Beauty unmasked
Women all over the world are putting
their bare face forward.
Going out without make-up is the new
beauty standard.
In the past few months, women, who
usually wouldn't want to be caught dead without foundation or a dash of
lipstick even when grocery shopping, are unabashedly flooding Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook with their no make-up selfies. If this trend is anything
to go by, chapped lips, blemished cheeks and under-eye bags are no more
considered beauty faux pas.
It all began when American author
Laura Lippman tweeted a photo of herself without make-up, to support
81-year-old actress Kim Novak, who was criticised for her bare face appearance
at this year's Oscars. Soon, it snowballed into a no makeup selfie campaign,
which ended up raising several million pounds for a cancer research institute
in the UK.
BEYOND A HASHTAG But it went viral when international icons like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Zooey Deschanel, Adele, amongst many others, started sharing their selfies. Millions of women followed suit, tweeting their barefaced looks. Closer home, Bollywood's glam divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chop Sunny Leone and Neha Dhupia also joined the bandwagon by sharing their make-up-free selfies. Hailed as the `new beauty stan dard' by the New York Times, ex perts say this no-make-up movement may be a part of a bigger fashion culture normcore. Normcore is a `come as you are' basic style, where the fashionable purposely try to dress unfashionable. International makeup expert Ishika Taneja says Indian women are opting for a similar look. Though it's not completely barefaced, but it does with minimal make-up. “This make-up style is invisible on the face, yet highlights the features.
It's done using fewer products, such as tinted moisturiser, transparent mascara, lip stain and cheek tint. It's subtle but nevertheless gives the wearer confidence.“
BEYOND A HASHTAG But it went viral when international icons like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Zooey Deschanel, Adele, amongst many others, started sharing their selfies. Millions of women followed suit, tweeting their barefaced looks. Closer home, Bollywood's glam divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chop Sunny Leone and Neha Dhupia also joined the bandwagon by sharing their make-up-free selfies. Hailed as the `new beauty stan dard' by the New York Times, ex perts say this no-make-up movement may be a part of a bigger fashion culture normcore. Normcore is a `come as you are' basic style, where the fashionable purposely try to dress unfashionable. International makeup expert Ishika Taneja says Indian women are opting for a similar look. Though it's not completely barefaced, but it does with minimal make-up. “This make-up style is invisible on the face, yet highlights the features.
It's done using fewer products, such as tinted moisturiser, transparent mascara, lip stain and cheek tint. It's subtle but nevertheless gives the wearer confidence.“
At international fashion runways,
the `scrubbed face' look is the frontrunner nowadays. From Alexande Wang to
Balmain, Emilio Puc ci to Diane von Furstenberg, models have been sporting the
minimal or no make-up look. In India too make-up artists created muted runway
looks for designers like Atithi Gupta, Sneha Arora and Daniel Syiem. To p n o t
c h fashion maga zines have put top stars on their covers sans make-up in the
last few months. For eg, British culinary expert Nigella Lawson posed for the
cover of Vogue with mini mal make-up. Hollywood superstar Penelope Cruz and
popstar Lady Gaga posed sans make-up on the covers of Elle and Bazaar,
respectively.
In India too, the barefaced look is
be coming a serious fashion statement.
For a latest glamour magazine photo
shoot, Neha Dhupia posed for the camera in a make-up free look! Dhupia, who is
often seen making public appearances without makeup, says, “I am very organic
in my thinking, and the same applies to my beauty regime. I belong to the
school of thinking that believes a woman looks far more beautifu with a few
imperfections, than she would, if she just wore make-up and looked like a
perfect wax statue! Even when I step out for event without make-up or post
pictures online, I don't worry what the world is going to say, because I don't
think I need to be constantly caked up, just because I am a woman. We are
living in the 21st century and we need to redefine our definition of
`beautiful', which I hope this trend will do.“
WOMEN EMBRACING IT Make-up artists,
beauty editors, bloggers and actresses are collectively pegging going make-up
free as `a show of confidence'. Says Rukshana Eisa, an image expert, “There's
something about wearing no make-up that's oddly freeing. There's no pressure to
look good, which is sort of a relief. Most importantly, it displays your level
of self-be lief. A woman who has the guts to walk out barefaced in public is
definitely seen as one who exudes confidence.“
Popular fashion blogger Leandra Medine,
who often receives flak (and has even been described as man repeller!) for
going barefaced all the time, explains her reasons. “I'm not making a state
ment. I don't wear make-up be cause I am lazy! More important than that though,
I am comfortable with how I look. I don't hate what I see in the mirror.“
For some, the practicality is
tempting. The trend is also low maintenance and saves time and ef fort. Anita
Desai, a banker and mother of two, stopped wearing make-up after the birth of
her sec ond child. “The first few days, I felt vulnerable, but I saved time not
fussing on my looks. It's only when you go off make-up that you realise how
much pressure you put on your self,“ she says.
According to a paper published in
the Quarterly Journal of Experimen tal Psychology, both men and women find
women most attractive with 40 per cent less make-up than they normally wear.
Researchers asked 44 women to put on makeup as if they were going out for a
night out, and then altered the photos to show less make-up. The sample group,
comprising men and women, preferred the images in which the women were wearing
around 40 per cent less make-up.
Says model-actor Rahul Dev, “I find
it refreshing to look at a no make-up face instead of someone who is wearing
false eyelashes.
It's interesting to see a trend, which defies false impressions of beauty, catch up. It's a strong voice against industries which set unrealistic beauty standards for women.“
It's interesting to see a trend, which defies false impressions of beauty, catch up. It's a strong voice against industries which set unrealistic beauty standards for women.“
Inputs by Nona Walia
purvaja.sawant@timesgroup.com
TL140601
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