Quotes from Meghan Markle

It's really attractive if a man has a skill that you want to improve in yourself. If you can learn from someone, then that's sexy.

Nivea Firming Body Lotion. When it goes on sale, I buy it in bulk. I am obsessed with it and how it makes my skin look and feel.

I think so much of what we learn when we get older is being comfortable in our own skin and learning what looks good, and not being so trend-centric.

Being 'ethnically ambiguous', as I was pegged in the industry, meant I could audition for virtually any role. Morphing from Latina when I was dressed in red, to African American when in mustard yellow, my closet filled with fashionable frocks to make me look as racially varied as an Eighties Benetton poster.

People don't need to feel scared about a leather pant. Think of it as a jean alternative: it's the same thing. It's almost like they're your yoga pants, but they look chic.

My mom is a yoga instructor: 100% black with dreadlocks.

I started working at a soup kitchen in skid row of Los Angeles when I was 13 years old, and the first day, I felt really scared. I was young, and it was rough and raw down there, and though I was with a great volunteer group, I just felt overwhelmed.

I'm the person friends come to when they want to find the perfect restaurant or boutique hotel on the outskirts of Paris. As opposed to scouring the Internet for a travel guide, wouldn't you rather ask the people who are really cool who go there? That's what I do.

Traveling gives you some perspective of what the rest of the world is like. I think that having the courage to step out of the norm is the most important thing.

When I'm traveling, I won't miss an opportunity to try great pasta.

Kindness is the No. 1 quality I look for in a man. You can see in how he treats anyone - from a CEO to a housekeeper - and it's a reflection of how nice a guy is. Funniness and confidence come after that... When a guy approaches me, it's fantastic if he can make me laugh.

I rarely saw my Grandma Markle, as she hailed from New Hampshire and spent much of her life in Pennsylvania and Florida. To bridge that gap, she would always send scrapbooks, care packages, and boxes of treats made from family recipes.

The one thing that I cannot live without when I'm traveling is a small container of tea tree oil. It's not the most glamorous thing, but if you get a cut, a mosquito bite, a small breakout, no matter what it is, it's my little cure-all. It's inexpensive, it's small enough to carry on, and I bring it with me all the time.

The holidays are a time to - not quite play it safe - but play it classic. You don't want to be the girl in a head-to-toe sequin look, where you look like you should be an ornament on the tree.

On my face, I use Creme De La Mer The Eye Balm Intense and Tatcha Deep Brightening Serum.

It's really important that young women be reminded that their involvement matters and that their voice is heard. Even if it feels like it's small, it really can make an impact.

Make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You push for colour-blind casting; you draw your own box. You introduce yourself as who you are, not what colour your parents happen to be.

I dream pretty big, but truly had no idea my life could be this awesome. I am the luckiest girl in the world, without question!

Be able to delegate, because there are some things that you just can't do by yourself.

I love Ralph Lauren. As I travel so much, I prefer to shop online.

On a normal day, I love a shift dress with flats and a little cropped jacket. That, for me, is my travel wear if it's not too chilly - you can throw a scarf over your legs if it's cold on the plane!

Mom cooked a lot of turkey when I was growing up. Turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers, ground turkey shepherd's pie - my childhood was the Bubba Gump of turkey. You'd think I would be sick of it, but when I find gems like Gwyneth Paltrow's turkey meatball recipe, it's as though the fowl is no longer foul to me.

My parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot: buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to people in hospices, giving spare change to those asking for it.

Another solid run through Central Park. Admittedly, six miles turns out to be a bad idea after a full day in heels!