To us, Faye Tozer looks beautiful. However, the former Steps singer doesn't agree. She's thought about having her breasts enlarged - and now reckons her teeth need straightening.

What beauty products do you swear by?
I'm an Oil of Olay girl. And Lancome waterproof mascara is a must - that's an everyday thing. I am a bit of a magpie really because I do like all the shiny packages, but I must admit I do go back to my original ones. Estée Lauder is a favourite. I'm now discovering Sephora. They do lovely things and the shops are a whole experience: they wear gloves to pick up your packages and give you shiny receipts as well.

Do you wear make up everyday?
I wear it every time I work, but I do let my face rest sometimes. If I know I'm just with my friends, I'm quite happy to wear no make up at all, but if I'm going to see someone important I will slap it all on. I'm quite happy to be snapped without make-up on as long as I've got my mascara on - I feel naked without my mascara.

Do you have any treatments like facials or complimentary therapies?
I stay away from facials and scrubs because I think they bring my spots out. It's probably the toxins coming out, but if I'm going to be on television the next day I'd rather keep all my toxins in. I'm a big fan of reiki. It's amazing. Usually it de-stresses me and I have trance-like dreams.

Have you tried any other treatments or do you find they sound quite daunting?
I've had one of those seaweed wraps, which was hilarious because they pinned me against the wall and hosed me down afterwards. I wasn't really sure about that one. It was funny at the time, but I don't think I'd do that again. You have to wear paper pants and you smell like sushi afterwards!

Do you have a favourite perfume?
My favourite at the moment is D&G Feminine, for the day. And I actually wear Aqua Di Gio for men quite a lot during the day because it's really fresh. It's a good summer fragrance and lots of people have commented on it, but I never usually tell them it's a bloke's scent!

Do you exercise?
Yeah, I try to. I work with a programme called The Body Doctors Programme. I actually used it for the first time when I was going to do a 10km run for charity. The doctor trains you up for six weeks and then you take the programme away with you. It's an all over body workout with cardiovascular exercise and a lot of weights, but I try not to do heavy weights because I build up muscle quickly. I have just bought a yoga video because I fancy doing that.

Do you watch what you eat?
I try to keep my proteins and my carbs separate and eat carbs during the day because that's your energy food. Proteins for the evening because that's your muscle builder and it's good for the brain apparently. And I've also tried to cut out wheat as well - which was a nightmare because I love bread. I have noticed a difference, my stomach's not bloated and it does make you less windy!

Do you take any supplements or vitamins?
I take a multivitamin with ginseng, cod liver oil and garlic. Depending on the time of the month a bit of primrose oil as well - it keeps you sane!

Where do you get your hair done?
I go to D&J Ambrose, which is run by a lovely couple in Pinner, Middlesex. It's not a well known salon; it's more of a gem that I've found. They're very inventive. Last year I won the Smash Hits award for best hair, and that's all down to Darren Ambrose.  He's completely re-done it, because I've got funny old hair - it's naturally curly and always a bit of a nightmare. If it suddenly rains and you've just had your hair straightened, it just springs up and you look like you've got a frizzy afro. I've found a great product called sleek N chic by Umberto Gianni which keeps everything under control.

Would you ever consider plastic surgery?
Oh God, yes! I was actually going to go and have the old boob op, but I went in there and I got freaked out and thought it was gross. I really researched it and then I decided that it was more important for me to become comfortable with myself rather than with a bit of plastic. So I've kind of gone off that one and I'm lucky because I don't have to pull anyone these days. I'm virtually married; it's not like I'm searching for a man or anything.

Apart from your bust, is there anything else about yourself you would change?
I don't know whether I'm just being paranoid, and lots of friends say I am, but I've got a small gap in my front teeth that I'd like straightened out - but it means lengthy operations on my mouth. It's only so slight but because everyone else has got perfect teeth, you feel you've got something wrong with you because you're not perfect. And the thing is, if you have your photo taken and then they blow it up 20 times bigger than natural, it's going to jump out at you.

Which women do you think are beautiful?
Halle Berry is gorgeous and she's a natural beauty. It's quite funny because I was thinking of my top ten ladies the other day and they're all brunettes. It was people such as Angelina Jolie. Natalie Portman. I don't like pretty, pretty faces - I like people who are striking.

Who are your style icons?
I don't know. everything's going a bit pear shaped these days. I used to think that J.lo's stuff was really nice, but I'm not that impressed at the moment. And I did like some of Britney's outfits but once again that's kind of gone a bit wonky now, so I don't know.

What's your favourite high street shop?
I like a bit of Jane Norman sometimes and Karen Millen is always a good one. There's a brilliant shop called Valentine Brown in Pinner that always stocks things from different places. My new favourite label is one called Save The Queen - I think it's Italian. It's  absolutely brilliant.

