Singer Katy Perry is famous for her powerhouse vocals and anthemic songs, as well as her wild hair colors and radical fashion. “When I’m on stage, it’s all about creating a character and being an exaggerated version of myself,” she’s admitted. In reality, though, Katy is a natural brunette who barely wears makeup when she’s off-stage.

“When I’m at home, I’m a lot more plebeian,” the 34-year-old pop star said. “What you see is what you get.” Even though Katy has a CoverGirl makeup line featuring lipsticks, eyeshadows, false lashes and even body glitter, she’s more focused on keeping herself naturally beautiful — inside as well as out.

“Of course, new makeup is fabulous and makes you look great,” the “California Gurls” singer said, “but beauty and confidence come from how you feel about yourself.” She agrees that sounds “really corny,” but Katy understands the enormous success generated from having positive self-esteem.

Research suggests that confident children are more successful students, athletes and socializers. As teenagers, they tend to be less susceptible to peer pressure and make wiser decisions. The ripple effect of those healthy choices is exponential.

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“Makeup doesn’t make you who you are,” Katy concluded. “I don’t think there’s any product in the world that can completely transform you.”

She believes, instead, that makeup is best used to highlight the real you. “I use Shu Uemura cleansing oil,” she revealed. “I used to be deathly afraid of putting oil on my face, but it really pulls out the dirt from my skin.”

Katy has a favorite aroma that she’s been wearing since high school: vanilla-scented perfume. She claims none of her suitors ever complained. “I like to smell edible,” the “Teenage Dream” singer confessed. “Vanilla, they say, is an aphrodisiac.”

More than that, researchers say vanilla aromas, especially in the form of essential oil, can lower blood pressure, fight depression and reduce fever. If you’re an insomniac, the aroma can also be sleep-inducing. Katy is so enamored of the oil that, since 2010, she has released nine of her own fragrances, many of them vanilla-based. Her most recent scent — Katy Perry’s Indi — was the first to go for a full-on musky smell.

“As I got older, my tastes kind of changed,” she admitted. “I wanted something a little bit more androgynous, which pushed me more toward musks.” Musk, too, has therapeutic properties, though of a less seductive nature. A whiff of the woodsy scent can aid digestion and taper colds. When applied directly to the skin, it may quell muscle spasms, ease joint pain and significantly mask body odor.

“I love that scents are so powerful!” Katy summed it up.

Over the years, Katy has picked up other valuable natural tips for keeping it “real.” She switched from coffee to green tea — a healthier alternative. Twice a week she gets acupuncture to help her stage-weary knees. She fixes blemishes with ice and eye drops, which take the red out. And she (mostly) gave up drinking alcohol. “Body can’t take it. Mind can’t take it. Focus can’t take it,” Katy dished.

Put together in one 5-foot-7 package, these “little things,” as Katy called them, make her feel good these days. “Like being in the sun every day, just for 10 or 15 minutes, to get some vitamin D,” she added. “It’s simple, but it really helps.”