Beauty Lessons From Dolly Parton, In Her Own Words

Jenna RosensteinFri, August 28, 2026 at 6:49 PM UTC

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Beauty Lessons From Dolly Parton, In Her Own WordsHarry Langdon - Getty Images

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As the world continues to mourn Dolly Parton and her contributions to music, songwriting, literacy, and philanthropy, there’s another area of her life where she was undoubtedly a trailblazer: beauty.

Parton wielded acrylic nails, wigs, and her penchant for rhinestones like a weapon, always knowing precisely how to strike for the biggest impact. Hyperfemininity became her signature, her brand, part of what made her so iconic and unforgettable. Like with everything Parton did, her beauty look was curated with great intention. “Hopefully people can see beneath the hair to know there’s a brain, beneath the boobs to know there’s a heart, and behind all the other stuff to know there’s some talent,” she once said. To Barbara Walters, she added: “I’m very real as far as my outlook on life and the way I care about people and the way I care about myself and the things I care about. I just chose to do this, and show business is a money-making joke, and I’ve just always liked telling jokes.”

Bazaar spoke with Parton in 2021 as she launched her first fragrance, Dolly Scent From Above, to learn about her beauty philosophy and favorite products.

“I always wanted to do perfume. I love beautiful scents. People follow me down the hall to ask me what scent I’m wearing. Also, Cher has her own fragrance, and so did Elizabeth Taylor!

One of my childhood memories is going to visit my aunt Estelle, who lived in Knoxville. She had all the nice clothes and perfumes. She was intriguing to a poor little girl—I grew up in the hills of Tennessee. She had sachets in her dresser drawers; I would open them and inhale.

Butterflies are part of who I am. I used to get lost chasing them when I was a child. I wrote a song called ‘Love Is Like a Butterfly,’ and a butterfly is on my new perfume, Dolly Scent From Above.

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My favorite wig is the one I’m wearing on the cover of my book Songteller. It’s probably the most famous. My aunt Colleen Owens, who was my hairdresser at the time, came up with that look. Eventually I’d like to have my own line of wigs, hairpieces, and hair products.

I send people out to the drugstore to get beauty products for me. I love Maybelline New York’s eyelash curler, and I’ve always used Pond’s Cold Cream. I still find to this day, even though I have all kinds of expensive products, that the simpler ones are just as good. A lot of the time they work even better.

Lipstick gets on my teeth. Instead, I line and fill in my lips with a Lise Watier pencil, and put M.A.C Lipglass on top.

My home smells so good. I burn candles and incense, and I use sprays. When it comes to candles, I use the most expensive or any that smell good, like those from Yankee Candle. My little nieces and nephews come over and say, ‘It smells like Gigi!’ That’s what they call me.

Of course, I don’t always go out in rhinestones and earrings. But I like putting on a little makeup every day. At home, I don’t want to look like a slouch for my husband, Carl Dean, who doesn’t get to see me that much. I wear the wigs, but I also like pulling my hair up in a scrunchie. And I put on makeup because I never know who’s going to show up at the door.”

As told to Jessica Matlin in Harper’s Bazaar, 2021

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”