Victoria Beckham: 'I’m not as serious or as grumpy as I look'

Havin g established her eponymous fashion label in 2008, the former Spice Girl has just expanded her empire with the launch of Victoria Beckham Beauty, which aims to offer cleanly formulated, high-performance make-up solutions. We met the fashion entrepreneur last month, when she visited Dubai for Mall of the Emirates' annual World of Fashion Showcase. I am actually very excited to be waking up in Dubai tomorrow, because even though it is a very short trip, it's nice to be somewhere different. I don't travel that much – I like to be at home with the children and I work in my studio every day. So it's nice to wake up somewhere new and surround yourself with different people and different things . It wo uld be in London, with my family, having Sunday dinner. Which we do every Sunday, all six of us. I don 't read as much as I'd like to, unless I'm travelling. But the last book I really enjoyed, which was quite a long time ago, was actually A Little Life [ by Hanya Yanagihara]. It's a big book, but a great book. That was one I really enjoyed. I thi nk I dress in a way that suits me. It's never too complicated, quite simple, good shapes. Proba bly a tuxedo jacket. You are really going to get your wear out of something like that , and it's important to invest in a great tuxedo with a good shape – something that's going to last a long time. I don 't like to say anything's a no-no – because then I get called out when I wear it! I once said that I'd never wear a crop top, but then I started working with Reebok and I have to say, I love a crop top in the gym, so what are you going to do? It wo uld probably be from Diane v on Furstenberg. I was sitting next to her at a Harper's [ Bazaar ] dinner in London, and I was asking her how she coped with having a career and also having a family, and did she ever feel guilty? And she said: 'Absolutely not. Never feel guilty. All that does is make you feel old.' She just said: 'I always try to be the best mum and the best professional, and you can only do your best.' And really, feeling guilty is counterproductive . So that was good advice – from a woman that I have such respect for, for all the obvious reasons. Just to really enjoy the journey. Which, to be honest, I have. I have gone from music to fashion and am now venturing into beauty, which I'm very , very excited about. To be really educating myself, and sharing the information that I am gathering, if you like, as a beauty lover and as a consumer; to share that with my community and offer them make - up that is clean – we say #notperfect, but clean, using clean formulas; with packaging that is sustainable, so being kind to ourselves and being kind to the planet as well – is something that I'm really enjoying. This feels like a new chapter to me. As a consumer, I couldn't find what I wanted in my make-up bag, so I wanted to create what I want in my make-up bag. I love how I can communicate directly with my customer, and I do believe that what I've created, my customer wants. The only place you can buy my products is actually www.victoriabeckhambeauty.com, so I am going direct to my customer, which is key. So I can offer beautiful formulas, beautiful packaging, and I can do that at an affordable luxury price point. I love to empower women and make them feel like the best version of themselves, whether that's through beauty or fashion. This is also very inclusive, so it works on all different skin types and skin colours; and your age doesn't matter either. I don 't know if people are as surprised as maybe they used to be, that I'm not as serious or as grumpy as I look! That's the great thing about social media – you can have a laugh with social media and people get to see the real you, as opposed to the you the media might like to portray. I'm quite an open book; I don't think that there's anything particularly surprising. I love what I do, I love my kids, I love my husband, and I'm just trying to be the best at all of those things. Time.

Victoria Beckham: 'I’m not as serious or as grumpy as I look'

The designer opens up about her move into beauty, the best advice she's ever been given and why every woman needs a tuxedo jacket in their wardrobe