Paulina Rubio Is Comfortable With Being a Perrisima

To celebrate 30 years as a Latin pop icon, Paulina Rubio will be kicking off her Perrisimas Tour in the U.S. on April 15. The Mexican-born singer is co-headlining with another one of Mexico's great female artists, Alejandra Guzmán. The women, both of who have careers spanning decades, will grace the stage to perform live together for the first time.

Rubio's music career began in the early '80s as a member of the Mexican teen group Timbiriche. In 1992, she went solo with her debut album La Chica Dorada (or "the golden girl," which has since become her nickname), which featured her breakout hit "Mío." Since then, Rubio has reinvented herself, Madonna-style, with every album release. In 2000, she dropped Paulina, which went on to become the top-selling Latin album in the U.S. that year. Among the album's multiple hits, Rubio made her mark in Latin pop culture with the women empowerment anthem "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer."

In 2002, Rubio briefly had a crossover moment with her English-language album Border Girl. The space-age music video for "Don't Say Goodbye" was a staple on MTV's TRL at the time. In the 2010s, she continued her international breakthrough as a judge on The X Factor with Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, and Kelly Rowland. While in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rubio re-examined her career and started taking more control of her next moves. In the music video for her latest single "Yo Soy," she's the captain of her own ship.

That much is apparent, especially when you consider that she and her Perrisima tourmate, Guzmán, were pitted against each other in a media-fueled rivalry during the '90s. Thirty years later, it's a statement that you can't make enemies of two powerful women. That's kind of the spirit of the word, perrisima, which roughly translates to reclamation of the word perra, or bitch. The modern connotation is slang for a fierce woman.

As Rubio roars into a new era of her career, she speaks to Allure about her legacy, the beauty products she swears by, and her hotly-anticipated tour.

ALLURE: 2022 marks the 30th year of your solo career. What have you learned about yourself in that time?

PR: That I'm stronger than I thought before. I've learned through the moments that made me a better person. I know myself better. I am more comfortable in my skin than before. I am more secure than when I was 18 for sure. I can be in the here and now instead of thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow or how can I change what happened yesterday. That is not as important anymore. I learned to honor the present. That is the only thing we have.

ALLURE: What inspired you to team up with Alejandra Guzmán for the Perrisimas Tour?

Paulina Rubio: After the quarantine, I tried to think more about what I didn't do in the past. I don't want to repeat myself. I had a lot of time to be introspective and work on myself in different ways. Not just on the physical, but on a spiritual level and beyond. Alejandra and I had an opportunity to get together. We're going to rock the world and satisfy all our fans while trying to break the mold.

ALLURE: What does the word "perrismas" mean to you?

PR: "Perrismas" means dressing the way you feel. Perrismas means loving the way you feel. Perrismas means being who you are. Perrismas means doing whatever you want if you feel it and going for it.

ALLURE: What are some of your go-to makeup products to use on tour?

PR: Recently, I've been using a lot of Armani because their formulas are amazing for me. [I especially like] their pencil eyeliners — the formula is really lovely. The mascara I love is waterproof and it's called Better Than Sex. I also love Make Up For Ever and have been using Shiseido. I love Shiseido foundations because they're very thin but at the same time, they have a high SPF. Because I'm always in the sun in Miami, I need coverage.

Giorgio Armani

Smooth Silk Eye Pencil

$30

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Too Faced

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara

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Nordstrom

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Ulta Beauty

$29

Sephora

Shiseido

Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Foundation SPF 30

$47

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Sebastian

Potion 9

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ALLURE: What's about your hair? What do you use to maintain it?