Nicole Richie Talks About Wearing Hair Extensions in Her 20s (Exclusive)

Y2K trends may be back in full swing, but Nicole Richie has long since given up one of the beauty essentials that defined her 2000s: her hair extensions.

“When I look at photos of myself in my twenties, the first thing that comes to mind is how much extensions and makeup I thought I needed,” Richie, 42, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

“I always said, ‘I can never be seen without extensions, not even my animals’ (because) my hair is so thin. Back then, it took about six hours to put in a whole head of extensions, so I would sometimes take my extensions out the night before and have them put back in the next morning,” she said.

“Although I really enjoyed all of this and think it’s so much fun, I didn’t need it and I think I was still in a phase where I wanted to look different,” Richie continued.

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Richie, who is collaborating with Estée Lauder for the beauty brand’s new “Night Night Club” campaign, admits: “I wasn’t really focusing on the health of my hair back then.”

Today, the mother of two embraces her natural curls. “I’m really focused on the health of my skin and my hair and who I am and how I look naturally,” she says. “In my 40s, I just want to look like myself. I want to be myself. It’s fun and exciting and it’s real life and it’s not something to be messed with.”

The founder of House of Harlow says that “moisturising plays a huge part” in helping her feel completely comfortable.

“The most important thing about this Supreme Bounce cream for me is that it’s so hydrating,” Richie says of Esteé Lauder’s Revitalizing Supreme+ Night Power Bounce cream, which the brand is launching alongside its Advanced Night Repair Overnight Treatment to celebrate and expand on its Advanced Night Repair. “You put it on before you go to sleep, and when you wake up, your skin is more hydrated than ever.”

Although Richie says she still loves to “put on a special look,” she insists that first and foremost she “needs to feel like myself.”

“Especially when I go out and talk to people, I can’t wear a look that makes me completely forget who I am on the inside,” explains Richie.

“For example, if I were doing a talk show or something else where I had to do a lot of interviews, I wouldn’t wear red lips because I feel insecure and I don’t wear red lips often. I don’t want to think about whether I have lipstick on my teeth or whether I’m applying it correctly!”

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Her longtime makeup artist Beau Nelson understands this approach. “I don’t really give him a lot of direction,” says Richie. “I show him what I’m wearing and he just goes with it. We communicate silently and have a certain level of trust – I just sit down and he goes for it. I don’t even have a mirror in front of me.”

A makeup look that Richie loves: smokey eyes. “I have very big eyes, so a big, bold smokey eye is no problem for me,” she says.

These days, Richie is all about sharing her insights into what works – and what doesn’t – with the people around her.

“I’m not a gatekeeper,” she adds. “I like to share with my friends.”

For more on Nicole Richie, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE (on newsstands Friday) or subscribe here.