Ladies, would you dare to take if off — take it all off — and then show your face in public? I’m not talking about revealing your birthday suit, I’m asking are you self-confident enough to appear before your significant other, friends, co-workers or strangers without makeup? Are you a woman who won’t leave home without it or do you feel comfortable going about your business with a naked face?
Excluding the entertainers who become unsuspecting victims of quick thinking shutterbugs or relentless paparazzi, away from the limelight, some female entertainers are voluntarily baring their faces and letting the world see them as they really are.
A few years ago, Tyrah Banks removed her makeup and did one show au naturel on her daily TV program. Occasionally, other celebs are spotted in public without the painted face: Mariah Cary, Hoda and Kathi Lee, Barbara Streisand, Jennifer Hutson, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah, and the list goes on. I wonder if going natural away from the spotlight is becoming trendy for celebrities or do they just grow tired of wearing the mask? Regardless, there are probably numerous entertainers who wouldn’t be caught dead without their face on for whatever reason.
“When you are sporting grey hair with a makeup free face, that’s crossing the line.” Imagine the pressure for celebrities when they read stinging comments like that one captioning a series of “before and after” photos by Joanna Sloame (New York Daily News).
Reasonable people know that famous personalities like Beyonce, Madonna, Mary J. Blidge and Kim Kardashian do not look as stunning when they get out of bed each morning as they do when in the spotlight. Celebrities have a professional team of hair stylists, makeup artists and airbrush experts at their disposal, to ensure that they are always glamorous and picture perfect when they want to be. Remove the hair weaves and extensions, false eyelashes, concealer, creams, foundation, blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick, lip liner and gloss and what do you have? Women who look just like you and me — without makeup, of course.
Makeup creates an illusion, a false perception. It can transform nearly any woman from plain Jane to drop dead gorgeous.
Can an attractively painted face be deceptive? According to various studies, many people perceive women who wear make-up to be more intelligent and competent than bare-faced women.
Among the intellectuals disputing that contention is Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford University and author of over 20 books including The Beauty Bias. She says, “I don’t wear makeup, nor do I wish to spend 20 minutes applying it . . . The quality of my teaching shouldn’t depend on the color of my lipstick or whether I’ve got mascara on.” Rhodes believes that individuals should be “judged on the basis of competence, not cosmetics.”
According to The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail reported that “Two-thirds of women surveyed said that heading to the office bare-faced caused them more stress than public speaking, going on a first date or enduring a job interview.”
I have never been a heavy user of makeup, because I prefer a more natural look. But I confess, years ago I felt naked whenever I was not wearing eye liner and mascara. Recently, I have abandoned the habit of making up my eyes as part of my morning routine. Sometimes I wear eye makeup and a touch of lipstick and sometimes I don’t. Honestly, it is a tremendous sense of freedom not to be a slave to makeup.
With a sink full of cosmetics, frequent touch-ups, air brushing and the right connections, nearly any woman can be made-up to appear attractive enough to be People magazine’s “most beautiful woman in the world.” But a woman of substance can hold her own. Even without the embellishment of cosmetics she will feel confident, competent and beautiful.