Demi Lovato speaks up: Bye-bye bullies, hello beautiful

The first thing you notice when you sit down next to Demi Lovato is how utterly gorgeous she is. The second? How she's one of those wonderful celebrities whose outer beauty most definitely translates to inner beauty. We had the pleasure of sitting down with the new The X Factor judge to chat about how she's working with Secret Deodorant to stomp out bullying. And of course, we got her to share a few beauty tips for you, too!

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the new The X Factor judge to chat about how she's working with Secret Deodorant to stomp out bullying. And of course, I got her to share a few beauty tips for you, too!

SheKnows: I love the idea of the Mean Stinks Movement. So tell me a little bit more about it and how you're getting involved!

Demi Lovato: Joining with Secret to encourage young girls to be drama free, to just support one another and to raise the awareness of how serious bullying actually is has been an awesome opportunity. It’s a movement and we’re just trying to get girls to gang up for good instead of ganging up on one another.

SheKnows: You guys seem to have some fun ways of getting young girls involved in the movement, like the pinky promise. Tell me a little bit more about that and the other resources you're offering to girls.

Lovato: We’re encouraging girls to [take part in] the pinky promise -- painting your pinky blue... It’s kind of a conversation starter, which is incredible. We’ve actually had thousands of girls pledge that they’re going to make a difference in their schools and their friends and they’re just not going to bully one another, and that’s pretty incredible. But we have the website meanstinks.com and it's a website that has resources for young girls that are being bullied or that have been bullied. They can talk to one another and relate to one another and there's a lot of advice on there, so I think it’s really helpful.

SheKnows: A lot of bullying revolves around appearance, and you've been pretty open about your experience being bullied and dealing with body images issues. With that in mind, what advice would you give to young girls who might be dealing with a body bully?

Lovato: I think it’s so heartbreaking to see one girl tell another girl that she’s fat or whatever. I think that’s not something that anyone should ever call another person, especially in a society and culture where there's so much pressure put on women to look a certain way -- and guys too. So I think that when a girl’s getting [bullied] she needs to speak up about it for sure, talk to somebody about it so she doesn’t internalize it and it comes out in ways that are destructive behaviors towards herself.

What helped me is I tried to understand where the bully was coming from. And if they’re calling you fat, then maybe they’re thinking the same things about themselves, maybe they’re going through something at home. They obviously learned that somewhere, so just try to understand the person. And some people you won’t be able to understand why they’re doing it. But what kind of helps, sometimes I pray for my enemies just because it helps shine them in a different light in my head.

SheKnows: You're a new judge on The X Factor, so how's that going and what has been the biggest surprise about the experience so far?

Lovato: Going into it was so crazy -- I mean it literally happened at the perfect timing in my life. It was amazing to find out one that I got it and two that I was going to be sitting next to Britney Spears. It was just a dream come true. I think something that's surprised me is how dedicated I am to really helping these contestants, especially the ones in my group. They show up in my dreams all the time because I'm always thinking about them and I'm always hoping that they're doing well and that they're doing the best they can do. I'm coming up with ideas for the live shows and so I'm so excited for them. It's going to be a really great experience!

SheKnows: You always have such versatile beauty looks! What are some of your favorite brands or specific looks you like to experiment with?

Lovato: I love to just play with my hair! Literally, it was pink, blue and green this summer and now I'm really blonde. It's just fun! I don't really rebel a lot in my life so my hair is something I rebel with and just kind of make stupid, impulsive decisions with it that turn out to be fun. It keeps it exciting!

I don't really use a ton of makeup, especially day to day [but] I love NARS lipsticks, especially the ones that look like gel pencils that stay on for forever. Benefit has a really great mascara called They're Real -- it's my favorite -- and Bobbi Brown has a shimmer palette which makes your skin look like it glows. It's really pretty.

SheKnows: You have such a cool sense of style! What are some of the brands that make you feel confident in your skin?

Lovato: I'm wearing a lot of Topshop right now! Everything I'm wearing [today] is Topshop. It's really great and they're coming out with some incredible stuff this fall that I'm so excited to wear! They have something for all body types, which is really great, and things that I feel comfortable wearing day to day, and also for things like today where I need to be a little casual-dressy.

Sometimes there are places where you just walk around and you're like "This is not meant for a girl with curves!" but Topshop can help with that, they appeal to everybody.

SheKnows: What's the best beauty advice you've ever received?

Lovato: I don't think that it's something that was given to me, I think it's something that I learned on my own with my experiences. Instead of trying to squeeze into dresses and jeans and things that are going to make you feel uncomfortable all day, wear stuff that you feel great in because it totally shows when you're uncomfortable in an outfit. And when you're comfortable, you're more relaxed, you're more easygoing and more approachable, and you're probably going to smile more.

Our guide to dressing for your body type >>

SheKnows: To feel comfortable in your skin and feel beautiful, it helps to have positive role models. Who are some celebrities you admire that have promoted positive body image?

Lovato: The main person that I always looked to growing up was Kelly Clarkson. She's a Southern Texas girl, which I am too…. When I started getting curves, I was so scared at first and my mom just told me "Look at people that have normal figures, not the girls that are teeny tiny and that's all they worry about." Kelly Clarkson is a perfect example [of someone] who's not a teeny tiny girl and she has this incredible voice and she's successful, so it's really inspiring to look up to that.

Also Jennifer Hudson, she promotes a really healthy lifestyle now and she has beautiful curves. Beyonce, she has beautiful, beautiful curves and she's just confident in her skin. Kim and Khloe Kardashian, too. All these women are healthy and yet they're encouraging people to get healthy and not shrink down to a size that isn't meant for them. It's really inspiring to see girls just accept the body they're in and rock it.

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