I remember waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store with my mom and seeing tabloid magazines featuring celebrities, “caught”, by paparazzi without makeup. As an eleven-year-old who had just started experimenting with makeup, I wasn’t aware of the societal expectations placed on women concerning its purpose and maintaining a particular image. Flash forward to 2023, many women featured in media are embracing no-makeup looks and challenging beauty standards.
makeup and the media
This past October, actress and model, Pamela Anderson, attended Paris Fashion Week, embracing her natural look without any makeup. To her surprise, Anderson received an overwhelming amount of positive recognition and support, for something that felt so natural to her. She mentioned in an interview with People Magazine regarding her journey with self-acceptance, that “Sometimes it’s challenging, and you just have to understand that you are good enough and that you are beautiful,” adding: “Chasing youth is just futile.”
To her, feeling good and confident in herself took precedence over appearing younger or unflawed. Shortly after Anderson made her appearance, actors such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Scarlett Johansson took to social media to recognize the power behind her statement. Although Anderson’s “statement” was intended to challenge herself, she unintentionally challenged the mindset of those who associate their confidence with makeup. It is important to note that while Anderson is embracing this new outlook on makeup, she does not condemn wearing makeup altogether and has no plans to cut it out of her life completely. Her focus right now is on what feels comfortable and learning to accept imperfection.
learning to combat insecurities
After seeing Pamela Anderson embrace herself without any makeup at Paris Fashion Week, I questioned why I ever found it necessary to put on makeup before attending class. Over time, makeup had become a burden to me, and I have found it difficult to cut it out of my daily, as it was doing more harm than good. To me, makeup acted as a buffer between my insecurities and those who look at me. It took me some time to realize that this is only a temporary fix. I may be able to cover up the parts of my face I view as imperfect but by doing this I am not confronting the insecurities themselves and why I have them in the first place. Whether they span from comparing myself to other girls on my Instagram feed or from being made fun of about my acne or having “no eyebrows” in middle school, it took me a while to realize that I am the only one who continues to feed into these “flaws” I have about my appearance.
In order to reframe my mindset about using makeup, I needed to relieve the pressure I was putting on myself and learn to have fun with makeup again, not use it to somehow cover up an internal problem. As soon as I allowed myself to catch a break and work on valuing myself more, I felt more confident than I ever did with makeup because when I used makeup every day, I didn’t feel like I could own myself without it.
concluding thoughts
Although starting off, I had an unhealthy relationship with makeup because I had an unhealthy relationship with myself, I learned to enjoy using it again. I have found that appreciating my natural beauty can be both, wearing no makeup and finding the kind of makeup that makes me feel good. After seeing Pamela Anderson and other women in the spotlight embrace what feels most natural to them in terms of makeup or not wearing any, I feel empowered and motivated to work on valuing myself first.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
It’s amazing and also a bit unfortunate that NOW celebrities and public figures are embracing the no makeup look. I think it also goes hand-in-hand with the body confidence movement, including surgical procedures. Women are welcome to choose how they style their appearance, but its fundamentally important that society emphasizes that natural appearance, imperfections, and everything in between is a beautiful thing.
Additionally, I think a lot of young girls and young adult women are also exploring the “no makeup, makeup” look, which is at least a better alternative. As someone who struggled intensely with acne throughout middle and high school, makeup often made things worse for my skin health. However, I now see other women my age embracing their acne which makes me wish that I could go tell my younger self it would be okay.
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I appreciate your vulnerability in this blog post. I think a lot of feminine presenting people have pressure from society and themselves to look a certain way to please and fit into an aesthetic. I do think it is important to point out that it is awesome that Pamela Anderson supports “breaking a stereotype,” but her privilege of being a white, high-class, able-bodied woman does have a factor that she has support on her choice of not wearing makeup. Again, I think her choice is a step forward, so thank you for sharing!
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Thank you for sharing this post! I really enjoyed how open and honest you were about your relationship with makeup. I completely agree that media has had a large role in defining what we think is beautiful. I also had complications with how makeup shaped my self esteem. I think it is sad it took us this long to start embracing our natural beauty after being shamed for it for so long. Thank you for sharing!
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i can really relate with this post. I too have struggled with myself image and self-love. My personal experience was also influenced by the media. Even now when I see tiktok influencers post their get ready with me’s and outfit of the Day’s I find myself thinking that I should be dressing or looking like these women. I feel this is a struggle for many young people and although I have got to a point where I accept myself for who I am, there will be times in the future that the thoughts of wanting change myself because of social media will arise. I just have to remember that it’s okay to have those feeling and I am still beautiful in my own way.
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Your recollection of seeing tabloid magazines as an eleven-year-old brings back memories for many of us. The subtle yet pervasive message that makeup is a necessity for women to be presentable can have a lasting impact on self-esteem. Pamela Anderson’s recent appearance at Paris Fashion Week, proudly embracing her natural look, serves as a powerful reminder that beauty comes in many forms, and there is strength in embracing authenticity.
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This post was so relatable and I loved your vulnerability. I think it is so important to address these kinds of topics in a safe space together and this is the perfect platform.
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I love how you mentioned Pamela Anderson! I remember watching her documentary and how she was fresh-faced without makeup and how delightfully surprised I was! I also remember my freshman year of college when I felt like I had to put on makeup before leaving my room, especially to go to class or the dining hall. Thank you for covering this topic and bringing awareness to feeling confident with no makeup!
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This blog post has impacted me the most out of all the ones I have read so far. Makeup is not talked about enough. I even find myself wearing “just concealer and mascara” to class everyday. Then I feel the need to put blush on and so on and so forth. It’s become so normalized and I wish I felt 100% confident with myself and what I look like to just roll out of bed and come to class. It is nice and refreshing to see celebrities advertising to be authentically yourself and not sugar cote anything. This will only have a good impact on women and society! Thank you for your post!
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This blog post was really interesting and something that I have actually thought about after I saw Pamela Anderson embrace the no makeup look. I think it is a step forward that this is being embraced but it is so unfortunate that it has taken this long for this change to happen. Makeup should not define women’s beauty and it has also become a standard and expectation for women which is not fair. Many individuals do enjoy doing their makeup and find joy in it, but there are also many who would prefer no makeup, but they feel pressured by the standard that women are held to. I really appreciated your thought and vulnerability in this post.
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