e r o u t o f m e . E v e r
y b o d y k n e w t h a t I l o v e s i n g i n g . W h e n w e h a d g u e s t s a t h o
m e , t h e y a s k e d m e t o s i n g a n d I d i d . A t f i r s t m y p a r e n t s
d i d n ' t t a k e m y s i n g i n g s e r i o u s l y . I t c a m e o n l y a f t e r E u r o
v i s i o n 2 0 0 0 , b e f o r e t h e y t h o u g h t t h a t e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d c o
m e t o p a s s .
- T h e y d i d n ' t w a n t y o u t o b e a s i n g e r , d i d t h e y ?
- I t ' s n o t a b o u t s i n g i n g , t h e y b e l i e v e d t h a t s t a r s a r e v e
r y u n h a p p y i n t h e i r p r i v a t e l i v e s , t h e y j u s t d i d n ' t w a n t
i t t o h a p p e n t o m e .
- W h a t i s h a p p i n e s s f o r y o u ?
- I t ' s w h e n y o u h a v e m a n a g e d t o a c h i e v e y o u r c a r e e r g o a l
s a n d f o r m e d a h a p p y f a m i l y . I r e a l l y w a n t t o f i n d m y s i g
n i f i c a n t o t h e r . A n d I w i s h m y p a r e n t s l i v e l o n g a n d h a p p i
l y , a s I w i s h y o u a n d a l l y o u r r e a d e r s .

Translated by Lana for AFP