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Dolly Parton says looking like Dolly is a full-time job
The truth is, looking like Dolly Parton has always been more than just a daytime thing. 11‑time Grammy winner, Dolly Parton, in her 2023 memoir, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, shared that when she first relocated to Los Angeles in the 1980s, she made it a habit to sleep in her makeup leaving one of the reasons being her fear of earthquakes.
“I thought, ‘If I go outside without makeup and cameras are there, how embarrassing! I’m just going to be ready!’” she wrote.
When Dolly and her husband Carl Dean later moved back to Tennessee, that habit of sleeping with her makeup on didn’t cease. “I’d rather not go to bed looking like a witch with Carl,” Dolly said.
Although her glamorous style is famously unapologetic and larger than life, the “Jolene” singer has always been adamant that it’s not a look or a costume that she puts on. What fans perceive as stage makeup, she has said, is really just the real her.
Dolly Parton Reveals Glam Look Is Her “Personal Truth” at 80
Dolly Parton has always considered a big part of her glam look as just an extension of her real personality. In her autobiographical book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, the country star detailed that her outfits and makeup are just as laying bare as the characters in her songs.
“Just like the characters in my songs disclose essential truths about me and the people I’ve known, my clothes and makeup also show the real me,” she said. “They both might be ‘made up,’ but they mirror my innermost self, my own personal truth.”
Despite her health issues keeping Dolly from making many public appearances recently, the star still shone brightly when she accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award via video at the 2025 Governors Awards in October. Now, she is marking her 80th birthday on Jan. 19, and there is no doubt that she is doing it in Dolly style.
Besides her amazing singing voice, great record of hits, and her warmth, Parton’s unwavering commitment to glam from head to toe is what truly distinguishes her. Whether it’s extravagant wigs, six-inch heels, or her legendary curves, the 5-foot-tall diva still commands a very large presence and is a genuine national treasure.
Dolly Parton says her Glam Is About Confidence – Not Convention
It has always been the case that Dolly Parton dresses only for herself and not for anyone else. In a 2021 interview with Allure, the country music legend revealed that her hallmark style essentially boils down to confidence and being personally happy.
“I am at peace with myself. And I dress for myself,” Dolly responded. “I do what makes me happy. So, I would just say to anybody: ‘If you are comfortable with wearing no makeup at all, be that. If you want to wear too much, do that.’”
She concluded quite simply, “I’ll do what’s best for me, as everybody should.”
Although Dolly may be teasing when she says that she gets up and instantly looks camera‑ready, she has also admitted that her famous look requires her to put in some work. Through the years, she has consistently been transparent about the beauty side of her life, revealing that she has had to deal with wigs, makeup, and upkeeping her appearance—while at the same time loving and enjoying the glam.
Dolly Parton Discloses the Unlikely Source of Her Look
Dolly Parton has always been open about giving an unexpected credit for her signature look. In a 2023 interview with Vogue, the country icon revealed that her first fashion influence was a woman from her own town who was widely criticized by others.
“When I was small, I styled my appearance after the town tramp in our hometown,” Dolly mentioned. “I believed she was the most beautiful thing I had ever come across.”
She said that she was fascinated by the woman’s daring look – a peroxide‑blonde hair in a high bun, cherry red lips and nails, very tight skirts, and high heels. “I just really thought she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen,” Dolly further explained how that gorgeous and bold style left a deep impression on her and gave her the idea of the fearless, overly‑exaggerated style that she’s been using ever since.
Dolly Parton Learned to Create Their Own Beauty From the Start
Dolly Parton’s ingenuity was instrumental in her career as a famous country singer and her iconic appearance was a result of her ingenuity at a young age. In her 2023 book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, the legend of country music told that when she was just a child she made beauty products by burning a match and using the ashes to line her eyes and dyeing her lips with pokeberries.
Dolly has publicly stated, “I am not a natural beauty,” she said according to Inside the Gloss. “If I am to have any appearance at all, I am going to have to make it.”
