Model turned award-winning-actress Diane Kruger is Allure's gorgeous July cover girl, which makes sense given her past.

The German-born stunner, who graced the pages of Allure back in her days as a model and was once the face of Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Gio perfume, dons a thick navy cashmere Michael Kors sweater for the magazine, and, naturally, a flawless face painted by Gucci Westman.

Inside the issue, Kruger, who also wears an off-the-shoulder taffeta and tulle gown by Jason Wu, gives her beauty and fashion tips.

"I must be very careful with my skin from modeling and working under hot lights," says Kruger, who will be the new face of Calvin Klein's Beauty fragrance come this October. "I break out easily. I never go to sleep without taking off my makeup."

As for style versus comfort, Kruger says the former wins out every time.


"Two years ago, I wore an haute couture gown to the Venice Film Festival, and it had a full-on corset -- it was gorgeous, but it was a runway piece and it hadn't been made for life," she remembers.

"The bodice didn't have one of those openings at the bottom. I nearly fainted because it was so tight, and I had to go to the bathroom so badly, but it would have taken an hour to get out of that dress. But! It was soooo gorgeous!"

With such a devotion to fashion and taking sartorial risks, it's no wonder the 33-year-old actress is a muse to fellow German Karl Lagerfeld.

"I met Diane on a shoot I was doing for Elle in the '90s, with ten other girls," the Kaiser tells the magazine of his friend. "Diane was stunning, and the most interesting girl. The others I forgot instantly. One, she can make any clothing, no matter how wild, look right. That alchemy is very hard to explain. And two, she speaks perfect English, French, and German. There is no actress in the world who can handle so perfectly three languages with no accent."

The two are such close friends that the designer was chosen to present Kruger with an award at The Golden Camera Awards in Berlin.

"Karl never goes out to give awards, but he came out for me," Kruger says. "He gets very flustered speaking on TV, and he just goes on and on. And in the course of presenting me with this, he said, on live television, that we were neighbors -- and then gave our addresses. I'm backstage, like, Oh, my God! Thanks, Karl! For making it easy for the crazy people!"

To read more of Kruger's most fashionable memories and her beauty and workout advice, head over to Allure.com and pick up the July issue on newsstands tomorrow in Los Angeles and New York City, and nationwide on June 22.

Plus, see which other model turned actress is a July cover girl.