Dita Von Teese on plastic surgery, her beauty routine and why she's amused by shirtless men in the gym

Dita Von Teese is the undisputed queen of Hollywood glamour, oozing sophistication and poise with her signature red lips, cinched in waist and jet, black screen-siren hair.

And while many might know her as the pin-up vixen who was once married to rocker Marilyn Manson, the 43-year-old - born a blonde girl named Heather Sweet in West Branch, Michigan - has a legion of fans from all over the world desperate to emulate her 1950's style.

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The former go-go dancer-turned-burlesque dancer, who is currently touring Australia with her striptease show Strip Strip Hooray! tells Be all about her effortless beauty routine, her favourite products, what she thinks of plastic surgery and the one thing she's very amused by in the gym .

"In my normal beauty routine I don’t spend more than 10 or 15 minutes," Dita told Be.

"Before I leave my house I put my sunscreen on, powder, red lipstick and sunglasses and it takes minutes, but if I have a little bit more time I’ll take it a little bit further.

Von Teese, who collaborated with her friend and designer Christian Louboutin on a lingerie capsule collection, went on to reveal that she spends about an hour to an hour-and-a-half getting getting for red carpet appearances.

"For a show it’s very different, there’s a lot of things happening like costumes and backstage setting up all the stage pieces and looking to see that’s everything’s in place and been prepared," she said.

"If I were just sitting down and putting on make-up it would be one thing but there’s a lot of things that I’m doing to prepare for a show that make it intensive."

When it comes to plastic surgery, the glamorous star isn't against it - in fact she wishes women would stop judging each other on how they use the cosmetic technologies of today.

"I think people often get vilified for utilising the technology that we have now but you have to understand plastic surgeons were around in the 1700’s," Von Tesse said.

"We sometimes forget it’s not something new. We want to make fun of each other for it. If people didn’t vilify each other we could learn a lot more about each other’s beauty secrets.

"There’s people that use those tools properly and there’s people that turn them into an art piece which I can admire in a different way but I just wish we didn’t have to vilify each other for those things. We’re women, share our beauty secrets freely."

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Von Teese has previously spoken out about using waist trainers to create the perfect shape, claiming it's like "the blind leading the blind" and urged women to use corsets if they're looking for a smaller waist.

The Burlesque star, who once had a 17 inch waist, is a big believer in working out, having been a pilates enthusiast for the past 15 years and being an avid ballet dancer.

"I get a little bored with my workout routine just like anyone so I’m always looking for new things," she said.

"I tried fencing and of course I’ve learned all sorts of social dances.

"Recently I had this idea that I was going to go to a CrossFit studio and workout with a private trainer and I’ve been really enjoying that. It’s fun to be in a different atmosphere. I always crack up at the shirtless guys walking around eating power bars and things like that, I’m very amused by it."

Von Teese dyes her own hair ("being around hair salons is something I really don’t enjoy") from her natural blonde to her now signature raven locks, is a fashion and lingerie designer, a bestselling author and a very savvy business woman and throughout everything she's stuck with her signature style.

When we asked her if she ever feels like venturing out in a pair of tracksuit bottoms, scruffy hair and minimal make-up Von Teese reveals that on the odd occasion she will dress down, venture outside and do her grocery shopping, but her style will never stray too far from what she believes in.

"I like to do my own grocery shopping but I have my own code of dress that is not far removed from what people would expect from me but I don’t spend hours getting ready every day," she said.

"I’m very efficient. My go-to look is a simple t-shirt, a pair of cigarette pants and ballet flats. It’s in line with what my belief system is when it comes to dressing."

Von Teese's style has been with her for her whole adult life and she admits that her make-up is "part of me".

"Sometimes I fantasise about having a different hair colour but when you have black hair you can’t really experiment with other hair colours without having to wait for weeks on end until your hair is in transit," she said.

"My make-up is something I feel is a part of me, it’s a hybrid that I created when I was in my teens - a 1950’s exaggerated cat eyeliner, 40’s hairstyle.

"It’s something I’ve been doing since I was allowed to wear make-up and do my hair.

"Sometimes there are varying degrees of glamour but I would never wear beige lipstick by choice. The only time you’ll ever catch me in beige is when some photographer tries to convince me to wear it for a shoot."

Von Teese revealed that she is not a fan of contouring, instead she prefers to use highlighter to add dimension to her make-up routine.

"I think it’s very difficult when you have very pale skin," she said.

"I do a little bit of highlighting, like sometimes a white sparkle powder on the cheekbones and a heavy stage-ready blush, because with the spotlight colour it cancels out things a little bit.

"I’m fearful personally of stepping out onto the runway and being seen with that kind of contouring."

While the much-loved dancer admitted that she may have packed off-season for her month-long trip to Australia, she certainly knows what to pack in her suitcase when it comes to cosmetics.

"I kind of just have a uniform, I think that’s just the best way. I wear a lot of black when I’m on tour, it’s simple, effortless, just sophisticated," she said.

"I wasn't really prepared for how cold it is here. I knew it was an Australian winter which I was led to believe was a little bit like a Californian winter but I didn’t pack warm enough clothes.

"For skincare I love a brand called Eminence. It’s all organic and I love all the fragrances of it. Lipstick I have always at least four lipsticks in my handbag at all time. I love Mac Ruby Woo and YSL red lip colour, Dior."

Von Teese, who is set to appear at Wheels and Dollbaby in Surry Hills tonight for a fan signing and to release a much-anticipated new cardigan collaboration, also claims 1950's supermodel Carmen Dell'Orefice, gave her the best beauty advice of her life.

"She kind of pulled me aside once and told me I was doing exactly the right thing and should stay true to myself and not listen to what anyone else ever tells me about how to change with age," she said.

Von Teese will appear at Jupiter's Theatre on the Gold Coast for her final Australian show on Friday night, after which she reveals she will be taking a well-deserved break.

"I’ll be just trying to set the reset button and shift gears and relax down a little bit, maybe have some short holidays." she said.

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