If the frequent appearance of hashtags like #makeupfree,
#nomakeupselfie, #nomakeup, #makeupfreemondays, and #rawandreal is any
indication, more and more women are leaving the house without makeup —
at least some of the time. And mainstream beauty icons are following
suit.
Banks isn’t the only famous face to post a makeup-free selfie to
Instagram: Beyoncé, Chrissy Teigen, and Brooklyn Decker have done the
same. French fashion house Sonia Rykiel featured a barefaced Gisele Bündchen in its fall 2014 campaign.
In her song “Try,” pop singer Colbie Caillat, 30, explores themes of
self-acceptance. The song’s video features her and other women removing
their makeup completely. It’s garnered more than 50 million views on
YouTube, a clear indication that authentic beauty has found an audience.
For some, taking a break from makeup offers surprising emotional rewards. Lindsey Smith, a health coach and the author of 52 Ways to Love Your Body More,
recently challenged herself to go makeup-free for 30 days. “To
meetings, everywhere,” she says. “At the end, when I put makeup on, I
cried. I didn’t feel like myself. I felt like a stranger in my body,
because I have learned to really love my natural look.”
Smith calculated the time an average woman spends applying makeup over her lifetime: 3,726 hours, or 135 days.
“I thought about that when I did this challenge,” she says. Smith asked herself, Could I finally make that healthy meal? Spend more time with family?
She concluded that when she did something she loved, she was taking
that time back. Now she makes a point to be deliberate about using the
time she saves on primping for more meaningful pursuits.
Feeling good is a beauty practice in itself, says model and former makeup artist Cindy Joseph.
She’s the founder of BOOM! skincare and cosmetics, a minimalist
collection of only three products, each made for enhancing, not
covering, one’s natural beauty.
Joseph is not opposed to makeup, but she suggests women pare back
their arsenal and consider their motivations. She advises experimenting
with cosmetics “for fun” — rather than from fear, dissatisfaction, or
desperation.
“Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic,” she says.