In May this year, Alicia Keys penned a heartfelt opinion in Lenny Letter , the weekly newsletter started by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. In the piece, titled ‘Time to Uncover, she talked about embracing the ‘no makeup’ movement, and how she went completely makeup-free on the cover of her new single ‘In Common’.
Last Sunday night at the MTV VMAs, Alicia walked the red carpet without any makeup, much like many of the men at the same event. She created quite a stir, with many fans taking to Twitter to voice their displeasure. And, not all of these were men; even women were uncomfortable with the sight of a bare-faced Keys.
She may be taking this movement to heart, having shown up without makeup for everything from photo shoots to public appearances, but Alicia Keys is not alone. Singer Adele, whose thick black-winged eyeliner has become her trademark, as much as her platinum album-generating voice, went makeup free on an Instagram video, where she apologised to her 17 million followers for cancelling a show in Phoenix, Arizona. Mila Kunis skipped the grease paint for the August cover of Glamour magazine, and closer home, Vidya Balan too did the same for a shoot with a national newspaper.
So why is this such a big deal? We’ve all shared that “no makeup selfie” on Instagram, on that rare occasion when the light was flattering enough to hide flaws. Or even woken up after a good night’s sleep with a glow, and hashtagged that one under “I woke up like this”. So, why is Key’s decision to go makeup free creating waves? Mostly because no one expects a mainstream celebrity with a 15-year-long musical career (which involved making glamorous videos and photoshoots for magazine covers) to give up the one skill women of all ages are made to believe they need to ace — makeup.
But let’s be honest — it is different when you’re a celebrity. You can do a juice cleanse for a week to get that glow that lets you skip foundation. You have gigantic floodlights at your shoot to hide a blemish or two. And a little photoshop can make any face look perfect. What about the average girl? What happens when she decides ‘no makeup’ is the way to go?
Between beauty bloggers plugging makeup brands, YouTube tutorials that teach you how to camouflage dark circles with red lipstick, to a D-I-Y contouring video, to fashion sites that are constantly selling you the new “ultimate solution” to whatever flaw you have, there’s no escaping the barrage of makeup how-tos and must-haves. Admit it, all of us have scrolled through a listicle of ‘best makeup buys’ or ‘celebrity makeup secrets’ without blinking an eye; after all, it’s just about enhancing your features with a little makeup, right? A little touch up here and there never hurt!
That’s what we tell ourselves anyway, but we all know it gets to a point where you can’t imagine leaving home without eyeliner, or live in fear of a makeup-less picture going on social media.
For Mahananda Bohidar, a month of backpacking meant leaving her makeup kit behind, and when she got back, she felt like she could do without it entirely. From someone who watched YouTube tutorials and nearly mastered the smoky eye to someone who relies only on lip balm and an occasional swipe of lipstick, she has come a long way. The most annoying bit? She says its colleagues and friends who ask her why she looks tired, after she stopped her daily routine of wearing kajal. “I was addicted to it at some level, and that kind of attachment was a bit disconcerting,” she says, adding that she doesn’t miss it one bit.
For every Kim Kardashian whose heavily made-up face and contouring tricks people consume in popular media without a second thought, there will be an Alicia Keys. Keys’ natural beauty shines through her big hair and freckled face in a way that Kardashian can’t hold a candle to.
This doesn’t mean that abstaining from all forms of makeup is the only way to stay true to yourself. It isn’t a binary where the only options are a full face of makeup or nothing at all. The point Keys is trying to make, as she says in her Instagram post quite simply, is “You do you”. If you feel like a swipe of lipstick and some eyeliner is your jam, then go for it. If you feel like your inner self needs your face to be contoured to perfection then so be it — but, if you wake up one day and feel like you want to spend a day without makeup, that too should be perfectly acceptable.
The key (not just for Alicia) is that a woman needs to feel empowered and whole, regardless of what she chooses to put, or not put, on her face. And, what the beauty industry has come to regard as flaws — freckles, laugh lines, imperfect noses and hair of all kinds — do not need to be fixed, but simply accepted as another kind of beauty. The kind that can coexist alongside the hour-glass-figured, sleek-haired bombshells who seem to have been born that way.
So, does this mean the no makeup revolution is here? Not really. A billion-dollar beauty industry that thrives on the insecurities of the average woman cannot be shut down with just one voice — but it’s definitely a start to defining the other end of the spectrum. One where a barefaced woman, without a stitch of makeup is not an anomaly. She’s not having a “bad day” or running late or simply “tired”. She’s just exercising her right to live life as herself, without covering up anything — her face, soul or mind.