Do you buy designer labels?
I do like Dolce & Gabanna. I like Christian Dior as well. Christian Dior has just made this really amazing ring - they've recently started doing jewellery. And I spent a lot of money - I was very naughty, but I was allowed to because the bank manager said I could. I bought this really amazing ring and it's dripping with diamonds. It's really amazing - a bit Liberace. But why not? If you're gonna do it, do it properly!

Interview 5: Faye Takes It One Step At A Time

When Steps - the phenomonally successful manufactured band - split, singer Faye Tozer feared she'd crack up. Now she's launching her solo career.

Faye Tozer, ex-steps marionette, stares at the two-dimensional face of 21st-century pop music and predicts a cultural meltdown. "have you seen Rik's video?" She says, referring to a new song by out-sized Pop Idol, Rik Waller. "Have you seen S Club Juniors, as well? They're all about nine"

Soon the record charts will be filled with children, 25 one-time Pop Idols, the five ex-members of Steps and seven ex-members of S Club 7 when, of course, they decide to split....

"I agree," she says, "we need something else. It's down to the record industry. They see money in something and all jump on the bandwagon. But they're not willing to take a chance on creating something new, because if it doesn't sell, people have put their jobs on the line. 
"I don't think the record industry gives artists a chance now. If your third single flops, you're dropped. How can you ever develop an artist, a quality product, if you don't spend time on it?"

But you're part of the problem I point out. "I know," she blinks, then bellows with laughter. "it's not all my fault! I'm only a part of it!" She feigns leaving the table where we're talking. "I should leave now, shouldn't I?"

As the corporate down sizing axe wields ever deeper into the British music industry, what chance is there for a gleaming-toothed, ex-member of children's karaoke favourites, steps? Since the 18-million-album-selling band that their creator Pete Waterman once described as 'ABBA on speed' split acrimoniously on Boxing Day last year, Faye has been alternately scared and optimistic about the future.. "It was a shock," she says. "It felt like a divorce."

After five long years as a member of the nation's number one pop band, 26-year-old Faye is now a first-time solo artiste with a ready-made history. to many, she'll always be The One From Steps With The Blonde Dreadlocks.

Today, she is a bounce curled, glamorous vision. A yellow and orange bra, which matches her hair, is just visible through a gauzy, white shirt. She's extremely pretty and unnaturally friendly. Lunchtime fare: duck salad and a large glass of Chablis. "Gets you through the afternoon," she lilts. "Cheers!"

Faye is sure that without the help of her closest friends, she would have "gone bonkers" when the band split. But, professionally schooled in pop diplomacy, she expertly avoids explaining why Steps went into meltdown, citing and 'escalation' of the 'natural split' in the band - on the one side Faye, Lisa and Lee, the 'sociable' ones; one the other, Claire and H, the 'homebodies'. Then came the battles for inclusion in the creative process.
"We all wanted to fight for fifth of the band," says Faye. "You're picked for a group, and you want to work within it. And I did shout and make a fuss because I wanted to sing. I think a lot of people got bored with me shouting and fighting for that. I used to fight for the others too, but sometimes the others wouldn't fight for me, you know?"

Was Waterman as livid with the split as has been reported? She replies with a casual shrug. "I don't know. Ha ha!" the expression on your face says 'I don't care', i venture. "I think a lot of people were disappointed." replies Faye. Waterman claims he was 'betrayed', I say. "Well the companies that we worked for, or that worked for us, were not told about the split. And that's where I think it is fair to use the word 'betrayed',"  she replies.

"I didn't have a close relationship with Pete but he made Steps what it was. I have respect for him but it wasn't in my power to change anything or deliver a message. Out of respect for the fans, I didn't want to speak up and it is bad to blame anybody. I just had to get away. Steps were coming to an end. I don't think our hearts were in it anymore. Also, we're older - I'm almost 27 - [and we would still be] playing to young audiences and wearing bright colours. There comes a time when you need to calm down - take off that uniform."

At the beginning of Steps, Faye said she could not believe they were doing line dancing. (Their first hit, 5,6,7,8, became a classic of that genre.) "But that's all because it's all controlled by other people." She is wary now of being too self-critical. "The songs were very up and everyone would join in the dance routines. I have friends in the forces who said, ' We were all dancing to Tragedy last night....' A bunch of soldiers!!!"

Faye is the first of Steps to go solo. More accurately, she duets with tenor Russell Watson on Someone Like You, a towering fondant fancy of unapologetic  schmaltz. Currently a 'special guest' on Russell's british tour, Faye has also performed with him in New Zealand in front of a crowd of 110,00 people and on a QE2 cruise.

Claiming to have been ambitious almost from birth - Much like Victoria Beckham - Faye dreamed of being a ballet dancer but grew "too big, too tall". Born with the drive to "achieve my goals", she shunned the in-crowd for lunchtime and after school lessons in dance, music, drama and the choir, and she was deemed a 'boffin' for passing her exams. "it's not the cool thing to do," she says. "you should be hanging around the bike shed smoking, shouldn't you?"

