Dolly Parton's Favorite Drugstore Moisturizer, Genius Lipstick Hack, and Best Beauty Advice

The queen of country shares what makes her sparkle—besides sequins.

Everything Dolly Parton touches turns to bedazzled gold. The 77-year-old’s empire is worth an estimated $440 million and includes a catalog of more than 3,000 songs, a popular theme park, coveted perfumes, baking mixes with Duncan Hines, collectible clothing, and beloved charities, like the Imagination Library, which sends kids a free book each month from birth to age 5. For her latest project, she’s releasing a new book of her own (her eighth!), called Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones ($50; penguinrandomhouse.com). In it, you’ll find photographs of Dolly’s private costume archive and her thoughts on her most iconic getups, including the early-career coat of many colors and Playboy Bunny suit. We talked to her about it, and about her nonnegotiables.

Drugstore Beauty Products

“I’m a very low maintenance person. I have all the expensive makeup, but I usually use things I’ve bought at a beauty supply house. I use the same liner that I line my lips with to color my lips as well. Then I put on a gloss because that stays on better. I take off my makeup with those little mineral oil pads. And I love Olay—it’s not the most expensive, but I think it’s just as good.”

Fine-Strip False Lashes

“I wear eyelashes all the time, even in the daytime. Some look better on TV, and some look better onstage—it depends what you want—so I wear different lengths. I don’t like the lashes that already have eyeliner on them; it makes your eyes look too heavy.”

Fragrance as a Memory Maker

“I spray perfume in my wigs. I spray my wrists and my clothes. Scents and sounds leave the most lasting marks. Every now and then, I’ll open a box where I have things from long ago, and I’ll smell a certain perfume I was wearing then, and it takes me back to a place. Smell can overwhelm you—in a good or bad way!”

Bra Options

“I wear different bras depending on my outfit. Some of my costumes require a bra that pulls you in this way or lifts you up that way. Sometimes I don’t wear a bra—because my brave little soldiers still stand up pretty good on their own.”

Wearing What Makes Her Feel Like Dolly!

“I think it’s important that people be comfortable with how they look and with their makeup. We all know our weaknesses and our strengths. If I don’t look the way that I want to, then I’m going to feel self-conscious. I wrote a song once with the lines ‘Whoever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act.’ Be yourself, do what you do, and feel good about it.”

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