Julianne Hough: ‘I’m So Much More Comfortable in My Skin Today Than I Was at 18’

Julianne Hough is a believer in the idiom “things get better with age.”

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“I’m so much more comfortable in my skin today than I was at 18,” Hough says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. “I think a lot of that had to do with [being] focused on who I thought people wanted me to be rather than who I truly am.”

The Dancing with the Stars judge also credits her “less is more” beauty philosophy that she adopted after her teens spent caking on makeup for dance competitions.

“I used to wear so much makeup. I think that also had to do with having to cover up my zits,” says the Proactiv+ spokeswoman.

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Now, Hough says she feels the best when she actually wears no makeup at all.

“I think we tend to feel comfortable and it becomes a sort of security blanket to have a lot of makeup on,” she says. “That’s why I love when my skin is fresh.”

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For more from Hough — including how she plans to look on her wedding day — pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now. Do you feel more comfortable as you get older?

–Patrick Gomez