She has always been convinced that money is not the most important thing when it comes to glamour, explaining, “You don’t have to buy expensive cosmetics; almost anything will do if you know how to apply it.”
Why Dolly Parton Never Goes to Bed Without Makeup
Dolly Parton has joked for a long time that she is always camera‑ready—which is partly true of course. In a 2021 interview with Allure, the country legend told how she often sleeps in her makeup and hardly ever allows people to see her without makeup.
“I never have a bare face,” Dolly told. “I don’t even bare my face when I go out. Somebody, please, open my coffin so they can put some makeup on me.”
She explained that during the night she keeps her makeup on because she doesn’t want her husband, Carl Dean—who was her husband for over 55 years till his death in March 2025—to see her amid the curlers, acne treatments, and patches. Besides, at that time, Carl’s frail condition also meant she had to be ready in case of an emergency.
“I had to be ready for the ambulance to come at any moment,” she said.
Being ever so sensible—and always a bit melodramatic as Dolly typically is—she still added that she is ready for anything. “I have to be earthquake‑ready, I have to be tornado‑ready. You’re not gonna catch me out in the streets bare‑faced.”
However, Dolly concedes the glam doesn’t take too long. “I can do my makeup in 15 or 20 minutes,” she said, adding that she almost always wears a wig. For Dolly, being Dolly is simply a full-time job.
When Dolly Parton Is Not Wearing Makeup
“No matter what time you wash your face, it really doesn’t matter,” Dolly Parton disclosed in her 2023 book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, “just make sure you do it once a day. After I get up, I perform all the little rituals, and then I start over again, and every day I go out looking nice all day long.”
Drugstore Beauty Works for Dolly Parton
“I experiment with everything new that comes out, but there’s really nothing better than good old Vaseline and those Almay eye makeup remover pads,” Dolly Parton revealed to First for Women in 2015. “I take those small pads to wash my face and it leaves sufficient mineral oil on my skin that it becomes a good nighttime moisturizer.”
Besides that, the country music icon joked, “I have pretty nice skin for my age, and I guess it must be largely due to mineral oil and bacon grease.”
The Reality of Dolly Parton’s Boobs
Dolly Parton has never shied away from admitting changes in her shape. She’s shared openly about her weight changes, and in one instance she said in 1987 that she had lost about 50 pounds by eating small portions six or seven times a day and that she desired her breasts to remain proportionate to her new body.
“People have associated me with my boobs long before implants started to become popular, and I have never had silicone injections,” Straight Talk film star told the Chicago Tribune in 1992. Though she admitted to having plastic surgery, she emphasized that it was merely a breast lift following weight loss. “I would be terrified of injections,” she said.
On the one hand, Dolly brought out the humorous side while reflecting on her appearance in 2004 during a chat with Dan Rather, CBS News. She joked that they “have been pumped up and fixed up” and that “now they’re standing up there like brave little soldiers… they’re really big, they’re really expensive, and they’re really mine now.”
Regarding the notorious myth that each of her breasts is worth a million dollars insurance-wise, Dolly cleared the matter up on TODAY, 2022. “It’s a lie,” she said, “It was just a joke based on the old Hollywood stories.” “I didn’t go there,” she added.
Dolly Parton’s Butterfly Tattoos Carry Deep Meaning
Dolly Parton’s butterfly tattoos are fascinating in that they go beyond just being pretty body art – they have a deeply personal significance. The country music icon has revealed that she identifies with butterflies because they are gentle and beautiful creatures. “They don’t sting, they don’t bite, and they are so beautiful,” she told W magazine in 2021.
Nonetheless, Dolly revealed that her tattoos were not just a result of her love for ink. Since she is very fair-skinned and gets scarring easily, tattoos served as a means of camouflaging the scars left after surgeries and injuries.
“I’ve had surgeries for different things, and if the scars didn’t heal properly, I just gotta put tattoos to take the sting out,” she disclosed. She also said that her tattoos are soft and understated. “I don’t have the real heavy, dark tattoos. Mine are all pastel. And I have more than one!”
