Interview with Una Healy

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Healy describes her style as 'dressy casual'

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She's a highstreet girl at heart

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Loved dabbling in dress design

The singer certainly knows a thing or two about fashion and beauty as a member of the stylish girlband, so it was the perfect opportunity to get the lowdown on beautifying in a rush, favourite places to shop and her individual style.

Sarah McIntyre: You're back in Ireland to launch the Diet Coke Love it Light Tour, what does it feel like to be back home?

Una Healy: It's lovely to be back home. I'm proud to be asked to do something as big as this, it's a huge compliment and I hope I do a good job to promote it as well.

SMI: Getting glammed up is part of your job, do you find it a chore or do you love it?

UH: Today it's fine because it's just myself, but when we do shows it's five girls and say you have to be on camera at 8/9am, sometimes we have to leave our houses at four in the morning because there are so many of us to get ready in one tiny little claustrophobic room. Sometimes that can be a bit tough, so it's actually mostly a chore! You have to sit there and go through the whole hair and makeup and sometimes you just go "I wish I could just do it myself" but it wouldn't look as good!

SMI: So do you give yourself days off where you don't wear any makeup?

UH: I always wear a little bit, I've always been that way, I never don't wear any at all. I put a bit of base on and maybe a bit of mascara but I don't wear an awful lot in my own time.

SMI: Do you think as someone in the public eye that you feel pressure to look perfectly groomed all the time?

UH: No, I think I just feel pressure as a person, I've always been that way. In case you meet a friend or a guy you fancy, you know years ago, you like to look well, as best I can. Not to look shocking anyway! Of course they want to find a picture of you out there where you're not looking so good, you have to be aware of that too. Sometimes we arrive at places and the paparazzi are waiting and we all look at each other going, "Oh no!" because we're all in our tracksuits and we're thinking "What are we gonna do we have to walk out like this now." So there is a bit of pressure to always have a bit of makeup in your bag to put some on if you don't have enough on.

SMI: So obviously you have to beautify in a hurry then, have you any tips for our readers?

UH: Always pick a foundation to match your skintone. A lot of people pick colours that are wrong for them, and that's very important to get the right foundation. And after that a nice lipgloss or lipstick and some mascara, it's very simple.

SMI: What are your essential products that you always carry around in your handbag?

UH: My Luminous Silk Armani foundation, I swear by that, I just love that. I also have a little blusher, and powder, eyeliner, mascara and lipgloss.

SMI: You recently designed a range of dresses for Rare with The Saturdays, did you enjoy doing that?

UH: Yeah it was a nice little adventure outside the music. We're really into fashion in loads of different ways, from what we wear to premieres and onstage and things like that. I'd love to get into doing something like that.

SMI: Do you think that could be something you'd pursue in a few years?

UH: Well, I don't know if I'd be a professional or anything like that but maybe have a look into doing some more of that sort of thing, it is great.

SMI: And do you and The Saturdays work with a stylist?

UH: Yeah our stylist is called Robert Morrison and he's really creative as well as a really cool guy. He knows what suits each one of us and he's strongly bringing back our colour theme because that's what people loved about us. You'll probably notice that a lot when we tour.

SMI: Do you find you all have a lot of individual input in how you look as well?

UH: Yeah we do, because even if we might be all wearing the same dress we customize it to suit yourself. We like to be individual as well. But we're very individual outside the band. We have to look like a band when you're styled together, it's a collective thing whereas we get the chance to experiment in whatever we want to wear ourselves outside of that.

SMI: How would you describe your style?

UH: I'm very dressy-casual. I don't dress down too much but I don't really dress up for a normal day. You can wear a t-shirt and jeans but once you have a pair of heels on it's glamourous straight away. I like to wear all the sandals that are in now for the summer, and flip-flops, and mostly jeans and vest tops and maxi dresses.

SMI: Where's your favourite place to shop?

UH: I love the highstreet because it's so affordable because once we wear something in a picture it's difficult to wear it again because it looks like you never change out of that outfit. I don't spend too much on my everyday clothes, and we're lucky as well because designers will lend us clothes to wear for special events. So I like Topshop, Urban Oufitters, All Saints and that kind of thing.

SMI: And are there any designers that you particularly love?

UH: I don't really get to wear a lot of top designers and to be 100% honest with you, I don't even know any their names because I'm not out there wearing any designer names, I'm a high street girl that's just the way I am. I do like designer handbags and shoes but I don't have any top designer dresses.

SMI: You were in the top twenty of FHM's sexiest list this year, were you flattered by that?

UH: I was a bit surprised and that, but at the same time you have to take it with a pinch of salt, it's flattering and it's nice to be Irish in there because there's not too many Irish girls in there. It was flattering and all that but I don't take it too seriously!

SMI: You're have a famous rugby player boyfriend, do you find it hard to be a couple in the public eye or do you keep a low profile?

UH: We don't shove our relationship in people's faces and things like that. Sometimes when we go certain places we'll be pictured together, but he's a rugby player and all that but it's not the same as if I was going out with a footballer. The girlfriends and wives and all that, it's not the same as it is in the football world it's more down to earth to be honest. We're not like that, we're not a glitzy showbiz couple. He's very talented at what he does and he takes a lot of interest in what I do, and we lead a very normal life.

SMI: Finally, what's in store for you next?

UH: We have a single out called 'Missing You' on the 9th of August and we just shot the video for that in Spain which will be premiered on our website this Saturday. Then we have a mini album coming out at the end of August, loads of summer shows all over the UK , performing all the time, and that's it really! And we have a book coming out in September, an autobiography about who we were before the band, how we got into the band and how it's been until now.