“Confidence is the important thing with beauty, mostly. It’s really about doing what you believe is beautiful. I feel most beautiful when I have my red lips on and when I have my cat eyeliner on and my hair curled—that’s what I feel good in, even though lots of people will see me with straight hair and no makeup on, and they’ll say I look so much younger. I don’t really care, though. I don’t care if they think I look prettier without the makeup and hair — it’s about what makes you feel good about yourself. I like having makeup on; I like the discipline it requires. For example, I can’t just dive into a cheeseburger; I’ll have some nice grilled chicken … or a salad. Although salad is hard to eat with lipstick on, too. (Laughs) But there’s a discipline involved … you can’t touch your face with your hands as often, which is good, because you won’t get sick as often. It’s like wearing high heels: there’s a ladylike discipline involved with wearing high heels or a corset … or pencil skirts. Suddenly you have to change the way you are in the world, and I think makeup and hair are a little like that.”
– Dita Von Teese gave an epic interview to beauty blog Into The Gloss and I love this quote. Beauty (and fashion!) should be about what you think looks good on yourself and what makes you feel beautiful. Is that being a tomboy? Is that being uber-feminine like Dita? You should not let the multi-million dollar beauty and fashion industries dictate how you should present yourself anymore than you should let religious folks, feminists, or Internet commenters dictate that. Whatever you want to do for you is your choice.
After the jump, Dita gets serious and talks … dun-dun-duhnnnnnnnn … nipple hair:
“In my book, I’ll have all kinds of things in it that you just don’t do around guys — like how I do my hair if a guy’s watching, how to make the process glamorous, so it doesn’t look crazy. I won’t go around with the hot rollers and all the clips in front of a guy that I’m dating, so, I know how to curl my hair with a curling iron, and use duckbill clips so it looks nice when I’m doing it. … But there are certain things to be discreet about during the seduction process. Men like to watch you get ready, but I kind of tailor things a little bit for when they’re watching. My beauty book is going to be totally different from what’s out there. I’m going to tell you that you have to pluck the nipple hairs off your nipples before a date — I’m here to tell you that.”
Oh, Lordy, this is why I love Dita Von Teese. It is so, so true that (some) guys really love watching a woman get ready. It is seductive, even for a man who thinks you look naturally beautiful without any warpaint on. Maybe it’s just because I put my makeup on in my underwear before I get dressed (unless I’m wearing a white shirt or dress) but all my past boyfriends have always gotten really frisky watching while I get ready.
And also? She is so, so correct about grooming your nips, if you so choose. Ladyfur there really looks the awkwardest. And as a dark-haired lady, I speak from experience here.
The rest of Dita’s Into The Gloss interview is filled with beauty product recommendations and tips, so it’s definitely worth checking out in full.
[Into The Gloss]Original by Jessica Wakeman