Alicia Keys brought the barefaced beauty look well and truly into the spotlight last year, and it is beginning to look like she started a revolution.
Singer songwriter Alessia Cara hit the headlines this week after her performance at the MTV VMAs, which saw her undergo a drastic make-under mid-song. While belting out her track “Scars to Your Beautiful”, Cara’s backing dancers ripped off her wig, dress, and finally, her makeup, with the singer herself wiping her lipstick off between lyrics. It was a powerful statement about natural beauty and authenticity, and one that was lauded by both the audience and her fans. Incidentally, the same ceremony also saw Pink deliver a rousing speech about body positivity and the importance of inclusive attitudes towards beauty.
Cara might have made her point dramatically, but multiple stars have backed her sentiment in their own way. Earlier this week, Britney Spears posted a selfie to Instagram that saw her sporting messy hair and a face entirely free of cosmetics.
Her honest, tongue-in-cheek caption read: “On days where I don’t get primped and made up for my show, this is the real unglammed me… so nice to meet all of you!! I call this my morning coffee at home look #NoMakeupMonday if you don’t count the leftover mascara under my right eye…” The photo has garnered more than 360,000 likes so far.
Model Chrissy Teigen has also been causing an online sensation, thanks to a barefaced photo posted by her husband John Legend this week that the singer captioned: “No filter necessary.” Teigen, who recently spoke about her own self-image challenges during an appearance at the Beautycon Festival in Los Angeles, is known for her honest and down to earth attitude when it comes to Hollywood beauty standards.
As for Keys, her latest Instagram post shows her continuing to dominate, via four different covers for Elle Magazine Brazil. The pictures see her wearing her fiery-colored braids in various bold styles, but it is her makeup-free features that make the shoot so compelling. To drive the point home, each cover has a caption: “Be Strong,” “Be Real,” “Be Yourself” and “Be Cool.” Could the message be any clearer? JB
RELATED STORY: