“When something happens in the world, people have this immediate reaction of having to speak their mind. I think knowledge is much more important than knee-jerk reaction. I think it should be more appreciated to learn about something and then express your opinion about it,” Dua Lipa told Dazed in a Zoom interview from New York.

This belief is at the core of Lipa’s Service95 cultural platform (newsletter, podcast and book club). “We’re giving information so people can learn about different things that I think are important to know about, and we’re making activism accessible. That’s the central idea behind it, to bring information and then let people decide for themselves,” he stressed. One of the biggest pop stars today opened up about the platform and more: her new Loveshine lipstick collection, changing her hair color and what it was like asking Apple’s Tim Cook tough questions about child abuse work.

Her relationship with YSL Beauty spans years, and Lipa stated that “I’m really into the Saint Laurent woman. I really feel like there’s such a duality in my personal style and that of the Saint Laurent woman; having a strong hyper-feminine side to it, but also having a masculine energy to it.”

Of the Loveshine collection she said: “Okay, I’m just a big fan of lipsticks in general. If I wasn’t wearing any kind of makeup, lipstick was the only thing I couldn’t leave the house without.” And yes, over the years her relationship with make-up has changed: “I think when I was younger I was experimenting with make-up, all make-up, trying to find out what worked on me, really dark brows and lots of mascara. It has evolved, now I try to look for ways to simply highlight my features. I believe that less is more”.

Why did she dye her hair red? “I like a change. I think it’s always fun. It feels like a new beginning. Also because I just started putting out new music and when I was in the studio working on the songs I just felt like I was really resonating with the color red…

When I was younger, my mom always had red hair. And I feel like it goes naturally with my skin tone and I feel really good about it,” she shared.

For Service95, she explained that before her music career she had a blog: “It was called Dua Daily, where I would post my compilations or what I was up to or share my suggestions. It’s always been a part of my life, something I’ve always loved to do. I love making lists and discovering new things. This (by Service95) is a much more polished and professional version, where I commission stories from around the world. I’m constantly learning new things. I’m discovering so much alongside this whole Service95 team and with my fans and listeners. I feel like it just gave me such a different perspective on the world.”

She recently interviewed Tim Cook on her podcast and was the first to ask him directly about child labor at Apple. How did it feel to ask these difficult questions and hold the other accountable? “First of all I feel very fortunate that Tim was open to having a conversation with me. I think I’d be doing myself and everyone else a disservice if I didn’t ask the hard questions, and even if they’re hard I think it’s something we should just talk about more freely. Tim was super generous and open and ready and willing to answer my questions, whatever they were. I do not know. I think conversations are important and having difficult conversations is just a big part of life, and we need to have them,” she replied.