Selena Gomez covered a recent issue of Allure, mostly to discuss Rare Beauty. Rare is celebrating their fifth anniversary right now, and the company is reportedly worth around $400 million, and it employs 170 people. Selena has genuinely built something that might last a long time. Selena spoke to Allure about Rare and a lot of different stuff. At least once a year, I read one of Selena’s interviews, just to check in with her and her headspace at any given moment. This is probably the healthiest she’s sounded in a long time, possibly ever. Some highlights:

She did her own makeup for the cover shoot, using Rare Beauty products: “I was a little stressed. I was definitely proud to be wearing [my brand]. I was just like, ‘I hope I did this right.’”

Why she took a three-year break from Instagram: “I found it to be very icky.” She still takes social media breaks now and then. At the time of our meeting, for example, she’d been off Instagram for about three weeks (her team keeps the account active in her stead, posting pre-approved messages and promos for projects). “I want to feel content in whatever position I’m at in my life, and I want to be present. Taking a break from social media helps do that for me.” The difference now is that Gomez doesn’t feel the need to announce when her breaks start and end—or anything else, for that matter—to the world.

Why she takes IG breaks: “I finally feel like I’m in a place where I don’t need to be apologetic for every single thing that I do… I like that I am a little unaware of things happening, and that I’m not so blinded by all the fakeness of it.”

She’s glad she met Benny Blanco when she did and not a decade earlier: “Definitely. I don’t think I would have been remotely mature enough. It’s weird to think that only five years ago I wouldn’t have been in the right place, but I’ve learned so many lessons [since then] that led me to being the best partner I could be for Benny. And I believe the same with him. He’ll say, ‘Gosh, why did we waste so much time?’ And I always say, ‘You wouldn’t have liked me back then.’ I was all over the place.”

She loves Blanco. “I appreciate his heart, his kindness, his quirks…” she says, smiling to herself as her voice trails off. “He’s one of the most grounding people in my life, and he makes me feel very normal.”

She loves Pinterest. “I have all my folders of inspiration for the wedding, for cooking, for style,” she says. While she doesn’t want to not talk about it, at the time of our interview, Gomez says, she and Blanco are simply “not sure what route we’re going to take” wedding-wise. (Recent speculation suggests the event could happen as soon as the end of this month.)

Rare’s new perfume: Speaking of creating new combinations, Gomez tells me it was “really fun” testing lab samples and experimenting with different notes while creating her brand’s first fragrance, called, fittingly, Rare. The final blend has notes of pistachio, caramel, pink pepper, vanilla, and ginger—”all my favorites,” she says.

[From Allure]

That scent profile is WILD! She’s going to have ladies wandering around smelling like a Christmas cookie 24-7. Her comment about being glad she met Blanco at the right time is very self-aware: “‘You wouldn’t have liked me back then.’ I was all over the place.” It’s true though – Selena has been all over the place for so many years. It’s a relief to see her so content and just… I can’t put my finger on it, exactly. Just happy and living in the moment, I guess. It sounds like she really loves Blanco too. I hope the marriage works out.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of Allure.