Beyonce strikes a pose on the cover of L’Uomo Vogue’s July/August issue.

The 29-year-old entertainer rocked a jacket, shirt, and bowtie all by Dior Homme, as well as a Corneliani waistcoat, Acne shorts, a N.Y. Vintage top hat, and Tom Ford shoes for the shoot, which was styled by Rushka Bergman.

Beyonce lets on the new name of her album “4″ in the latest issue of Billboard magazine.

The new album is called “4.” Aside from this being your fourth solo album, what significance does that number hold?
We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me. It’s the day I was born. My mother’s birthday, and a lot of my friends’ birthdays, are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date.

How did the creative process begin with the new body of work?
I recorded more than 60 songs: everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it. I started off being inspired by [Afrobeat music pioneer] Fela Kuti. I actually worked with the band from “Fela!” [the hit Broadway musical based on his life] for a couple of days, just to get the feel for the soul and heart of his music; it’s so sexy, and has a great groove you get lost in. I loved his drums, all the horns, how everything was on the one. What I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: he just felt the spirit. I also found a lot of inspiration in ’90s R&B, Earth, Wind & Fire, DeBarge, Lionel Richie, Teena Marie… I listened to a lot of Jackson 5 and New Edition, but also Adele, Florence + the Machine, and Prince. Add in my hip-hop influences, and you can hear how broad it is. I also gave myself more freedom to really belt out some songs, and bring soul singing back: I used a lot of the brassiness and grittiness in my voice that people hear in my live performances, but not necessarily on my records.

I fall victim to this all the time, with myself and with my clients. I get spontaneously creative with eye make-up and foundations, contouring and highlighting as if I was really painting on a canvas; however, my creativity sneaks away when it comes to lips. Should I use a lip pencil, lipstick, or gloss; do I need to line the lips and if so what color; what color liner should I use with what lip color? Hmmmm…. And with all these uncertainties at the end of the day I always go with the famous, yet safe nude lip. I mean really, who can go wrong with a nude lip color? The worst I’ve seen is going too nude where you have the zombie lips (ya’ll know what I’m talking about, a nude lip that is too light, making a person look like all their natural color has been drained from their lips, yeah that lip).

With 80’s fashion being recycled into the 2000’s, rocking big hair, purple tights, and pink Reeboks has become the norm. Color is what’s in; even guys are wearing the once so girlie pinks and purples coordinating with their exclusive, one of a kind, “you can’t find these in the stores” purple and gray J’s. Ladies, so quick to throw on your red sequenced tank and leather skirt and dare not to wear a red lipstick! You should be ashamed of yourself for depriving your lips from sexiness that a red color can create! That’s like wearing, red lace Secrets with sweat socks! Not a good look!

So, where does this insecurity or fear of wearing a lip color come from? Don’t get me wrong, I love a nude lip and I recommend it for most looks; however not every look. Most women that I’ve come across stay away from lip color simply because they think that they are too dark or too light for it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Oh, no I’m too dark for pink”! Really? I mean have you ever seen Black Barbie? She has been rocking the pink and red lip since the 60’s! No woman is too dark or too light for any color, that’s why there are multiple shades of reds and pinks. Just because one shade of pink isn’t your color doesn’t mean they all are. Try testing out a few different shades before you all out say NO to a color. Just the other day I was playing in my pink lipsticks, trying to find a perfect pink for me. After mixing a fuchsia pink with a light baby pink, I came up with a color that made me feel like Barbie myself. So much that I damn near slept in it. And I’m the girl that is a groupie when it comes to natural looks, so you can try to imagine how daring it was for me to rock red lipstick out one night. I felt a little out of my comfort zone at first but as soon as I looked in the mirror I knew I was on fire and the slew of compliments I received that night confirmed it.

So ladies, add some diversity to your make-up game. Switch out some players and don’t leave your lips sitting on the bench all the time. If you wear a dramatic or colorful eye, keep a nude lip with a hint of color from your liner. And next time you want to keep it natural and simple with the eyes, go bold with a colorful lip. Sometimes a little mascara and a red tube of lipstick is all you need!