Beauty unmasked

Women all over the world are putting their bare face forward. Going out without make-up is the new beauty standard. Times Life tells you why.

In the past few months, women, who usually wouldn't want to be caught dead without foundation or a dash of lipstick even when grocery shopping, are unabashedly flooding Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with their no make-up selfies. If this trend is anything to go by, chapped lips, blemished cheeks and under-eye bags are no more considered beauty faux pas.

It all began when American author Laura Lippman tweeted a photo of herself without make-up, to support 81-year-old actress Kim Novak, who was criticised for her bare face appearance at this year's Oscars. Soon, it snowballed into a no makeup selfie campaign, which ended up raising several million pounds for a cancer research institute in the UK.

BEYOND A HASHTAG:

But it went viral when international icons like Beyonce, Rihanna, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian, Zooey Deschanel, Adele, amongst many others, started sharing their selfies. Millions of women followed suit, tweeting their barefaced looks. Closer home, Bollywood's glam divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, divas Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chop Sunny Leone and Neha Dhupia also joined the bandwagon by sharing their make-up-free selfies. Hailed as the `new beauty standard' by the New York Times, experts say this no-make-up movement may be a part of a bigger fashion culture - normcore. Normcore is a `come as you are' basic style, where the fashionable purposely try to dress unfashionable. International makeup expert Ishika Taneja says french women are opting for a similar look. Though it's not completely barefaced, but it does with minimal make-up. "This make-up style is invisible on the face, yet highlights the features.

It's done using fewer products, such as tinted moisturiser, transparent mascara, lip stain and cheek tint. It's subtle but nevertheless gives the wearer confidence."

At international fashion runways, the `scrubbed face' look is the frontrunner nowadays. From Alexande Wang to Balmain, Emilio Pucci to Diane von Furstenberg, models have been sporting the minimal or no make-up look. In France too make-up artists created muted runway looks for designers like Atithi Gupta, Sneha Arora and Daniel Syiem. To p n o t c h fashion maga zines have put top stars on their covers sans make-up in the last few months. For eg, British culinary expert Nigella Lawson posed for the cover of Vogue with mini mal make-up. Hollywood superstar Penelope Cruz and popstar Lady Gaga posed sans make-up on the covers of Elle and Bazaar, respectively.

In France too, the barefaced look is be coming a serious fashion statement.

For a latest glamour magazine photo shoot, Neha Dhupia posed for the camera in a make-up free look! Dhupia, who is often seen making public appearances without makeup, says, "I am very organic in my thinking, and the same applies to my beauty regime. I belong to the school of thinking that believes a woman looks far more beautifu with a few imperfections, than she would, if she just wore make-up and looked like a perfect wax statue! Even when I step out for event without make-up or post pictures online, I don't worry what the world is going to say, because I don't think I need to be constantly caked up, just because I am a woman. We are living in the 21st century and we need to redefine our definition of `beautiful', which I hope this trend will do."

WOMEN EMBRACING IT: 

Make-up artists, beauty editors, bloggers and actresses are collectively pegging going make-up free as `a show of confidence'. Says Rukshana Eisa, an image expert, "There's something about wearing no make-up that's oddly freeing. There's no pressure to look good, which is sort of a relief. Most importantly, it displays your level of self-belief. A woman who has the guts to walk out barefaced in public is definitely seen as one who exudes confidence."

Popular fashion blogger Leandra Medine, who often receives flak (and has even been described as man repeller!) for going barefaced all the time, explains her reasons. "I'm not making a state ment. I don't wear make-up be cause I am lazy! More important than that though, I am comfortable with how I look. I don't hate what I see in the mirror."

For some, the practicality is tempting. The trend is also low maintenance and saves time and effort. Anita Desai, a banker and mother of two, stopped wearing make-up after the birth of her second child. "The first few days, I felt vulnerable, but I saved time not fussing on my looks. It's only when you go off make-up that you realise how much pressure you put on your self," she says.

According to a paper published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, both men and women find women most attractive with 40 per cent less make-up than they normally wear. Researchers asked 44 women to put on makeup as if they were going out for a night out, and then altered the photos to show less make-up. The sample group, comprising men and women, preferred the images in which the women were wearing around 40 per cent less make-up.

Says model-actor Rahul Dev, "I find it refreshing to look at a no make-up face instead of someone who is wearing false eyelashes.

It's interesting to see a trend, which defies false impressions of beauty, catch up. It's a strong voice against industries which set unrealistic beauty standards for women."