Rosalía on Beauty Lessons, Ice Cream, and How Home Smells Like Beer

Plus, the lipstick that's always in her bag.

Our series The One Thing is a Sparknotes version of the products, rituals, and moments your favorite celebrities and influencers swear by—their go-tos, must-haves, and can’t-live-withouts. So go ahead—take a brief, intimate peek into the lives of your favorites through the things (and people, and moments) they hold dear.

More often than not, when we think about our favorite artists and celebrities, we idealize them so intently that the one thing that connects them to the rest of us—their humanity—melts away. Rosalía, however, is intent on that never happening, granting us access to a piece of herself through her music.

The Spanish singer is a force whose music speaks for itself—literally. Her prose is filled with Easter eggs and lessons about life, love, and everything that shows up in between. Messages that can almost feel like spying due to their personal nature—even if you don't understand her lyrics, you can feel the emotions through the soundwaves that radiate from her work.

It’s safe to say that this is one of the main reasons that not only has her music resonated with so many, but has led her to become a taste-maker in every sense of the word. Thanks to her unique fashion sense—ranging from Motomami leather jackets and minis to anime-inspired sailor collars and fuzzy hats—and her notable beauty looks, Rosalía’s style card never declines. And Lancôme agrees.

The brand has partnered with the icon as the face of their signature fragrance, La Vie Eest Belle, translating to “life is beautiful”, a sentiment that becomes clear when connecting to Rosalía’s music. In honor of the collaboration, we spoke with the singer and touched on everything from how she tends to her mental health to the lip product that's always in her bag.

The One Thing She Looks For in a Fragrance

"That only by just putting on the perfume my friends—even if they haven’t actually seen me yet—know I have arrived. But overall, I look for a scent that once people smell it, they won’t want to leave."

The One Way La Vie Est Belle Makes Her Feel

"La Vie Est Belle makes me feel like I’m floating on a field of jasmine."

The Way She'd Describe Herself to Someone She's Never Met

"I’d rather avoid describing myself and would instead propose we spend time together so that they could actually get to know me, and maybe that would help them come up with an answer to this difficult question! Or, I’d just tell them to ask one of my friends to describe me, just to see what they’d say."

The One Thing That Smells Like Home

"Definitely the smell of olive oil, gasoline, and beer."

The Best Advice She's Ever Gotten

"To not be in a rush and to have faith."

Her One Studio Essential

"My laptop because that's where I have my lyrics and my sound libraries. I'll die if I lose it."

The One Beauty Tip That Changed Her Life

"Everyone has their own thing. I’m not sure if this is really helpful, but I think that the most beautiful people I know don’t really give a fuck—maybe there's something in just not worrying about it."

The One Thing That Helps Pull Her Out of a Rut

"Knowing that just like that energy comes, it will also go. The same day it comes could be the same day it ends. Meditating definitely gives me perspective, eating an ice cream brings me joy, and moving my body gets rid of the bad energy. "

The One Thing She Does Before Bed

"I make myself a pineapple peel tea, put on a little show or series, and have my boyfriend hug me."

The One Beauty Product Always In her Bag

"My cool brown lipstick."

The One Thing That Makes Her Feel Most Herself

"Singing. Whenever I sing, I feel my chest literally and figuratively open. When I sing, I see myself and I see others, and if I’m not singing from an honest place, my voice doesn’t sound the way that it should. Singing is shaking the air and placing your heart on a platter. For those reasons, I feel more like myself when I sing than in other moments in my life. I think I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember because it’s my way of being in the world.

The One Thing She'd Tell Her Younger Self

"If right now I could tell my six-year-old self something, I’d tell her to keep jumping around and having fun like always."

Where She Finds Inspiration

"Anything can be a good excuse for inspiration: Monet’s paintings, talking to my grandmother, walking through the forest, Miles Davis records, Egusi soup with fufu, the story of Chavela Bargas (and her voice too), the people who spend their lives perfecting something, the sky when it’s clear, my mom, my sister, a BMW from the '90s, orchids, [the film] El Ladrón de Orquídeas or just giving someone I love orchids and seeing their face light up."

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