Kelly Rowland on Loving Yourself

As told to Bridgette Bartlett

Kelly Rowland

Grammy-winning songstress Kelly Rowland stopped by the ESSENCE offices recently and we decided to pick the brain of this long-legged beauty to get her take on love and life. Oh, and lip gloss, too. The solo star is currently taking up residence at the number one spot on the U.K.’s Billboard charts with her catchy dance single, “When Love Takes Over.” Read on to find out how this southern belle learned to embrace her mocha skin, why flossing is very important to her, and how breaking out from Destiny’s Child helped her grow into her womanhood.

Haute Health
The pop princess carries a pack of disposable dental floss in her purse. Here’s why:
“I did the Red Dress Fashion Show for NY Fashion Week and I learned so much about heart disease. It got me to thinking about how much African-American women floss and how the tartar buildup can directly affect your heart. African-American women have one of the highest rates of heart disease. Now, I make sure to use my dental floss often. Flossing and teeth brushing is just as important as one’s diet.”

Color Struck
With growth comes great change, says the singer of learning to accept her deep brown skin color. “Ms. Tina (Knowles) would stand me in front of the mirror and tell me how beautiful I was. She would say to me, ‘Girl, I wish I was your complexion!’ She would just tell me how beautiful I was. I used to compare myself to other Destiny’s Child members and think, I don’t have this like Beyoncé or I don’t have that like Michelle. Now, I want to make sure that when I have children they have a mirror in their room and every morning I will tell them how beautiful they are, too. Those little things really, really count and I was very blessed to have another mother in Tina.”

Style Star
The stylista arrived to our offices rocking a beige mini, a white tank, a denim jacket with bow detail and platform peep-toe pumps and a yellow clutch both by Giuseppe Zanotti Design. “My name is Kelly Rowland and I have a shoe problem,” admitted the diva without cracking a smile. In addition to designer footwear, Rowland says she enjoys catching bargains at London’s popular high street stores like Top Shop. She also loves to wear black and revealed that her stylist is trying to gradually get her to embrace color. She rarely goes far without her Jo Malone Vitamin E infused lip conditioner to keep her lips moist and kissable.

Body Conscious
The older I got I started to like my body because as a kid I was the skinny kid. I didn’t have breasts, I didn’t have a butt. In the south, all the girls are stacked. Now I exercise to be healthy, not to be obsessed about weight.

Reinvention Rules
Because I had been in Destiny’s Child for so long, I had to train myself to say “I” and not “me.” Reinvention is a state of mind—I truly believe that. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting a haircut or maybe it’s adding some hair in. It’s doing something out of the norm for you. Like, I took a risk by doing a dance record. I wouldn’t let anyone label me as just an urban R&B artist. Don’t put me in a box. I don’t belong in a box. I want to spread my wings and try whatever it is I want to try.