Dolly Parton wears makeup at night because ‘my poor husband has to look at me’

Last year, RuPaul had the honor of interviewing Dolly Parton for Marie Claire. In the interview, RuPaul asked Dolly a lot about her styling, makeup, wigs and her love of high heels. Ru confessed that he took off his drag when he comes home and Dolly was spectacularly judgmental about that. She honestly out-drag-queened RuPaul, telling him “I have to always stay ready—street ready, I always say. I have to keep my makeup on and keep my hair done… I’m not running out in the street looking like you look now. I have to be ambulance-ready at all times, if I get sick or something.” Imagine Dolly Parton telling a drag queen that he doesn’t wear enough makeup, my God. Anyway, Dolly has a new interview with WSJ. Magazine and she talks about some of the same stuff, how she’s always street ready:

She doesn’t wear sweatpants: She revealed she “[doesn’t] wear sweat clothes” at home — but insisted that doesn’t mean she sacrifices relaxation for fashion. “I do like to be comfortable like everybody else,” said Parton, 75. To that end, she has her “own little house clothes, like a little dress-type teddy, a long teddy, then I have a little jacket or shirt to match if I get cold. I call them my baby clothes because they’re soft like a baby.”

Her beauty routine: She does “all my beauty work and cleaning my face in the morning because I usually try to keep my makeup on at night.” The reasoning? “I never know if there’s going to be an earthquake or a tornado or a storm and I’m going to have to go out in the middle of the night! I don’t like to go home and just tear down completely, because my poor husband has to look at me. And in the morning when I get up I start all over again, put on my makeup and then touch it up through the day.”

Day-to-evening makeup: She’ll start with her base look from the morning and “just add a little more shadow, a little more glitter, redder or brighter lipstick. I’m so used to doing my own makeup and hair I can do it really fast.”

Self-confidence is what she considers the most integral aspect when it comes to beauty. “I’m impressed with anybody that’s got a sense of glamour and style, but I say, first of all, it’s about being comfortable in your own skin.”

Her style inspo: Her “own overexaggerated look” was inspired by “the town tramp” in her hometown, whom other people looked down on but Parton considered “absolutely beautiful.” “She wore colorful patchwork skirts and pretty blouses and showed a little cleavage and had red nails and piled-up blond hair and red lipstick and high heels. She was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. When everybody would say, ‘Oh, she’s just trash,’ I’d say, ‘Well, trash is what I’m going to grow up to be.’ And I guess my look is glamorous trash!”

[From People]

For “the town tramp” comment, you also have to realize that Dolly was a kid in post-WWII Tennessee. There was probably only one woman in town who painted her nails and wore cute outfits. And Dolly, as a kid, was like “she’s so glamorous!!” As for Dolly wearing makeup to bed and starting over in the morning… I mean, it’s bad for your skin, but also she’s Dolly Parton! It’s too late to get her to change now. My guess is that when she comes home, she takes off her wig, her eyelashes and her glittery clothes, changes into her soft baby clothes and that’s about it. Someone should definitely try to give her a pair of sweatpants though. She can wear heels with them if she wants, but I definitely need her to try on a pair of sweats.

2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year Honoring Dolly Parton

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WSJ. Magazine.

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30 Responses to “Dolly Parton wears makeup at night because ‘my poor husband has to look at me’”

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  1. Snuffles says:

    I just love Dolly!

  2. ME says:

    Wearing your make-up to sleep? No thank you.

  3. duchess of hazard says:

    I think Charlotte Tilbury (make up artist) does the same thing. Supposedly her husband has never seen her without makeup. Wild.

    • I always thought this was a southern woman thing as my mom and my grandma were like this. My mom married my dad when she was 17 and she’ almost 80, and he’s BARELY seen her without her makeup. But somehow her skin is fine, (and she always ALWAYS used Lancome products) I don’t know how she does it, as I would be a welter of red spots blackheads and zits. And she does a FULL face, like Dolly btw, base, eyeshadow mascara the whole damn thing, lol. My mom also believes women should wear bras at home ALWAYS, and thinks my big ol breasts should always be harnessed, and is disappointed at me flopping around.

  4. Jais says:

    Dolly forever💕

  5. TaraBest says:

    She dressed up in a Playboy bunny outfit for her husband’s birthday yesterday! At 75 she’s still fully embracing her “aesthetic”. I hope I’m still enjoying dressing up and doing my hair and makeup at that age. Love Dolly!

  6. Digital Unicorn says:

    LOVE LOVE Dolly – she’s trending on UK Twitter over her husband’s birthday present. She recreated her Playboy cover for him and then presented him with them both framed while dressed as a Playboy bunny.

    #LifeGoals

    PS. Her husband was hot when he was a young man and I can see why she wrote Jolene.

