Dolly Parton is the queen of many things — country music, sparkly outfits, teased blonde hair, and of course, bold makeup. After all, we’ve all come to love the legendary country singer’s iconic look she’s created all for herself. Now, if you’re wondering if you’ll someday see Dolly Parton without makeup on – well, the answer is a resounding no.
“Lord, I could never get away with that!” Dolly said about going bare-faced.
She would never step outside the house without her makeup unless her husband Carl Dean is dying of heart attack, “and even then, I would think about it,” she joked.
She Values Her Daily Makeup Routine
Dolly Parton‘s commitment to her signature look is something she’s valued throughout her legendary career. Her makeup, which she always does herself, is part of who she is. It’s even the first thing she does in the morning. “After I have my breakfast and do my spiritual work, I put on my makeup and fix my hair, and I can do my makeup in 15 minutes,” she said.
And recently, the country icon shared her dirty little secret, revealing that she actually sleeps with her makeup on.
“I clean my face in the mornings,” Dolly spilled to The New York Times. “You never know if you’re going to wreck the bus, you never know if you’re going to be somewhere in a hotel and there’s going to be a fire. So I leave my makeup on at night and clean my face in the morning.”
Yep, you read that right! You will find Dolly in full glam even if you catch her mid-snooze. And when she was living in Los Angeles, she religiously wears makeup and fixes her hair, due to the recurring earthquakes. Because what if a big one hits and Dolly has to go out? She has to be dolled up before that would happen.
Even when Dolly is at home with her husband of 54 years, she still gets dressed up and put on a few hot rollers.
“He knows I’m always going to kind of be fixed up for him because I don’t believe in going home and being a slouch,” Dolly said. And she is most grateful that Carl appreciates her for who she is. “He doesn’t care what I wear as long as I’m happy,” says Parton. “He loves me the way I am.”
Dolly’s love for makeup started way back her pre-Dollywood days. And take note that Dolly was raised in the Pentecostal Church of God that believes wearing makeup was sinful. Dolly had to sneak around and make herself all pretty, but then wash it off before her family could catch her.
For You
And for her beauty routine? She used red pokeberries for her lipstick, which is, by the way, poisonous if not properly cooked. She used burnt matchstick for her eyeliner, in which “you’ve got to spit on it after you’ve burnt it.” And she used flour for her powder, but Dolly warns that “you’ve got to be careful though because if you get hot, you’ll break out in little biscuits.”
You’ll Never Catch Dolly With No Makeup On
If somebody would ask what Dolly looks like without her makeup on, the “I Will Always Love You” singer said she looks like hell, though we know she’s over exaggerating. “But that’s OK, who doesn’t? I’m not a natural beauty,” she said.
Apparently, Dolly cares about what people have to say about her when she’s out and about in her day-to-day life. “If I go anywhere, I go in full disguise. I’m afraid somebody will say, ‘Oh, did you see Dolly? She looked like hell.’ I’d rather them say, ‘Did you see Dolly? She’s so overdone,'” the “Jolene” singer said.
Even when others encouraged her to “tone her look down” to appeal to a broader audience, she’s stood her ground.
Shop Dolly Parton
- Behind the Seams: My Life in RhinestonesBook · 2023The stories behind her stage outfits, written with Holly George-WarrenSee it on Amazon
- Dolly Parton’s Favorite Yellow Cake MixBaking · Duncan HinesFrom her Duncan Hines baking lineSee it on Amazon
- JoleneVinylWith “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”See it on Amazon
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RELATED: Dolly Parton Wows Fans With A Rare Glimpse Of Her Without A Wig
“I said, ‘You know what? I can’t separate the two. This is who I am,'” Dolly said in an interview. She figured that if her work were truly good enough, then people would eventually appreciate that.
“It was about me knowing who I was, being happy with me, and feeling comfortable in the way I presented myself. If I was happy, I could make other people happy. That’s how I’ve always looked at it: that I look totally artificial, but I am totally real, as a writer, as a professional, as a human being. A rhinestone shine just as good as a diamond.”
Some might call it a matter of confidence, others might say it’s just being vain, but that only how Dolly rolls, and we love her for that. “I feel better when I put on a little makeup. I don’t like looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘Who the hell’s that old ugly woman?'” says Dolly.
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