Still basking in the glittery rapture that was her Las Vegas residency show the evening prior, Vogue joined Céline Dion, clad in a petrol blue puffed sleeve dress and matching crystal-embellished heels, on a recent afternoon in Sin City for a big announcement: At 51, the Québécoise singer and mother of three is L’Oréal Paris’ newest spokeswoman. And while the powerhouse performer’s career has spanned nearly four iconic decades, the timing is just right; Dion’s inimitable talent, unabashed passion, and stunning resilience (she lost her husband and lifelong mentor, René Angélil, in 2016) are shining brighter than ever before.

And yet, Dion, ever humble despite her international stardom, is still wrapping her head around becoming the face of the global beauty brand—reflecting on the ugly duckling complex she once had. “When I was young, I had problems with my teeth and was very, very skinny,” she explained. “I was bullied at school, so I never thought one day I’d be asked [to be an ambassador for L’Oréal Paris], the biggest brand in the world for over 100 years. And at 51 years old?” But Dion also recognizes that the zeitgeist has shifted dramatically since she first burst onto the scene, with women of all generations fighting for equal rights to topple the patriarchy. She herself is doing as she damn well pleases, from clapping back at reporters who try to pry into her private life to dazzling Paris Couture Week with her sartorial antics.

“The world is changing and L’Oréal is part of that for women,” she declared proudly, citing the brand’s age-inclusive assemblage of ambassadors, which runs the gamut from rising runway star Duckie Thot and pop singer Camila Cabello to Hollywood heavyweights Jane Fonda, Julianne Moore, and Susan Sarandon. “Your twenties and thirties [are] wonderful and all that, but I would not go back,” she said. “As a singer, daughter, sister, friend, [and] partner, I’ve never felt [so] beautiful and strong. I really think the best is yet to come.”