  7. Aphra says:

    She is perfection! So funny, so honest, so true. Love Dolly.

  8. Amanda says:

    I love her but I can’t imagine caring that much about a man

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Yes. I adore her, but this makes me feel very sad for her. It sounds like she’s scared of the judgement of her natural being, and while I absolutely don’t fault her for that, I want better for her. She sounds comfortable with her lifestyle, but not comfortable in her own skin. She sounds trapped by patriarchal ideals.

  9. tealily says:

    If this was any other woman I would say that it’s so sad that she doesn’t feel like she can take her makeup off, even at home in front of her husband. But it’s Dolly Parton and she can do whatever the hell she wants!

  10. Chlo says:

    What an icon!!!

  11. Sumodo1 says:

    Don’t forget, Dolly can’t even walk without high heels on! Playboy bunny outfit for hubby?!! Yes, ma’am! Dylan Thomas wrote it and Dolly lives it: “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light”

  12. Seraphina says:

    I like Dolly but doesn’t she have to look at him as well? We all age – it does not discriminate.

  13. olliesmom says:

    Just when I thought I could not love her more and then this interview. She surprises me every time.

    Wearing all that makeup to bed? My first thought was about her pillowcases!

    I love that she could see the beauty in the “town tramp” as a little girl and she can still see the beauty in everything.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I do too!! It proves that she isn’t judgmental and she sees the beauty in every person, no matter their status in life. If we could all treat people the way we did when we were children, this would be a much nicer world.

  14. olliesmom says:

    Just when I thought I could not love her more and then this interview. She surprises me every time.

    Wearing all that makeup to bed? My first thought was about her pillowcases!

  15. Barrett says:

    I love her! Love , love! But her fake boobs in the bunny shot made me nervous for her health and back! Oh dear Dolly at 75 can you reduce to a DD!

  16. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Mom always stayed made up for her man. I was raised the same way…to always look your very best 24/7. Was I all in for this kind of antiquated thinking? Lmao. Not even as a child.

  17. MangoAngelesque says:

    My grandmother was this way, but it’s funny…my grandfather honestly couldn’t have cared less. He told her how nice she looked, of course, but he also told her that when she worked out in the yard in her flower beds. Because he really did mean it. But, for her, she needed to be “done” at all possible times.

    So I wouldn’t be surprised if her “poor husband” would love looking at her with or without her makeup, in her baby clothes or sweatpants, and she’s just built it into her own feelings that that’s how SHE feels most soft and lovely and beautiful.

  18. Sue Denim says:

    she’s so funny, love her line when asked how long it takes to do her hair “I don’t know, I’m never there…” and her recent “Vaccine” song was great!

  19. You Know Me says:

    Yuk. I love Dolly but this is yuk.

  20. TeeMajor says:

    I love me some Dolly Parton, always have and always will.

  21. Lucy says:

    Her back must be made out of steel. Between the heels and her bust, I would think something had been thrown out of whack by now. My back and bag ankle won’t accept heels and I just turned 40 😂

  22. Bellah says:

    During my twenties, I often fell asleep in full makeup on Friday and Saturday nights.

    These days, I shower and do my makeup before bed when I have early morning on-camera conference calls. That way I can simply roll out of bed, do 10 jumping jacks to fully wake up, grab my cup of coffee that’s timed to brew with my alarm, and shuffle over to my computer camera ready from the waist up.

    I relish every minute of sleep and I am not waking up an hour early to get ready for a 4am call 🤨
    I sleep on my back with a cylindrical bolster pillow at nape of my neck. So I never have any makeup transfer to my pillowcase.

    • EveV says:

      @Bellah
      I love this comment so so very much!
      I am like you with my need for sleep and you saying you that you do your makeup at night and then do 10 jumping jacks in the morning to wake up real quick, I just love this so much for some reason. Thanks for making my day 🙂

  23. Katie says:

    I’m surprised how so many people are non-plussed by this.
    It’s so utterly depressing that someone can be so ashamed of their face that they won’t even show it to their husband.
    I love Dolly but I wish she was projecting a more positive message here.

    • Granger says:

      I’m surprised too. The vanity of it is mind-boggling. Honestly, if my house was burning down, and all my heirlooms and mementoes with it, the last thing I’d care about when I run out to greet the firefighters is that I’m wearing a face full of make-up. (I know that’s not EXACTLY what she’s saying — but the sub-text is there.)

      • EveV says:

        I feel like Dolly is just being honest and that a lot of celebrities are like this. If our house is on fire, there will be no pictures in the international news – not true with Dolly.. so, I get it. I am not like this, but I get where she is coming from. I think she means it more in that way than staying cute for her husband