People Magazine - Femme la plus belle au monde

With her killer bone structure, enviable curves and a clear complexion, it’s no surprise that Beyonce was named 2012′s World’s Most Beautiful Woman by PEOPLE. But the 30-year-old says that she feels more beautiful now than she ever before!


“I feel more beautiful than I’ve ever felt because I’ve given birth,” Beyonce said. “I have never felt so connected, never felt like I had such a purpose on this earth.”

Beyonce and her hip-hop mogul husband of four years, Jay-Z, welcomed Blue Ivy Carter into the world on Jan. 7. “I just stare at her all day,” Beyonce admitted. “She is my favorite thing in the world, and my No. 1 job is to protect her.”

The glamorous star, who stepped out in New York today wearing $660 Charlotte Olympia 'Cat-Face' flats, admit that being a mother has convinced her to hang up her stilettos from time to time.

She said: 'I never thought there would be a day when I wouldn't wear heels.

'Now that I have a child, I walk around holding her all day, I'm buying loafers and oxfords. I love them, because they're comfortable, and shorter heels too.

She added: '[Jay-Z] loves it when I wear flat shoes, which is surprising - he never saw me in flats before! He likes me more natural - just the relaxed, natural me.'

She also admitted to taking her hair into her own hands rather than visit an expensive stylist.

She said: 'I recently cut two inches myself - I just parted it in the middle and chh-chh-chh!'

Beyoncé also revealed how breast-feeding her little one for ten weeks helped her lose 'the bulk' of her pregnancy weight, but that she's now on a strict-protein based diet.

She now works out three times a week for 90 minutes, doing a combination of running, dancing and crunches.
'I'm definitely softer, but I feel my body bouncing back,' she says.

Beyonce "barely recognised" herself as she checked into hospital to give birth to her baby girl - because she had gained so much weight during her pregnancy.

The pop superstar packed on 50 pounds (22.68 kilograms) while carrying daughter Blue Ivy, who was born in New York in January (12), and she admits she felt anything but pretty at the end of her pregnancy.

Beyonce, who has just been named the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by editors at People magazine, says, "I didn't feel that I looked beautiful during birth - but who does? After being pumped with all those fluids and gaining so much weight, with my swollen lips and cheeks, I barely recognised myself.

"I tried my best to roller-set my hair, and I wore my (lip) gloss when I arrived at the hospital. I committed to the end and wore my kitten heels. It makes me laugh thinking about it.

"But after many hours of labour, I didn't care how I looked. It was all about the miracle that God gave me - the opportunity to deliver a human being."

Beyonce has managed to shed almost all of the weight she gained, although she reveals it's been a challenge.
She says, "I'm proud that my waist came back so fast... I had to get my tone back. I'm definitely softer. But I feel my body bouncing back. Whatever was tight and muscular, like my legs, I'm seeing it come back. You just have to work at it."

And she's keen to clear up some crazy rumours about her rigorous twice-a-day exercise schedule: "I'm a new mother; I don't have time for that. And no, I don't have a trainer living with me."

Beyoncé: How I Prepared for Blue's Birth

When she arrived at the hospital last January, Beyoncé came with the best of intentions for her daughter's delivery.

"I did have a fresh eyebrow wax. PEOPLE's 2012 Most Beautiful Woman says with a laugh.

"I got my nails done, I got my feet done, had my hair done, and I had my little lip gloss."

But, in the end, Blue Ivy's birth trumped all the new mom's primping and prepping to meet her baby girl.

"I didn't feel that I looked beautiful during birth, but who does? After being pumped with all those fluids and gaining so much weight ... I barely recognized myself," she explains.

"But after many hours of labor, I could care less about anything but my child. I didn't care how I looked."

The focus, she adds, was shifted to "the miracle" that she and husband Jay-Z welcomed into the world.

"I felt more powerful than I've ever felt in my life," Knowles shares. "I felt connected to my body. I felt like I knew my purpose in the world."
Losing the Baby Weight

The singer says she gained 50 pounds during her pregnancy – putting on the last 20 during the final month leading up to the delivery – and was determined to bounce back after baby as soon as possible.

"I lost most of my weight from breastfeeding and I encourage women to do it; It's just so good for the baby and good for yourself," Knowles, who breastfed Blue for 10 weeks, says.

Then, "about a month after" giving birth, the new mom tackled the remaining pounds with a strict diet and exercise routine.

"I counted calories. I worked out maybe three to four times a week," she shares. "I did a lot of walking in the beginning and now I'm running. But I had to work my way up. I couldn't just go right from being pregnant to running."

All the hard work – including "staying away from anything delicious" and no cheat days – has paid off.

"I'm proud that my waist came back so fast. I'm proud of that and happy, but that was mostly from the breastfeeding," the singer explains.

And not only is Knowles just "three to four pounds" away from her pre-pregnancy weight, but she has also acquired a new softness about her voluptuous body.

"My hormones are still in my body. Your body produces the hormones that make your body soft," she says. "It's just magical. It makes me so proud to be a woman because it's just unexplainable what happens to your body – it's incredible."