Lionel Richie Shares the Origin Story of His Iconic Mustache: 'It's Always Been My Signature' (Exclusive)

Lionel Richie is feeling (and looking) fan-tasche-tic. 

The famed musician, 74, never expected to be a “trendsetter” in the style space when he was first starting out, but once he happened upon the mustache-look, he never looked back. 

“My mustache has always been my signature. And I didn't really realize it was going to be my signature,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But it started from a very simple equation, which is called, I'm in a hotel room for seven hours before I do a show. I am obsessed with a mirror. And all of a sudden, one day someone gave me one of those five-time [magnifying] mirrors. And that messed me up for life.”

The rest is history, and Richie admits that he is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his iconic look. 

“I'm the guy who obsesses over the fact of is it equal on the left side? On the right side?” he says. 

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But, beyond the mustache (and making sure it’s symmetrical) Richie, who spoke to PEOPLE for the launch of his fragrance Easy Like Sunday Morning on HSN, keeps his grooming techniques rather simple. 

"If I can get eight hours of sleep, as much water as I can possibly drink without overdoing it, three meals a day, and, for the most part, the rest of it is kind of built into my business, which is exercise. Two hours a night on a full stage,” he explains of how he manages to stay fit and feeling good all night long 40 years into his lauded career. 

Most recently, Richie put on his Sunday best to escort daughter Sofia Richie Grainge, 24, down the aisle at her wedding to music executive Elliot Grainge in April at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Rock in Antibes, France.

Sofia, 24, is the youngest of Richie's three children. He is also dad to son Miles Brockman, 29, and daughter Nicole Richie, 41.

And, as a doting father of three and longtime performer, Richie has learned to manage his stress — thanks to one tip he's never forgotten. 

“When they always say stress free, a doctor gave me the greatest advice one day about stress. He said, the day you're stress and pain free, you're dead. So it's how you navigate your stress,” he shares.

“And so what I do is when you see me doing the fragrances like I'm doing now, my gardens and my planting and stuff, my design, my artwork — I should say architecture stuff — I'm that guy," Richie adds. "So I find as many ways as I can create as possible, and that's my bliss.”