Celebrity Mound

Shakira and her Argentine boyfriend of 11 years say in a note on the Colombian pop star’s website that they have split up.

Shakira and Antonio de la Rua say they decided in August to “take time apart” from their romantic relationship but kept the details private until now.

The note posted Monday says the two view their separation as temporary, and adds that de la Rua will continue to oversee Shakira’s business and career interests. He is the son of a former president of Argentina.

A person close to the couple says they are now together in Paris. The person insisted on speaking anonymously, noting the subject’s sensitivity.

The 33-year-old Shakira said in various interviews in 2009 that she was ready to have babies.

The Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker has followed in the footsteps of her pop peers Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears by entering the cosmetics industry in a deal with Puig.

The singer says, “The type of women who feel a connection with this fragrance would be independent and strong, but also a woman with a great capacity to love and a strong sense of who they are. It’s for a woman who believes in herself.

“Like one of my songs, I wanted S by Shakira to tell a story, and to be something personal and unique. A perfume has to really reflect something inside you, make you connect with it in an emotional way.”

S by Shakira, which features notes of jasmine and sandalwood, will go on sale in September with prices starting from $17.

Colombian singer Shakira visited Phoenix on Thursday, meeting with the city’s police chief and mayor over concerns that a sweeping new state law cracking down on illegal immigration will lead to racial profiling.

The Grammy winner met with the officials to learn more about how the law will be implemented if it goes into effect this summer.

The law, signed Friday by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, is viewed as the toughest on illegal immigration in the nation and has drawn criticism from President Barack Obama, who questioned its legality. The law makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and directs police to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they’re illegal immigrants.

“Shakira is deeply concerned about the impact of this law on hardworking Latino families,” said Trevor Nielson, the singer’s political and philanthropic adviser. “She is coming to Arizona to try to learn more about how law enforcement is reacting to this new law and how we can ensure that people in the state of Arizona are not being targeted because of the color of their skin.”

He said Shakira canceled other commitments to make the visit and also planned to meet with Hispanic families in Phoenix to see how they’d be affected by the law.

Nielson said Shakira also sought to meet with Brewer during her visit to Phoenix, but that the governor’s director of scheduling told Nielson it wouldn’t be possible because the governor was booked.

The new law thrust Arizona into the international spotlight last week, with civil rights leaders and others demanding a boycott of the state, and the Mexican government warning its citizens about an “adverse political atmosphere” in Arizona. At least three Arizona cities are considering lawsuits to block the law, and there are two efforts to put a referendum on Arizona’s November ballot to repeal it.

Supporters of the law say it takes the handcuffs off police and is necessary to protect Arizonans, while opponents say it will lead to rampant racial profiling.

Shakira is perhaps best known for her nimble dance moves and songs including “Hips Don’t Lie” and “She-Wolf,” but recently she has become more active in political and social issues.

She visited earthquake-ravaged Haiti earlier this month, expressed her support for Cuban dissident group Ladies in White and has worked as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. Her Barefoot foundation provides nutrition to more than 6,000 children in Colombia, and she is a member of the ALAS foundation that advocates for children across Latin America.

Last month, the U.N. labor agency gave the singer a medal for her work to help impoverished children.

Shakira: http://www.shakira.com/

Arizona Legislature: http://www.azleg.gov/

Phoenix city government: http://phoenix.gov/mayorcouncil/about/index.html

The sexy singer – who wore a revealing nude-effect leotard in her ‘She Wolf’ music video – has poor self-esteem regarding her figure and she started going to see a therapist in 2001 to overcome her negative feelings.

She said: “It helped me so much with every aspect of my life, from body image to relationships. My therapist told me why I behaved in certain ways and not to feel so pressured. It’s incredibly liberating to spend an hour talking to someone and not caring about what you sound like. It’s about understanding myself. Sometimes I’ll speak to my therapist for an hour a day. It’s become part of my routine.”

The Colombian-born beauty says therapy helps her on the inside, but it takes a lot of hard work at the gym to give her the figure, which is the envy of women all over the world.

She told Fabulous magazine: “All through my 20s I spent more time worrying about what I didn’t have than thinking about what I did have. I wished I was taller, had longer legs, slimmer hips, a smaller bottom, even straighter hair. I’m just like all women – we’re born to criticise ourselves.

“I’ve worked my butt off to look like this. I’ve achieved the body I have now through hard work and careful eating. I’ve worked out every day, either running, doing gym work or dancing.

Nowadays, the 33-year-old pop star looks at just her body shape, and not the bathroom scales.

She said: “I haven’t been on the scales for a year but I know I’ve made my body leaner, trimming my hips and bottom.”