When I went out for lunch with my husband last weekend I left the house without something I normally would have had on. Makeup.
While I certainly have noticed that I am wearing less, and not more, makeup as I get older, it is usually something outside my home or a quick run to the supermarket I generally wear. My daily products are usually mineral powder, mascara, blush and lipgloss/lipstick. Some days if I feel like it, I might wear eyeshadow.
Still, I have to admit that stepping out the house with absolutely nothing on my face except moisturiser, to a very nice place for lunch, did feel somewhat strange. I wasn’t concerned at all with what others may think; it was more a feeling of being more exposed than usual.
I was inspired to do it after reading this article titled ‘Bare Faced Chic’ that reports more and more women in high fashion circles are regularly choosing not to wear makeup: “You’d never know it from the glossy magazine pages – full of lacquered look-at-me lips and sultry charcoal eyes – but behind the scenes women in the fashion industry are increasingly forgoing make-up and going – whisper it – au naturel. From the likes of Franca ‘fresh-faced’ Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue , to the unglossed pout of the fashion icon Anna Dello Russo and the clean, razor-sharp cheekbones of the designer Phoebe Philo, bare-faced beauty is definitely in.” I think the photo’s of them at their workplaces, including attending fashion shows and formal functions, sans cosmetics, are beautiful.
Makeup of course is something that has been around and worn by women for centuries, and I’m quite happy to admit that I love beauty products. In saying that, I undoubtedly struggle with the manipulation that is often present in the beauty industry as I have written about here here and here. Many times the advertising that goes into beauty and makeup products is designed to make a consumer feel bad about themselves and thereby prompt them to purchase that product so they can be miraculously ’fixed.’ Total lunacy of course; but marketing that appears in many cases to unfortunately work.
I am now inspired to find more occasions in my life where I go makeup free which I know I can easily do. It really is just about making the decision. When choosing to wear makeup, which is still something I like to do, I am now choosing though to wear only all natural products that do not contain any harmful chemicals or synthetics. At least that way I know what I am wearing is not going to harm me in any way and is more in tune with my natural skin and its needs.
It will be interesting to see if this form of showing our more authentic faces catches on as “in a climate where the cosmetics industry loves to promote inauthenticity – the ‘false lash’ effect mascara, ‘air brush’ foundation, ‘youth’ in a bottle – the women who go make-up free are bucking the trend.” I’m also interested to see how if the fashion pack are going to continue to openly not wear makeup how this may influence the magazine industry which so heavily relies on cosmetic companies advertising in their glossy pages.
What about you Beautiful You? Do you wear makeup or have ever considered going makeup free more often? Think this may be a new form of beauty trend that will catch on?