There are well known women out there who are passionate about changing the dialogue of what it means to be beautiful, and as celebrities without makeup share pictures of themselves, they help contribute to that conversation. Whether or not one should wear makeup has been a hot topic as of late. The non-beauty trend took off this year, where naked lips, unlined eyes, and air-dried bedhead became pretty mainstream.
While some of us were enjoying putting nothing on but moisturizer for a couple of months, however, we also had the #PowerofMakeup trend on Instagram, where women ask commentators to stop the makeup shaming and let them enjoy their bold daytime looks. Whether you like nothing but a little bit of ChapStick or prefer to go with the big shebang, just remember that the end result should be a personal choice and doesn't require an explanation.
The tricky part can come when you start using makeup not for yourself, but for your insecurities. There's nothing wrong with dabbing on a little highlighter or going fierce with a bold lip, but when you look in the mirror and begin to add on layers because you don't like what you see, well, that's disheartening.
We sometimes fall victim to those mean voices in our heads that wrinkle their noses when our reflection stares back at us, but the good news is those knee jerk reactions can be unlearned. The best way to begin is to surround yourself with role models who show you a naked face, supposed flaws and all. Below are seven celebs who like to go sans makeup, and feel beautiful while doing it.
1. Demi Lovato
Lovato is a true role model when it comes to body positivity and accepting that what you have and who you are as a person are beautiful things. She helps defeat the stigma of eyelashes without their mascara and dark circles without their concealer by spreading the encouragement and posting her fresh face all over Instagram. Here she captioned:
"Let's start a new Twitter/Instagram trend: #NoMakeupMonday... Why? Cause we deserve to show the world our beauty and our confidence!!!"
2. Beyoncé
Beyoncé was the one who said it after all, "I woke up like dis." When you're looked upon as one of the most beautiful women in music industry, it can be more than a little daunting to post pictures of your uneven skin and untamed hair. Or it could be completely inspirational. On her social media, Bey shares pictures of herself sleeping and laughing in bed, barefoot and playing with her daughter, and taking in some beach days in South American coasts, and doing all of this without a swipe of lipstick.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow
Sure, Paltrow can be a little eccentric with some of her life mantras (here's looking at you, "I'd rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin"), but the woman isn't afraid to go fresh faced and natural. At 42, the norm seems to be to see women hide behind creams and powders, highlights and shadows, but Paltrow's Instagram is filled with naked eyes and lips. Whether she's driving to hotels from Hong Kong airports or running through sprinklers in her backyard, it shows that she doesn't feel that prickling need to cover up a beauty that's already there. As she said herself:
"Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or kick-ass red lipstick."
Wise words Ms. Paltrow, wise words.
4. Lupita Nyong'o
Nyong'o grew up in a household that didn't allow makeup and her mother never wore a stitch of it in her life. Her aunt would smuggle some tubes and pots in to help Nyong'o satisfy her curiosity, but now that she's older and able to buy her own eyeshadows, she sees makeup as just another extra accessory.
“My mother didn’t think makeup was necessary, and I don’t think it's necessary ... It’s an accessory. It’s as necessary as a pair of earrings, if you know what I mean. It’s something I do to adorn myself. I don’t do it to hide myself,” — LUCKY, March 2015.
5. Leandra Medine (AKA The Man Repeller)
The woman behind the force-of-nature blog Man Repeller, Medine is famous not only for her playful and unapologetic fashion, but also for her complete disregard for makeup. She barely ever wears it, which makes her Instagram comments fill up with passive aggressive questions like, “You could be cute but why don’t you wear makeup?”
Tired of the mind-bogglement over why she can't dab on some foundation, Medine responded in an article on Man Repeller:
"I am comfortable with how I look. I don’t hate what I see when I look in the mirror. Even if legions of others don’t agree. I have accepted the reflection that reliably bounces back at me for its perks and its flaws. I understand that there are thick, dark circles under my eyes. I have grown to appreciate them. I have noticed that my nose grows a little hookier on a near-monthly basis. That’s fine. I know there are wrinkles ready to stake their claim as full time residents on my forehead any moment now. My dad has those, too, and I find that endearing.
My eyes will never be blue, my bone structure will never allow for you to mistake me for a Scandinavian model. I am who I am and even if that infers 'ugly as fuck,' I think it’s, I don’t know, beautiful."
6. Shailene Woodley
Back in 2013 Shailene Woodley would famously go to major red carpet events without a stitch of makeup. While some were shocked and others scandalized, the reason behind the bold move was because she wanted to have a hand in changing the way women saw themselves and, more importantly, refused to be a part of the dialogue that makes women feel negative about what they see in the mirror.
She told Interview Magazine:
"I saw somebody — who I thought was me — in a magazine once, and I had big red lips that definitely did not belong on my face. I had boobs about three times the size they are in real life. My stomach was completely flat. My skin was also flawless. But the reality is that I do not have those lips and my skin is not flawless and I do have a little bit of a stomach. It was not a proper representation of who I am. I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that — and most of it isn’t real."
7. Annalynne McCord
Her Instagram is peppered with bare faced selfies, where she's hanging out on deck chairs with close friends at night, playing with apple cheeked babies, watching James Bond movies, or goofing off in hotel rooms. The only difference between Annalynne McCord's feed and our own is that she's putting that mascara-less selfie in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
What motivated McCord to share her bare face time and time again, and without a lick of fear? It all started with a 2012 selfie, where she was sleepy eyed and uneven-toned. Under it she wrote:
"I woke up this morning and decided I'm over Hollywood's perfection requirement. To all my girls (and boys) who have."
Whether or not we wear makeup is a hugely personal choice. As long as we know not wearing it is an option — and an option that can result in just as much confidence as a full face of foundation — then we'll be OK either way.
Images: Getty Images
