Jessica Simpson's the Price of Beauty Premiered on VH1 with CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves

Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty premiered on VH1 Monday night with her sidekicks CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves. The trio went to Thailand to learn about the beauty secrets and beauty horror stories of Thai women. Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty is a half-hour show on the music channel. I was surprised that I could actually stomach this program. It's better than a lot of the reality show garbage that's polluting the airwaves nowadays.

A Thai Massage was the First Order of Business on Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty

Jessica Simpson told viewers how her life can be so tough because she lives in a "fishbowl" and how she feels pressured because "the whole world is watching" this celebrity, plus how it can be too much for her to get criticism all the time. So how does she deal with it? She stars in a reality show to find out how women around the world attempt to make themselves beautiful, bringing along CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves on her beauty adventures around the globe.

After the trio arrived in Thailand, their first order of business was to get a Thai massage, which included getting "kneed" all over their bodies by women masseuses. After that experience, Sonia, their local beauty ambassador, took them around the city for some shopping for things like jewelry and beauty products. During a fortune-telling session, Jessica Simpson was told that she'd find true love via a "small guy." Then she, along with CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves went food-hunting, having the chance to try out some delicacies like fried worms and crickets.

Viewers learned on Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty that in Thailand, unlike America, it's considered "lower class" to be tanned because it means that one is outside working in the sun, so many Thai women try to look whiter. The television show cast got to meet one woman (Panya) who used some skin products, which not only whitened her skin, but burned it, too, which led to her husband leaving her since she didn't look physically attractive. Tears came rolling out the cast's eyes during this short vignette after hearing the woman's story.

Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty with CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves Showed Tuk Tuk Transportation

The VH1 program then had the cast riding around in a Tuk Tuk (pronounced "took took") in Bangkok before a visit with a Buddhist monk, who tried to enlighten Jessica Simpson and her hangers-on about inner beauty. It didn't go too well, as the actress, singer, and television star began giggling during a mediation session, claiming that she felt like she was "back in church". Finally, a journey was made north to the Chiang Rai Province via an elephant ride to meet women of the Karen tribe, who wear several rings around their necks to stretch them so they can look beautiful, starting this process at 5-6 years of age. The cast of Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty got to even wear some weighty semi-rings around their necks during a celebration (including Ken Paves) which was highlighted by a roasted pig and even some frog meat.

This program moves quite fast, but has several commercial interruptions over the half hour duration. Jessica Simpson, CaCee Cobb and Ken Paves don't come across as shallow as I expected them to, but when the bar is set so low for people like this, it's not hard to meet or exceed expectations. I actually found the show interesting and learned some things I didn't know about Thailand.

Next week, Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty will take fans to Paris. Make sure you have your "Freedom Fries" on hand for a snack Monday night. What will Jessica Simpson, CaCee Cobb, and Ken Paves enlighten us on there?

Source:

Premiere Episode, Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty, March 15, 2010, VH1, Mountain Time feed