Kylie Minogue: the lessons she’d teach her 25-year-old self

Kylie Minogue discusses living a balanced life, staying healthy and her sweet-smelling success.

When it comes to accomplished Australians there is perhaps none more iconic than Kylie Minogue.

The princess of pop who started out as the girl next door in Neighbours and, now the highest-selling female Australian artist, has barely slowed down after decades working in the entertainment and music industry.

As The House of Wellness magazine marks its special 25th issue, it is fitting she features on the cover, celebrating the success of the re-release of her perfume Darling.

From her home in London, Kylie reflects on what she was like at the age of 25.

At the time, she was living abroad in the 1990s and working on her fifth studio album, which had the smash hit Confide In Me.

“Twenty-five year-old me was very busy discovering the world, working a lot, going out a lot and worrying about things which seem trivial to the older me,” Kylie says.

“I would tell that younger me to try to stress less, trust my instincts and keep a diary.”

They are lessons the singer, actress and businesswoman tries to abide by as she forges a still busy, but slightly quieter path.

“For a long time now, I have tried to find a better work-life balance,” Kylie, 53, says.

“These last couple of years have made me even more conscious of this.

“I love my work and am as inspired as ever to create and to share so I’m often reluctant to slow down, but having been forced to do so through the pandemic has shown me how beneficial and important it is.”

Why Kylie may return Down Under

The singer, who is in a relationship with creative director Paul Solomons, is expected to make a move home to Australia this year to be closer to parents Ron and Carol and siblings Brendan and Dannii.

Summer time in Australia evokes memories of long days, hot nights and catching up with family and friends, as Kylie reminisces about growing up in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.

“My family and I lived in a court with plenty of other young families with kids, so my brother, sister and I would spend hours playing with neighbourhood friends,” she says.

“Bikes, rollerskates and the holy grail – the pool in someone’s backyard.”

While she hasn’t announced any local television work yet, Kylie says she is open to returning to our screens.

“I don’t normally have much time to devote to acting, but I’m always intrigued by what the next role will be,” she says.

“I adore being back on set, having the opportunity to not be ‘Kylie’ and to lose myself in a character.”

Kylie and the importance of disco

In recent years Kylie has been focused on working on her music and released her 15th studio album Disco in 2020.

“Disco has been a part of my life since I was about 10 years old,” she says.

“The inspiration for this album was during the ‘Studio 54’ section of my Golden tour.

“It was the penultimate section of the concert, and it was so fun and cool.

“I knew then that I wanted to expand upon that and explore and pay tribute to disco.”

However, she adds that trying to work on a new album during the pandemic with lockdowns and restrictions did have its challenges.

“It was a learning process to set up a home studio on my own,” she says, adding that she recorded remote sessions with her co-writers and producers.

“We were all so grateful and humbled to still be able to create and have that to focus on,” she says.

“Among all the uncertainty and that feeling of a great void, I threw myself into the project.”

She has already started work on her next album, so hopefully a new Kylie tour with some local dates won’t be too far off.

Kylie’s approach to wellness

To look after herself when she’s on the road, Kylie tends to lead a quiet life.

“My focus is to stay as well as possible, so I eat well, rest when I can and don’t go to noisy environments as talking over noise is literally the worst for a singer,” she says.

“I try to do my best to save my energy and health for the show.”

Kylie’s inspiration for fragrance

In addition to her music career, Kylie has also spent the past year working on the re-release of her fragrance Darling, which she describes as “a timeless floral with luscious notes”.

She loves how a scent can transport us to another place and time.

“It evokes so many memories and at the same time, it’s effortlessly creating new ones,” she says.

“I hope the fragrance brings feelings of confidence and joy.”

The singer will release a new fragrance this year called Disco Darling.

“I love fragrance and creating new scents is another way I can be creative and express myself,” she says.

“Disco Darling will be much more night time.

It will have allure and a flash of the unexpected.”

Kylie, who also has her own beverage range Wines by Kylie Minogue, hints at expanding into a new product range this year as well.

“I find inspiration everywhere and can’t wait to see where my fragrance journey takes me and what I can share with you all.

“I’m passionate about home fragrance so watch this space.”

*First published in the Summer 2022 edition of The House of Wellness. For more inspirational wellbeing advice, pick up your free copy from your local Chemist Warehouse.

Written by Erin Miller.

SHARE THIS

RELATED ARTICLES