Katie, 26, declared: "My life changed in four seconds. He destroyed the glamorous and attractive girl that was me.
"Every scar tells a story and when something like this happens which is not an accident but a deliberate action, I'm not prepared to let it ruin my future."
On March 31, 2008, Katie came out of her London flat and noticed a guy - who turned out to be Stefan Sylvestre, 20 - coming towards her holding out a coffee cup as though he was begging.
She was taking money out of her purse when he threw the cup's contents - sulphuric acid - over her face.
The pair were both jailed for the callous plot.
The acid left Katie with third degree burns to her face, neck, chest, upper arms, wrists and hands. She swallowed acid when she began screaming in agony.
Yesterday, Scottish Sun columnist Lorraine asked Katie how the ordeal had changed her, saying: "Before the attack, you were a model and a TV presenter.
"Clearly both of these lifestyles are very glamorous and fashion and beauty focused. Did you enjoy it?"
Katie said: "Yes I did, but I don't miss it now.
"I still paint my nails and put on make-up like every other young women.
"I like to dress nicely and make the most of myself.
"But my life has taken a different path and I'm walking another route."
Lorraine said: "What's your attitude to fashion and glamour now?"
Katie - who waived her right to anonymity last year for Channel 4 documentary, Katie: My Beautiful Face - said: "I love fashion and glamour but sometimes the media portrays beauty as everything and that's not true.
"People who are disfigured have a hard time, and I'd like to see a change in attitudes."
She said: "I swallowed some acid so my oesophagus was almost destroyed. I also lost my sight in both eyes, but some vision has come back in one eye, and I may be able to have a cornea transplant or stem cell treatment."
"I couldn't breathe because of the damage from swallowing acid.
"Basically, my face was removed and reconstructed.
"As well as my NHS treatment here, I was also sent to a specialist rehabilitation centre in France.
"Losing my looks left me feeling that I'd never be myself again.
"It's taken a long time to get where I am today. I've had a lot of support and help from my family, friends and of course the doctors and psychologists who helped me.
"My face might be disfigured, but I'm still here, and I'm still me.
"Now I'm optimistic and positive again. I'm a young, sexy woman who likes to look glamorous and hopes one day to marry and have children.
"I now socialise instead of hiding away, but I don't have a boyfriend at the moment."
Katie has now set up a charity called the Katie Piper Foundation to help other burns victims.
She said "People can be very cruel, but others have been supportive and kind. It's been a rocky road, but I believe things happen in life for a reason, and my role is to help others by understanding how they feel.
"I realised that there are others out there, just like me, who maybe haven't had the support and attention I've had.
"That's why setting up this charity is so important to me, but I feel a bit selfish.
"I know I'm going to get so much pleasure out of helping others, that it makes me feel guilty. But I want other burns victims to have the chance to recuperate at specialist units like the one I went to.
"And I'd like people to accept that if someone is disfigured, they're still people."
Katie left Glam In The City with rapturous applause still ringing in her ears - and headed for the shops with her sister Susie, 24.
She said: "We've got a bit of damage to do with our credit cards. This is the first time I've ever been in Scotland and I'm loving it.
"Now which way is it to Buchanan Street? I hear the shops are brilliant here."
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