Tessa Virtue: 'Everyone struggles to feel comfortable in their skin'

Tess Virtue is showing us what it’s like to live with no limits.

The NIVEA Canada brand ambassador, Canadian ice dancer and Olympic gold medallist performed a gorgeous and symbolic ice performance in a costume made entirely of body makeup for a new campaign.

Yahoo Canada chatted with the Canadian icon about inspiring people to challenge their own boundaries, feeling comfortable in your skin and being fearless.

Yahoo Canada: What does the performance represent to you?

Virtue: I think it's about finding your strength and owning your individuality. I mean, the whole notion of showing your true colours, being authentic, finding and embracing all of the things that make you unique is really the messaging that resonated with me in this campaign. I'm so proud of Nivea. I mean, I signed on with them last year as their very first ever Canadian ambassador and this year - just year two - I feel they're such risks in their marketing and it's attention grabbing and it's also - that message of empowerment and being determined to be the best version of yourself you can possibly be without any limits is really powerful.

Yahoo Canada: What was it like getting the suit painted on?

Virtue: It took about four and a half hours and maybe... five people working on me? It was quite a process but it was fascinating and the more layered it became the more it felt like I was really embracing this peacock character. It looked like real tights I was wearing, it looked like I was wearing a wet suit or something. It was amazing to think it was just my bare skin.

Yahoo Canada: Have you ever struggled to feel comfortable in your own skin?

Virtue: Of course! I think everyone struggles to feel comfortable in their skin or has at one time or another. Nivea's campaign about feeling good in your skin is special and relevant and meaningful now because there's such a crazy standard of beauty for people that's an unrealistic measuring stick that we're supposed to be gauging our own appearance by. I think just looking inward, and realizing “what is it that makes us special” and “how can we be fearless” without those limits and express ourselves and kind of playing with that narrative and starting that conversation and continuing that conversation is really imperative, especially for a skincare brand.

Yahoo Canada:You have a lot of young Canadian fans. What would you say to young women that are struggling to feel comfortable in their skin that look up to you?

Virtue: I think it's important to note that you're not alone. Everyone has those insecurities, everyone doubts themselves but it's how we handle that as humans and as people and how we support one another and how we really embrace the things that make us unique. Ultimately, and I can appreciate this as I get older, those quirks and those differences are what I find so attractive about other people, that's what I think being beautiful is. The more people feel comfortable to showcase that and the more we highlight that as a visibility for young girls to see and look up to - I think that's better.

Yahoo Canada: How does the skincare and makeup relate to all of this?

I think it's being free to express yourself however you see fit, and for a lot of women, that's makeup. It's how you show yourself to the world, it's how you sometimes find confidence because you feel you can highlight your features or experiment with different looks and different moods and aesthetics and there's no limit to that and I think there's no judgement and also no limits to how you can take that off because its so easy with the MicellAIR Expert. Anything goes nowadays. As far as what makes you feel confident - I think just owning that apologetically being yourself and feeling comfortable to do so, that's really what we wanted to click with other Canadians.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA!Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Check out Yahoo Canada’s podcast, Make It Reign — our hot takes on all things royals in a non-stuffy way — on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.