Barbie with and without her signature make-up look.
Do you dare to go bare? – bare-faced that is. Here in NYC it seems that make-up is some what … de rigueur if not down right mandatory in every social situation. Even if you are blessed with near perfect skin, you’re sort of…expected to “make the effort”. Here, make-up (assuming it’s well done of course) connotes a sophistication that generally garners a more favorable response. But perhaps we all need to find a renewed appreciation for the au naturel?
Don’t get us wrong, we love cosmetics and beauty products and often indulge in the wonderfully clever and transformative powers of make-up. In general, well done make-up makes the wearer look clean and polished and we’re all for it.
However, there are times when you just want to be free and clear of it. Personally, we go to the gym with a clean face in order to get a clean sweat, but apparently this last bastion of the natural visage is now full of girls in make-up and we’re not talking about mascara. A smokey eye on the elliptical? Yes, it is a competitive world we live in and we suppose the theory at work is to always bring your ‘A’ game, or ‘A’ face as it were. But can’t we ladies call a truce, and make a pact that we’ll allow each other some designated refuge areas? We vote for the gym and the grocery store.
Fashion Models with an without make-up.
We have friends who won’t even leave the house without their “face on”.
Make-up is great when it empowers you, but it shouldn’t be something that furthers insecurity and makes you feel like you can’t have and interaction without it. We feel this is an especially timely message; with all the YouTube beauty “gurus” (and we certainly have our favorites – list to come) and the abundance of tutorials it seems we’ve fostered a generation of women afraid to show their skin.
Since it’s August, we think it the perfect time to take the month off from paint & powder and just let the natural beauty (that we all have) shine through. Join us, let your pores have a vacation and rediscover your true face – you may find that it’s far more lovely than you think.
