Calendar: 03/3 - The Oprah Winfrey Show 10/3 - Late Show with David Letterman 15/3 - The View 15/3 - Good Morning America 15/3 - The Price Of Beauty Premiere on VH1 15/3 - Access Hollywood 22/3 - Rachael Ray
• April 10, 2009
Why do we let the sun SET with its beauty, then find ourselves ugly.
Didn't God, whoever he may be to you, create both? If a sunset is beautiful, then so are we.
Love yourself morning, noon, and night. Sunrise. Sunset.
Xo jess
For her new VH1 series (Mondays at 10 P.M. EDT), Jessica Simpson explores how different cultures perceive beauty. Here, Simpson reveals a few highlights of her world beauty tour.
BANGKOK, THAILAND
While in Thailand, Simpson attends a ceremony of a little girl getting her first neck ring, a beauty custom that stretches and elongates the neck over time.
ALLURE: “Neck rings look bizarre to an outsider. Do we have a beauty regimen in America that will someday seem inexplicable?”
Jessica Simpson: “Probably stilettos. That would be a shame!”
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Butt implants are popular in Brazil, but Simpson wasn’t convinced.
ALLURE: “Most American women think their butts are too big. What did you make of the concept of butt implants?”
Jessica Simpson: “I could definitely use one, but I’m not about to go through a procedure like that.”
PARIS, FRANCE
“Parisian [culture] is the closest to American culture, I found—except with plastic surgery. They don’t do it. And if they do it, it’s minute. They embrace their flaws. That’s what makes them who they are, and they can walk a catwalk owning the body they’ve been given, owning the face they’ve been given.”
TOKYO, JAPAN
“It takes five years to become a geisha. We had five hours. CaCee was accepted. I was denied.”
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
Simpson learns the art of tea tray dancing in Marrakech.
MUMBAI, INDIA
[Operation Smile] had just operated on a little girl in India, so you’ll see that. Operation Smile is a charity that is very close to my heart. To give somebody a smile is probably one of the best gifts you can give, whether it’s through laughter or surgically.”
BAHIMA VILLAGE, UGANDA
Women in Uganda strive to fatten up for their husbands.
ALLURE: “If we lived in a culture where we needed to go for fattening beauty treatments, what would be your calorie-stuffing foods of choice?”
Jessica Simpson: “Fried chicken and Mexican food.”
ALLURE: “Were you self-conscious about your thinner Western body in Uganda?”
Jessica Simpson: “I wasn’t uncomfortable at all.”
The new VH1 docu-series, The Price of Beauty takes Jessica Simpson, her hairstylist/makeup artist, Ken Paves, and best friend, CaCee Cobb all over the world to meet every day women and discover how beauty is perceived in different cultures. To get to know more about CaCee Cobb, CaCee recently took some time out to talk to Hollywood the Write Way about this journey, beauty in Hollywood, and more.
How have your trips to Japan, India, Paris, Uganda, Morocco, Brazil, and Thailand help redefine beauty for you?
CaCee: This experience has reaffirmed to me that beauty doesn’t start and stop on a magazine cover. There is an entire world of beauty out there. I grew up in a very small town in Texas (2500 people) and I always knew that I was sheltered from so much of the world and lacked culture. But what I realized on this journey was that even though I lived in Los Angeles and wasn’t the kid in a farm town anymore, I was still sheltered! Traveling to all these different countries, meeting the people and learning the different cultures makes you understand what beauty really is or better yet, what it isn’t. Beauty is in you – not on you.
Which trip impacted you the most?
CaCee: Definitely my trip to Uganda. The beauty of Africa can’t even be put into words. I have never felt so humbled, happy and free…and completely connected to everything and everyone around me. I remember having tears in my eyes when I was saying goodbye to the women from the village I met. We didn’t even speak the same language, but we didn’t have to. I felt the connection I had made with them and I’ll never forget it. It really is something one would have to experience to understand. I’m not even doing it justice.
What have you come to value more about yourself that you may have taken for granted or were insecure about before this journey?
CaCee: By visiting these countries and experiencing all the different cultures, it made me realize how much I appreciate my freedom and the ability and opportunity to choose. By no means, when visiting all these amazing places did I feel the women were treated unfairly nor did I feel they were unhappy, it’s just different from what I know. But coming from the United States and being able to choose my life’s path is an amazing feeling. From choosing what outfit I want to wear to how much I weigh to what man I fall in love with and marry.
If you were to list the level of importance for health, weight, fashion, hair, & makeup…how would you say this list has changed from childhood to now?
CaCee: This is a good question…I would have to say that when I was younger I would spend so much time and effort into hair/makeup/fashion…weight has never been something that I dwelled on which might be the southern in me, I don’t know. And health probably wouldn’t have even made my list 10 years ago! Now, I’m completely opposite! My health is my number one priority. It’s almost annoying, but everything I do these days seems to revolve around health and taking care of myself. It’s the little things…I will literally force myself to go to sleep at a specific time so I can make sure I get my 8 hours! I’m so neurotic about it that my boyfriend now knows that if he wants anything to happen he has to go for it before the 8 hours or after – never during! I also workout religiously. When I turned 30, I made a pact with myself that fitness was going to be part of my lifestyle. And I’m proud to say that I am 32 years old and I haven’t fallen off yet! Just a lifetime more to go!
What beauty tips did you take back home from your trips?
