If you follow social media at all, then you have probably seen Alicia Key’s newly naked face. The whole movement started when Keys was going to a photo shoot with zero makeup and was ready to be dolled up. However her photographer Paola Kudacki loved the fresh-faced appeal Keys had, and a snowball effect was formed.
The movement has been shared all over the globe of #nomakeup because of the powerful belief Alicia Keys rooted into girls in our society. Although she isn’t the first, she does have more of a leverage in social media because she shows up to glamour-filled events, photo shoots for magazine covers and even The Voice, a vocal competition in which Keys is a coach for the contestants, with no makeup on. And I think we can all agree she looks genuinely beautiful.
On the other hand, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter have all become bases for regular people to videotape their major transformations on their face- so much so you would never recognize them without makeup. Many say that they don’t wear makeup to cover up, but to just feel pretty and good about their self-esteem.
Although there isn’t direct clashing between the two topics, there are clearly two different worlds going on between women at this time.
Of course, we all want to feel pretty and everywhere we go we have to have our “face” on. Have to look ready, have to be up to the standards, have to sigh with relief once someone finally complements you. Let's be real and raw- we want makeup to make ourselves feel pretty… but for what, and who? Don’t get me wrong, feeling good about yourself is no crime, and if makeup does that for you then great! But like me, most do it to be noticed. To feel perfect, to be right up there with society’s ridiculous standards. No one is perfect. You know how sometimes you wallow in their own self-pity when nobody noticed how hard you tried to look that good? Well here’s a secret- every single person has felt that way at one point or another in their life.
Personally, I can’t even leave the house without makeup, so I understand everyone Pro-Makeup, but the No Makeup Movement has proved to all girls that it is imperative that you either wear makeup for you or find that moment. That moment of courage, and pull that courage out from underneath and use it to your advantage. Alicia Keys said, “I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt.” If you desire that audacious feeling, then I challenge you to bare your face for a week and search for that difference of beauty inside of you.
