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" Q: How important was your appearance growing up? A: I wasn&amp;#039;t one of the quote-unquote pretty girls that everybody paid attention to, so I focused on finding beauty in other ways to show who I was. Of course, when you&amp;#039;re a kid, that doesn&amp;#039;t feel good enough, but now it feels perfect. Q: What was your first makeup experience? A: I ate my mother&amp;#039;s lipstick &amp;#039;cause I thought it would taste like cherry \u2014 it was red, but it did not taste like cherry at all. And to this day, when I get lipstick on my teeth, I have that flashback.  Q: Who were your beauty heroines back then? A: You know, Betty Rubble was supposedly the pretty, younger one, but I thought Wilma Flintstone was great.  Q: And now? A: My wife, Portia \u2014 she inspires me. But I&amp;#039;ve finally gotten to that place where I don&amp;#039;t want to be like anyone else.   Q: When did that change for you? A: In the past seven years. When I came out [in 1997], it was the beginning of the process of realizing that I could be proud of myself in all aspects.  Q: Any advice for the American Idol contestants? A: It&amp;#039;s a very hard place to get to, but find who you are and embrace that.  Q: How did you feel when CoverGirl asked you to be a spokesmodel? A: Excited. I thought, What an amazing company to think outside the box like that.  Q: What&amp;#039;s your preshow routine? A: Have you ever been in a fire station when the alarm goes off? When it&amp;#039;s showtime, there are people who put on my shoes and my pants and my hair and my makeup.  Q: And off-camera? A: I&amp;#039;ve never liked the painted-face look. When people see me without makeup, I look very similar to ... me.  Q: What beauty products can&amp;#039;t you live without? A: CoverGirl Simply Ageless. No, really \u2014 it looks like you don&amp;#039;t have makeup on. Q: As a woman on the go, what are your travel essentials? A: Portia. She&amp;#039;s tiny, so I can put her in a carry-on. Then I can have my assistant Craig with me \u2014 he&amp;#039;s too big for the overhead. Q: You love to dance. How do you stay fit? A: ThighMaster. Actually, I work out three or four times a week \u2014 cardio and a little yoga, and I&amp;#039;ve been vegan for about a year-and-a-half. It&amp;#039;s given me a lot more energy.  Q: What kind of role does your appearance play when you&amp;#039;re performing? A: I dress and wear makeup the way I feel like. As long as I&amp;#039;m comfortable in my own skin, I feel more confident, and I think confidence is beauty. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/a4040/ellen-degeneres-beauty-advice/>