CaCee: I don’t know if this is necessarily a “beauty tip”, but I like to think of it as one. While in Paris, I learned that a lot of the people live by the philosophy JOIE DE VIVRE which means “Joy of Living”. This can be anything! The joy of life, love, shopping, bathing, eating….anything! I love it! You really don’t realize how much more beautiful you feel when you’re happy. Take the time to enjoy yourself. You deserve it.
Do you think that there is a misunderstanding when it comes to change? To elaborate & for example, particularly in the entertainment business, when someone who is heavier than the Hollywood norm and then loses weight, it is sometimes considered selling out. What are your thoughts on this?
CaCee: I absolutely think there is a misunderstanding when it comes to change. Most people don’t like change. And there are many reasons why, one being because they don’t understand it. Take plastic surgery for instance. There are women making drastic changes to themselves and people immediately shun them or assume that they’re crazy. It’s sad. At the end of the day, these people just want to be happy and some just want to be accepted. If a new nose or bigger boobs or losing weight makes them happy or feel beautiful then who are we to judge? So no, I don’t think they’re selling out. I think we sold out by allowing there to be a stereotype of what beautiful is.
Lastly, are you involved with Operation Smile and can you tell me about your involvement in other programs you are involved with?
CaCee: I had the fortunate opportunity to go on an Operations Smile Mission to Kenya and was able to witness first hand the impact this organization has on peoples’ lives. Not only did it open my eyes, it forever changed something in me and made me want to make a difference in someone’s life. So when I found out that there are over 300 million children worldwide that don’t have shoes (and I had about 20 pair sitting in my closet that I don’t even wear) I had to do something! I started working with the charity Soles4Souls, which is an international shoe charity responsible for sourcing and distributing over 7 Million pairs of shoes to people all around the world. You don’t really think that a pair of shoes can change someone’s life, but you have no idea! It’s been estimated that over 300 million pair of shoes are thrown away every year in the US alone. Why not donate them? I wasn’t exactly sure what I could do to help, except help spread the word, which is what I’ve been doing for the past year. I’ve been reaching out to celebrities I know and shooting videos of them talking about Soles4Souls in hopes of bringing awareness and getting people to donate. My first video was with my boyfriend and Zach Braff and til this day is still my best! As little as $5 will provide a pair of shoes to TWO people! It’s really amazing. The website is 50000shoes.com.
Just because Jessica Simpson and Billy Corgan hang out and make music together that doesn’t mean there’s a romance brewing between the two.
“Billy is a dear dear friend of mine,” Simpson tells me. “If I am going through a hard time I definitely would talk to Billy. He always has the best words.”
Like the verbal lashing he just gave John Mayer in Rolling Stone? Corgan blasts Mayer for kissing and telling and thinks he is “trying to destroy his career.”
Simpson laughed when I first told her about Corgan vs. Mayer…
“He said that?” she asked. “Billy is a loyal friend—a very loyal friend. And that’s nice to have these days.”
Simpson admits she was “disappointed” by Mayer’s now-infamous Playboy interview, but insisted, “I’m stronger than ever…So bring it on, everybody!”
Simpson, whose new reality series The Price of Beauty premieres Monday on VH1, will turn 30 in July. “I’ll definitely have a big blowout and party like crazy, that’s for sure,” she said. “It’s the big 3-0. You have to.”
And that’s with or without a boyfriend by her side. “I’m single,” she said. “I am OK being single. I’m flirtatious and single.”
VH1.com just premiered the first episode of The Price Of Beauty on their website! Did you catch it?! I really liked it, well except for the PIG part (I’m vegetarian)
If you missed it do not worry: the show premieres on Monday!
Jessica Simpson is coming to Gaby Sidibe’s defense against Howard Stern for his recent outburst that the Oscar nominee could kiss her Hollywood career goodbye because of her weight.
“I’m actually surprised somebody had the cojones to say that,” Simpson tells me from a New York City hotel. “I just think that’s really disrespectful.”
And not exactly accurate…
“It’s unfortunate because she walked the red carpet at the Oscars and she owned it,” Simpson said of the Precious star. “She was beautiful. There was no denying that she did not think she was the most beautiful person on that red carpet. She was just owning that moment for herself. She had such confidence and I absolutely 100 percent think she could get anything in the world that she wants.”
Simpson knows a thing or two about being publicly crucified for her appearance. But she’s fighting back.
“I don’t care how harsh the criticism is, you’re not going to take me down,” she said. “I’m going to get back up and fight. I’m not going to let anybody’s opinions destroy me.”
Simpson’s new VH1 reality series, The Price of Beauty, follows her and best buddies Ken Paves and Cacee Cobb as they travel the world exploring different cultures’ ideas of beauty.
The show, premiering March 15, came along just at the right time, following Simpson’s mom jeans fiasco last year. “After all the public scrutiny that I went through in the past year, I felt I was just stripped of everything,” she says.
But now? “I got curves!” she says. “I can’t get rid of them. There ain’t no getting rid of them. At this point, I just celebrate them…I’m a healthy girl. I work out. I box. I try to eat right. I still like my corn dogs, my burgers and my onion rings. I can’t help it. Just as long as I feel good about myself and if I feel healthy, I feel beautiful.”
Especially when she lets her hair down.
“I feel most beautiful when I am in my bathtub, listening to Sade,” she said. “I also feel beautiful when I laugh and when I’m with my friends and I just have a T-shirt and booty shorts on.”
And then, without missing a beat, she laughs, “With my heels on, of course.”
I’ve got more Jessica scoop. Make sure to keep coming back, y’all! Yup, she talks John, Billy, Tony and…living the single life!
The Price Of Beauty [documentary]
