Dolly Parton built one of entertainment’s most recognizable looks, but the country music legend didn’t think it took a fortune to create it.
Parton, who died at age 80, spoke openly throughout her career about the beauty habits behind her signature big hair, false eyelashes, bright lipstick, long acrylic nails and colorful makeup.
Despite having access to luxury products, Parton revealed in a 2023 interview ahead of the release of “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones” that she frequently reached for much more affordable options.
“I’m a very low-maintenance person,” Parton said. “I have all the expensive makeup, but I usually use things I’ve bought at a beauty supply house.”
The global music superstar’s approach to beauty centered less on price tags or trends and more on knowing exactly what worked for her.
Dolly Parton Used Olay and Beauty Supply Makeup Despite Having Expensive Options
Parton’s everyday beauty products could be surprisingly simple.
She used the same pencil to line and fill in her lips, then added gloss to help the color stay in place. She removed her makeup with mineral-oil pads and counted Olay among her favorite skincare brands.
“It’s not the most expensive,” Parton said, “but I think it’s just as good.”
Parton had long embraced affordable products. Before she could buy makeup, she famously experimented with what she had available, including berries to create color.
She later launched her own affordable lipstick collection in 2024.
Her false eyelashes were another major part of the Dolly look, although she didn’t use the same style for every occasion.
“I wear eyelashes all the time, even in the daytime,” she said. “Some look better on TV, and some look better onstage—it depends what you want—so I wear different lengths.”
One thing she didn’t want was lashes with eyeliner already attached, because she felt they made her eyes look too heavy.
Parton Slept in Makeup So She Would Be ‘Earthquake-Ready’
Parton’s commitment to glamour didn’t necessarily end at bedtime.
She famously revealed that she slept in her makeup, partly because she wanted to be prepared if an emergency forced her out of the house unexpectedly.
“I have to be earthquake-ready, I have to be tornado-ready!” Parton wrote in a beauty essay for Allure.
She would wash her face in the morning before applying a fresh round of makeup.
Parton also had no interest in changing her look simply because beauty trends shifted toward something more understated.
“I wear make-up, and it gets a little bit thicker every year,” she once said.
Her philosophy was straightforward: people should wear whatever makes them feel comfortable.
“If you’re comfortable wearing no make-up, be that,” Parton wrote in Allure. “If you wanna wear too much, do that.”
“Do what makes you happy, because if you’re happy and you’re comfortable, people are going to be happy around you,” she added.
Dolly Parton’s Big Hair Came From a Lifelong Love of Wigs
Parton’s towering blonde hair became just as recognizable as her voice.
She relied heavily on wigs after deciding her naturally “flat and fine” hair didn’t give her the dramatic look she wanted.
“I think God gave me talent cause he screwed up my hair,” Parton once joked.
Wigs allowed her to maintain her signature volume without constantly styling her natural hair. On more relaxed days, however, she didn’t necessarily recreate the full stage look.
“I’ll tease my hair and put it up in a little scrunchie,” she told The Guardian in 2011.
Parton was equally candid about cosmetic procedures.
“If something is bagging, sagging or dragging, I’ll tuck it, suck it or pluck it!” she famously said.
Parton’s Nails Even Became Part of ‘9 to 5’
Parton’s long acrylic nails weren’t simply another piece of her beauty routine. They also played a role in one of her biggest hits.
While working on “9 to 5,” Parton discovered that rubbing her acrylic nails together created a rhythm she could use while developing the song.
She explained in a 1981 interview that she used her nails “just to get the rhythm when I wasn’t close to my guitar.”
Her signature scent was equally specific. Parton used a combination of Tova’s Musk Bath Oil and Mary Kay’s discontinued Intrigue, which she reportedly tracked down online after it disappeared from stores. When developing her own fragrance, “Scent From Above,” she used the combination as inspiration.
Across makeup, hair, nails and fragrance, Parton maintained the same philosophy for decades: beauty didn’t have to follow trends, cost a fortune or appeal to anyone else.
“If you wanna wear too much, do that,” she said.
