'Make-up or no make-up, I'm the same person inside': Lady Gaga is laid bare in new photo shoot
She is better known for her outrageous costumes and dramatic make-up.
But Lady Gaga, 25, has stripped off the layers, of foundation and modesty, to talk candidly with Harper's Bazaar about the person behind the costumes, while posing for a rare natural cover shot.
'Whether I’m wearing lots of makeup or no makeup, I’m always the same person inside,' said the singer.
Stripped: Gaga posed for the magazine in a custom made dress by Hussein Chalayan
Yet she chooses to get dressed up almost every day of her life and is rarely seen out of costume.
She claims it is all part of her art.
'I don't really view it as "natural",' she explains to Harper's.
'I think that artifice is the new reality. It's more about just being honest and sincere to the core of what you do.'
'I think what has been lovely about my relationship with the public is that they expect something unexpected from me.'
Laid bare: Lady Gaga shows off her make-up free face on next month's cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine
Despite the façade, Gaga claims that she is as happy in nothing as she is when she dresses up.
'I’m very free-spirited,' she says.
'Even when I was a kid, I used to run around naked with the babysitter, driving her crazy.'
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As well as dancing in rehearsals and on stage the singer works out a lot to keep her body in fighting shape.
'I do yoga, I do Bikram and I run, and I eat really healthy. You know, my work sort of feeds me. I keep in shape by working hard.'
Gaga, whose real name is Stephanie Germanotta, has also had to get used to spending time alone.
Unusual: The singer is known for her out of the box approach to fashion and beauty
Alter ego: Lady Gaga as Jo Calderone at the MTV Video Music Awards in August
'When you’re alone as much as I am, you become accustomed to your solitude and embrace it.'
But even when she's not touring, Gaga works 'about 16 to 20 hours a day. And when I'm alone, I write, I imagine, I create things, and I decide how I want to do my future performances. I don't take much time off.'
In August the singer decided to take a rare break and headed south of the border, to Mexico, with a group of her friends for some rest and relaxation.
There she learnt to surf and talked to the magazine about the process.
'I fell off a lot in the beginning,' she says, 'but one of the surfers said to me, 'Now that you can stand up, just look into the future and enjoy the ride.' I thought that was an interesting metaphor about life.'
The October issue of Harper’s Bazaar hits newsstands September 27th. For the full interview and more photos, go to www.harpersbazaar.com
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