Jessica Simpson, who I think is more beautiful because of her work with Operation Smile than how she looked in the Dukes of Hazzard remake, launches a new show on VH1 tonight, The Price of Beauty. After the "mom-jeans" incident of last year, Jessica has spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be beautiful and how it is defined throughout the world. On a mission to find out how people define beauty outside of the hyper-critical arena that is tabloid Hollywood, Jessica and BFF's Ken Paves and CaCee Cobb set out to crisscross the world in search of answers.
From acidic skin lighteners to fattening huts, Jessica and her crew investigate the bizarre things women to do achieve beauty. Their first visit it is to Thailand, where they get twisted massages, see what happens when the pursuit of fair skin goes sideways, meditate with monks and observe a young girl as she is adorned with her first neck ring.
I am curious to see how Jessica reacts to beauty rituals which wouldn't pass muster in Life and Style magazine. Will she burst into ridiculous statements (Chicken of the Sea?) or can she hold it together and be respectful of other peoples' cultures? To find out tune into VH1 tonight at 10pm or, if you can't wait, preview the episode online here.
Personally, I bet you don't need to leave the states to uncover oddities that women to do be considered beautiful or even to learn how differently women define beauty from state to fair state. For instance, in New Jersey, it's clearly ok to use a lot of hairspray and bumpits. In nearby NYC, women will go to extreme lengths to protect their perfectly straight blowouts. Yet in Texas, the bigger the hair, the better it is. (At least I think the above statements are true. I learned them on reality television shows, so they must be, right?)
What are some strange beauty rituals you have tried? While I haven't personally tried this, a friend of mine from high school (and later my office) once told me about her friend she called "Pee-Pee face", who saved his morning urine to use to cleanse his face. My pal swore he had the clearest, most gorgeous skin.
What have you done (or considered) in the pursuit of beauty?
Photos courtesy of Joe Simpson, VH1, Reality TV Magazine, Shutterstock
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