Bullied at school for being "Too posh, which I wasn't", she was thought stuck-up and superior, and accused of loving herself. Once, a teacher asked her class to write a list of positive things about themselves. Faye allegedly wrote an essay called: "why am the most beautiful girl in the school."
"While the teacher was out of the room, my supposed best friend at school read out to the class what i'd written - and read it all wrong," says Faye. "Well I was just bright purple. So many of my friends stabbed me in the back to make themselves look cool, but look who's laughing now. I have my lovely car, a lovely home, an extremely wonderful boyfriend, a successful career, a potentially promising future, wonderful friends and a great team around me, so...."

Faye shares her mock-tudor house in Dunstable, with Fiancé Jasper Irn, a drummer in a Danish rock band. The neighbours "absolutely hate us" - too many parties, too young, too rich.
Here, at her home studio, Faye is recording her debut solo album, with Jasper as co-writer. It is a guitar based affair with lyrics which might actually mean something. Go on, I urge, give us a couplet.
Faye giggles, mortified. "I'll say one. You might think this is dire but.. ' Nintey-nine percent fat-free/Uncarbonated bottled soda water/Thats what he told her."
What does that mean? "It is about how packaging sells everything now, rather than the actual product. And it is all absolute tripe"

This August, Faye and Jasper will marry in a traditional church service, which wo;; be followed by a knees-up at a 'semi-regal' mansion. A celebrity magazine is involved, of course.
"we're choosing to go with a magazine," says Faye, "just for security. The reason i'm doing it - and maybe I'm paranoid - is that people are going to jump in there and splash the wrong photos around. And this my day, it is the only day i'm going to get - hopefully - although a tarot reader told me once I'd be married three times. I thought that perhaps I should get this one out of the way!" You'll be needing the money, then. Divorce is expensive, I caution her. "That's all right. i'm fixed there."
A pre-nuptial agreement? "Isn't that sad?" she nods. "But i'm not talking about it. Because it's crazy."
She quickly knew Jasper was the one. "This is a really funny thing, but I used to watch my mum and dad driving me and my sister ti dancing classes and think, 'One day, i'm going to have a man sitting on the right-hand side, driving the car, and be just as comfortable.' And one day, Jasper and I were driving across Dunstable Downs and I had that feeling. I looked over and thought, 'I don't want to change that person on the right hand side. I've got everything I can ever want in a partner.' He is my best friend in the whole world. He knows secrets that even my girlfriends don't know. He is also really funny and a bit of a wild child, a bit raw and a bit edgy. He brings out the side of me that i'm not supposed to be, the person who goes out to parties. He gives me an excuse to go along and wreck myself. He is far ore stable than I am; I am still figuring things out. He is also extremely beautiful. The physical thing is there, so i'm set up for life on that front."

Faye has a thing about drummers generally and confesses to a fascination with Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson's ex-husband. "he is gorgeous," she says. "I like rough and ready men. I Think i've got a natural fascination with rebellious people. It's fun being a rebel."
Faye was the 'rebellious' one in Steps, the one with a long term boyfriend and the anti-pop hairdo. From the outset, she rejected pop's rules.
"i've always had a life," says Faye. "I had been around the world before I reached the record industry. People said to me, "you need to stop drinking in public. You need to clean up your image." I said 'If I don't, what happens? do you want me in this band or not?' And they would say they did. I said 'WEll, at the end of the day, you've got to take me for what I am. I'm not mouldable."

Whatever happens next is beyond her control, buffeted as she will be by the winds of an increasingly fickle pop public and an industry floundering in the self-made, self-destructive grip of ubiquitous short-term gain. She is still scared but she is also optimistic.
"I have up days and down days," she says. "I'm feeling great at the moment but sometimes it gets depressing. I think 'Why is this happening? Will I ever be successful again? Maybe I should stay away from it all and live a peaceful, happy life.' I'm not scared of being a real person. But there's something at the back of your head which goes, ' you are a magpie, you love the lights, you love the sparkle, you need to be there'."

Sometimes she feels guilty about the money. "Yes I do," she says. "With my family, I feel very guilty because they were so kind to me when I was growing up. They paid for my dancing lessons, taxied me around, loved me unconditionally. Sometimes I just want to split the money and give it all away but i've got to think of my future. and where do you draw the line? Very weird. But i'm only a millionaire on paper. I've spent it. Ha ha! But cash doesn't bring you happiness - it just brings you more stuff to put somewhere else."

She has a healthy cynicism about the Pop Idol generation which believes in fame, money and success as it's birthright, and how no one is interested in working the real world anymore. 
Who's going to be left to take all the bins out? I ask rhetorically as we prepare to part.  "The ex-pop stars," she replies. "When they've all been dropped by their record labels!"