Would You Be Seen WITHOUT Make-up?

My blogger friend, Alicia, aka Fashiona, over at Fashiona's Musings did a piece on the April issue of the French Elle showing women without make-up.

Now the cover model is, well, a model and actress, so she's SUPPOSED to be gorgeous.

I am sure even the most gorgeous of women have moments of self-consciousness and I am sure they want to look their best too.

But what about the average woman? You and I are judged differently than a model is judged. We judge ourselves against the models, though.

We hold ourselves to that impossible standard of beauty that is really the minority in the world. We all are beautiful in our own way, but we rarely see it in ourselves.

Add to that the natural vanity that women possess and there are millions who would never go out in public without make-up. They would rather die than have a photo taken of them with a naked face, forget about it being published for the world to see and critique.

My mom is one of these women. She has always been pretty, though she never sees it. Yet she openly admits she is very vain. The only time my mom is without make-up is when she is sleeping or having surgery (she's had a few). She wouldn't even run the garbage out when we were kids unless she had a full face on.

I, on the other hand, go out in public all the time without make-up. I think it has something to do with having gone to an all girls high school. Who were we impressing? No one, so we didn't care much how we looked.

And it's not that I don't care, it just that I really do not like the way make-up feels usually. I wear it when I go out at night or generally to a work setting, but daily just running around, I don't even think about it.

Except for lipstick. I've always had to have my lipstick on, I feel naked without it.

I do have photos of myself without make-up but I certainly would not want to share them beyond my family and close friends.

I think these women who have posed for the photos without make-up are very brave. The photos are supposed to be free of retouching as well, which is what makes it more impressive. (check it out)


For me, it goes to the same feeling of pride as the Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty showing real women in the buff. It's about time we show the world, but especially the young girls and women, just how misleading the media is.

Jenny McCarthy was on Ellen the other day and she pointed out that the cover shot of her on Shape has been airbrushed. Well Hallelujah! If someone like Jenny McCarthy is airbrushed to look that good, there is hope for the rest of us!