Making waves! Nicole Richie shows off her big hair and super slim figure in bikini top for new glamorous magazine shoot

As a fashion icon and successful designer, it's no surprise that Nicole Richie knows exactly how to look good in glossy magazine shoots.
And the 30-year-old certainly cuts a striking figure in a new set of photographs for this month's U.S. edition of Glamour Magazine, where she shows off big, wavy beach curls.
Nicole's hair looks even more eye-catching given her diminutive frame, which she shows off in a sexy orange dress from her Winter Kate fashion line.

Making waves: Nicole Richie shows off her big hair style and svelte figure in a red bikini top + in the latest issue of U.S. Glamour Magazine

The dramatic shots also show the star sporting a red Agnes B bikini top underneath a yellow cover up, with her hair teased into a big backcombed style.
'I have naturally curly hair, so “natural” beach waves are not so natural for me,' she tells the magazine. 'I like to braid my hair at night and then let it out the next day. And I also curl my hair with a flat iron. I actually think I’m the best hairstylist on the planet.'
She adds: 'I’m very serious. I’m mixed, and it’s work to do my hair, so I learned how to do it well myself. I would be a hairstylist. I actually like to go to the salon and blow out people’s hair.'

 

Red alert: Nicole shows off her svelte legs in a glamorous orange dress slashed to the thigh in one sexy shot

 

However, Nicole's husband Joel Madden doesn't seem to pay much attention to his wife's change in style.

'Joel noticed this Valentine’s Day that I had bangs,' she recalls. 'He looked at me and was like, “You got bangs I see.” I was like, “I’ve had bangs since I was 22 years old!"'
Nicole'slooks once made headlines in the aftermath of her appearances alongside Paris Hilton on reality show The Simple Life, when she was criticised for her extremely slim figure.
However, Nicole says she is more than happy with the way she looks nowadays.

 

Smoky eyes: Nicole showed off her flawless skin with dark sultry eye make-up and pale lipstick

Hair's how: Nicole's interview is featured in this month's issue of Glamour magazine

'I feel great about my body,' she says. 'You know, aesthetically I can be picky, but I choose not to. I’ve taken huge leaps. I’m proud of that. I work out, and I get lots of sleep, and so I feel great. And that is most important.'
Nicole, mother of daughter Harlow, four, and three-year-old son Sparrow, currently juggles being a designer mentor on TV show Fashion Star and has launched three fashion lines, House of Harlow, Winter Kate and the Nicole Richie Collection on QVC.
But she laughs off the magazine's suggestion that she has become something of a trendsetter.
'No!' she laughs. 'My world is small. I have my circle of 10 friends, my kids, my family. None of them call me a trendsetter.'
The star also has some advice for women who want to follow in her footsteps and launch their own businesses.
'Study your craft. Know it well before you jump in. I wait all the time,' she says.
'Because I don’t want to just put my name on something and then release it. What’s the point of that?'
Glamour is available on news stands throughout the U.S. on May 8.