by Beth Hammarlund
Beth Ditto is my hero. Not only is the Gossip singer a cutting-edge artist who refuses to conform to anyone else’s standards, she’s also a beauty icon. Known for her over-the-top eye makeup and jet black hair, she’s always experimenting with new looks. She might just be the most unpredictable beauty icon of all time.
a promotional image from Ditto's collaboration with MAC
When asked about her beauty inspiration in interviews, Ditto typically answers that since she grew up in the South, she was inspired by women who took the time to make their hair as big as they could. She takes pride in these early influences, and isn’t ashamed to admit she bleached her hair with Sun-In, then dyed it by mixing Kool-Aid powder with Noxzema cream.
Ditto on the cover of Love Magazine
She quickly evolved into a beauty rebel, using makeup not only to create beautiful effects, but also scary, theatrical, occasionally humorous effects. She’s also managed to embrace her plus-size figure in an industry in which women are held to impossible standards. (And I don’t use the word “impossible” lightly. Even supermodels have lighting directors and a post-production team.)
prepping for her MAC photoshoot
Though I’m sure she’d never turn down a bottle of Sun-In, her tastes in products have matured since her youth in Arkansas. A MAC devotee, Ditto released her own collection for the brand earlier this month. My favorite item in the entire collection is the orange lip liner, titled “Entertain Me.” Do you know how hard it is to find orange lip liner? Granted, that’s probably not a product that many people have searched for, but for those of us who love an orange lip, our Holy Grail has arrived.
The collection is full of the strange bright colors you’d expect. In addition to oranges and aquas, a lavender nail polish and violet mascara make an appearance. As always, MAC’s collections are for a limited time only, so stop by the counter before it’s gone. Because seriously, you need that orange lip liner.
