Jacqueline Fernandez unseen

Jacqueline Fernandez's beauty hits you square in the face. She's incredibly good looking, innately feminine, and completely unaware of the sex appeal she exudes; a lethal combination that makes her hard to take your eyes off! And she's absolutely down to earth to boot! from laughing about her experiments with Hindi with her driver to confessing that she was plagued by acne during her teens, shefs all about being herself. And of course her style icon is Jacqueline Kennedy! So here, the latest Bollywood beauty, just for you...

Such gorgeous hair! You bathe them in milk or beer?
Neither! I am as careful about caring for my hair as I am about cleansing my skin. With all those shoots, there is so much product in my hair that going to bed without shampooing is criminal. I feel that the basic step to taking care of your tresses is choosing the right shampoo and conditioner. The second step would be to update your product type, according to the change in quality of your hair.

A brand I can vouch for is Kérastase, they’ve got some fabulous solutions for hair problems. It is slightly high-end but hey, if it gives me good results, I think it’s worth it. I also use their hair mask once a week and I just adore a good head massage with hot oil! But these are still secondary solutions. I really believe in the saying, ‘You are what you eat’. Clichéd, I know, but since I eat a lot of fish and snack on nuts, I think the Omega-3 keeps my hair healthy!

How do you like to wear your hair when you step out?
Usually, I like my hair down. I know nothing of upstyles! My idea of a fancy hairstyle is putting a hairclip... And that too, I tend to tug off before the evening is over. A blow dry with maybe a few curls or waves is my style.

BEAUTY, IN YOUR FACE...

What's the secret of your translucent skin?
Believe me, as a teen I was plagued with acne! What cosmetics couldn't do, my diet did. Slowly, I became more conscious about my nutrition and stopped eating junk. More of fish, veggies, fruits, nuts and a diet low on carbs and sugar soon made my skin glow!

Your beauty and skincare routine is...
Oh, it's no secret! I am very particular about cleansing, I stare hard at every cotton ball I use till the time I'm sure there's no makeup on the cotton itself! Then there's the regular toning and moisturising. I love Dermalogica products, they work well on me.

Do you diet? And exercise?
I take care of my diet. A lot of grilled fish, steamed veggies, some fruits, nuts to snack on. I go low on carbs and totally avoid sugar, sticking to green tea rather than coffee or tea. I'm not a big on exercising, but of course I do yoga. If I can't make a class, then I do some weight training and cardio to break into a good sweat (which is good for your body and skin!)

What's your idea of sexy dressing?
A dress! I love dresses, that's the first thing I look for when I'm out shopping… I have a whole wardrobe just dedicated to dresses—so I have casual dresses, formal dresses, semi-casuals, lunch formals, lunch casuals… I could go on and on…

We've heard you love shopping. What was your last indulgence?
Oh, I spent my entire year's savings on a Tarun Tahiliani sari! Wiped me out!

How was the whole Miss Sri Lanka and Miss Universe pageant experience?
The preparation took me a whole year. I grew up in the Middle East, so I was quite far removed from Sri Lankan culture. The first thing I did was to get to know my roots better. Beauty, I felt was secondary. For me, it was important to know my country completely before I went on to represent it. And that's exactly what I did. After the Miss Sri Lanka contest, I went to LA for the Miss Universe beauty pageant. It was such a blast! I met so many people and just made the best of it!

Bahrain, Sri Lanka, LA... What made your ship steer to India, more so, Bollywood?
The pageants really catapulted me to where I am, though Bollywood wasn't on my horizon. I got a few modelling offers from India and I accepted them, hoping to make some cash and plan a strategy to get into Hollywood! However, I got offered Alladin and thought, what the hell, why not… So I went for the audition and it was hilarious! I didn't know a word of the language (Hindi)! By the end of it though, I got the part and was signed up. Once it sank in, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I'm officially an actress now!'

Now that you've ‘officially' entered the Indian film fraternity, are there any particular roles that you would give your arm and leg to play?
Oh, all of them. I think as an actress I want to do as many diverse roles as I can. I'd really love to do an epic movie and play a vamp someday.

Learning Hindi, tell us more...
I got myself a diction coach and a Hindi teacher since last year. But I feel that to learn a language, you just have to speak it. My driver is my dartboard for practicing, as he doesn't speak anything but Hindi. There have been quite a few incidents when I'd tell him to do one thing and he would end up doing another, simply because I would mix up my Hindi!

Your style icons are...
Well, definitely my namesake, Jacqueline Kennedy, for one! In Hollywod, I love Sarah Jessica Parker. She does get it really wrong ever so often, but she's comfortable in her skin. I love Catherine Zeta Jones and Nicole Kidman for their beauty and grace. In Bollywood, I really look up to Sushmita Sen, as she is such a stylish woman.

We hear you love shopping…
I love bargain shopping in India! It's great fun. Otherwise, a trip to Bahrain (my parents still stay there) always includes a shopping spree. In the gulf, there's no tax for designer stuff unlike India—so that's a better place to shop. And watching Sex & the City feels like shopping to me; I keep looking at their costumes—making a mental checklist, about the brands that I must check out!

"Life's too short! Live it, and live it well!" - Other than winning the crown in the Miss Sri Lanka Beauty Contest, Jackie also won the Miss Witty, Miss Personality, Miss Clearest Skin, Miss Glowing Skin awards! How perfect is she! - She runs a non-profit organisation for the empowerment of the underprivileged children and women in her country. - She anchors a leading business programme called Lanka Business Report and writes a weekly column for the Daily Mirror!

What do you do in your free time?
What free time? (laughs) Well, I love to sleep. So any time I get, I catch a few winks. And I'm a complete movie buff so free time either means a bowl of popcorn and a stack of DVDs or cinema time!

Your dream date?
Ummm… Nice restaurant, nice food, a surprise present and great conversation!

Your take on pick-up lines…
Oh god I hate them! I mean why can't man just walk up to a woman, say who he is, ask her name and simply offer to buy her a drink. Pick-up lines are so tacky!

Bitten by the travel bug?
I love to travel and explore new places. love LA, Bahrain and of course Sri Lanka… I'd really want to go for a long holiday to Europe too. I'm planning a monsoon getaway to Kerala.