How Dolly Parton Invented The Smell That Represents Her
Dolly Parton’s undeniable scent was originally a mixture of her favorite perfumes that she personally blended. After quite a while of getting compliments, she thought it was time to bottle it.
“It was just a mixture of things I adore,” Dolly said to Allure. She admitted that her usual mix featured Tova’s musk bath oil and Mary Kay Intrigue. When Intrigue was discontinued, Dolly didn’t hesitate to secure as many bottles as possible. “I went on eBay and bought every single bottle,” she explained. “I was shelling out a lot of money… I still have hundreds of bottles.”
When she was about to launch the Dolly Beauty fragrance line — kicking off with Dolly: Scent From Above — she brought her favorite creams and scents with her to her licensor, Edge Beauty, and asked them to make her a legally recreated signature old smell. “Let’s do it,” she said, “only legally.”
How Dolly Parton Lives in Sky-High Heels
“I wear heels every day. I have them made specially for me,” Dolly Parton told Vogue. The country music star revealed that comfort and fit were the most important things to her, particularly when wearing high heels daily.
“You need to have a shoe that fits the shape of your foot and also where your body weight falls, and that’s what should be the main consideration for the shoe,” she said, mentioning that shoes bought at a store can often result in blisters and pain.
Besides the matter of practicality, Dolly is simply enamored with the finish of the effect. “I like the height that heels give me and have always thought they were very sexy,” she said. Moreover, “They give you the look of someone who is powerful.”
How Much Makeup Does Dolly Parton Really Wear?
Dolly Parton has always been open about her passion for makeup – actually, she considers it a kind of art.
“I’m just an artist, like a kid with paints and crayons,” she said to Bustle in 2024. “I love to experiment with makeup, colors, and even designs.”
Foundation is essential for Dolly. “I always put that on,” she revealed, also mentioning that she uses blush and changes moisturizers depending on which one continues to suit her skin.
Day and night? Not much difference in her makeup routine. “I wear basically the same makeup,” Dolly confessed, explaining that she just does touch-ups during the day.
With summer weddings, or stage performances, that’s when she really goes spectacular. “I’ll often wear glitter and more shadows,” she revealed, “a little shine here and there,” which she wouldn’t use normally during the day, further clarifying her point.
Dolly Parton’s Honest Take on Plastic Surgery
Dolly Parton has always been refreshingly open about cosmetic procedures. “I don’t really think too much of it,” she revealed to The Guardian in 2011. “If something is sagging, bagging, or dragging, I’ll tuck it, suck it or pluck it.”
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2020, she revealed that she started plastic surgery at around forty. “I’m a strong believer that whatever it takes to make you feel better about yourself,” she said during The Oprah Conversation. “If you’ve got the nerve, and you’ve got the money, and you’ve got the need for it… If you feel good about yourself, you can make other people feel better about themselves.”
Nevertheless, Dolly also emphasized the value of restraint. In a 2023 interview with The Howard Stern Show, she pointed out the risk of going overboard. “Whenever you go under the knife, you might come out looking worse,” she warned.
Moreover, she revealed that she adopts a cautious approach. “I just try to do little bits at a time. I don’t do really big stuff. I do fillers, Botox… only when I have to do something a little more, and even then, I try to be careful,” she said.
Dolly Parton on Aging (or Not)
Dolly Parton has always refused to embrace the idea of getting old (at least not the conventional way).
“I will never be old because I will never have time to be old,” she once playfully told Oprah Winfrey during an interview in 2020. “I don’t have time to slow down and grow old!”
The country music icon revealed that her aim is just to be the best she can be at every stage of life. “I’m just gonna be the best I can be at whatever age I am,” she said, even going so far as to suggest that she would still be recognizable at 95.
“I think I’m going to be like a cartoon,” Dolly chuckled. “I will be in the makeup. I guess I will look as young as my plastic surgeons will let me, and everything with makeup and lighting and all that.”
Nonetheless, she pointed out that looks are not everything. “In fact, more than anything, it’s really about what comes from inside you,” said Dolly.
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