Will Makeup-Free Celebs Inspire Natural Beauty?

Heidi Klum and Cameron Diaz are just the latest subscribers to the no-makeup photo trend, but the past months have seen a slew of celebrities posting au natural images on social media platforms. Diaz and Klum look predictably luminous in their unaltered Instagram photos, and in a surprising turn, are actually recognizable without their usual arsenal of products.

As the posts claim no connection to the No Makeup November movement and neither celebrity is in the midst of a career change/relationship transition/particularly bitter winter cold, we assume the images are meant to be an assertion of confidence in each woman's natural beauty.

The two celebrities are following in the footsteps of other bold social media-users by posting un-posed and unaltered pics. Jennifer Aniston caused the world to fall in love with her all over again when she posted a natural selfie with hairstylist Chris McMillan back in August, and Demi Lovato posted a stunning makeup-free photo on Twitter in April. Rihanna joined in with a beautiful fresh-faced picture in September, and even Snooki took part in the trend by posting a rare photo of the girl underneath all of the makeup.

Is it a reaction to the Photoshop scandals of late? A more optimistic interpretation of the progression towards makeup-free faces is that celebrities are using their gravitas for the benefit of women everywhere and encouraging self-love. After all, these are not photos that were mistakenly captured when the celebs ventured outside sans-makeup to the delight of paparazzi. These stars purposely captured their looks on camera and posted them on the internet, where images are forever.

AnnaLynne McCord summed up the trend nicely, accompanying her makeup-free Twitter pic from more than a year ago with a short explanation:

I woke up this morning and decided I'm over Hollywood's perfection requirement.

Hopefully, these audacious trendsetters will inspire other women to embrace their natural looks with confidence. With celebrities' natural faces on display without the alterations of Photoshop or makeup, women can finally see the real beauty behind the unachievable paradigms of beauty produced by the entertainment industry.

Images: @heidiklum/Instagram, @camerondiazs/Instagram, @IAMannalynnemcc/Twitpic