YOUR BEAUTY MARK by DITA VON TEESE

YOUR BEAUTY MARK- THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ECCENTRIC GLAMOUR

BY DITA VON TEESE with ROSE APODACA

THE BLURB:-

From burlesque show to fashion runway, magazine cover to Internet video, style icon and “burlesque super heroine” Dita Von Teese has undergone more strokes of red lipstick, bursts of hairspray, boxes of blue-black dye, and pats of powder in a month than a drag queen could dream of in a lifetime. Whether she's dazzling audiences while swirling in a towering Martini glass in Swarovski-crystal-covered pasties and stilettos or sparking camera flashes on the red carpet, one reality is constant for this self-styled star- beauty is an art.

Now, for the first time in her Technicolour career, Dita divulges the beauty wisdom that keeps her on best-dressed lists and high-profile fashion show rosters. This book takes you through every step of Dita's glamour arsenal, and includes her confidantes- masters in make-up, hair, medicine and exercise, as well as some of the world's most eccentric beauties- for authoritative advice. Packed with sound nutrition and exercise guidance, skin care and scent insight, as well as accessible techniques for creating bombshell hairstyles and make-up looks and more, this inspiring resource shares the skills, history and lessons you need to enhance your individual gifts and realize your own beauty mark.

THE REALITY:-

What a sheer wonderful delight for the well-being from from the Queen of Teese!

Dita is a lady after my own heart. Like her, I'm an advocate of old-fashioned glamour, which harks back to the stars of the silver screen and the days when women dressed like women; in full make-up, glamorous clothing and with perfectly styled hair. Think Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. Few stars nowadays seem to come close to that but The Teese is one of them.

Like Dita, I love the trifecta of pale skin, dark hair and red lipstick. (What is this obsession with sunbathing? And those horrible French manicures with squared-off tips? And nude lipstick? Uuuuuuuurgh!!!!) Add to that cat's eyes and a bit of alternative decoration and we are talking PERFECTION. Like Dita, I think it's okay to dress differently to the masses and that difference should be celebrated, not ridiculed. Like Dita, I deplore and have no time for “the natural look” as it is not for me. There have been many who have tried to change me- at the age of seventeen I had a boyfriend threaten to buy me blue jeans (like Dita, denim does not touch my body and hasn't done since I was twelve years old. After all, it's men's work wear and jeans do nothing for my short, curvy figure). I told him not to waste his money as I would have put them straight into the bin. At the age of eighteen I had another boyfriend threaten to buy me “black Reebok boots”- I have no idea what these sinister-sounding objects looked like but kind of got the jist and told him that if he did, they would also end up filed under B. The same man told me to “do your hair and make-up more naturally.” Both relationships didn't last long. I have also had friends offer to make me over, whilst sporting a malicious gleam in their silly eyes. I always decline, only to be told that “I'm spoiling their fun.” Well, I then tell them to make themselves or each other over as I know what they are up to, and that is trying to straighten my hair and sticking some kind of conformist and frumpy style (their idea of “beauty” and “sexy”) onto the rest of me. By the way, I hate straight hair too- it's B-O-R-I-N-G.

In reality, this book did not teach me much that I didn't know already, but it's nice to see that Dita is a bit of a DIY queen who always does her own make-up, dyes her hair at home and has a simple and cheap haircut whenever she needs one. Like her, I'm not one for hairdressers and beauty salons- I have neither the time or inclination. It's also good to see that she's not bitter. By all accounts, her marriage breakdown was pretty nasty, with another woman being involved, but she mentions Marilyn Manson and he features in one of the photographs. Good for her- life is too short to let the past eat you up.

With great beauty tips for those of you who are not clued up (read up about half-moon manicures- my mum taught me how to do these. I'm actually not over-keen but it is a dying art that looks very vintage and feminine) and some fantastic photographs of the lady herself (this book is also a treat for the men in our lives!  In fact, my partner bought it for me...hmmm...) this coffee table lovely comes highly recommended.

I tell you something, though (like Dita, I hate my hair being touched when it's "done"-  I don't do my hair for other people to play with) I bet even she hasn't used as much hairspray in her lifetime as I have in mine...