There’s that old saying that goes: ‘A smile is the best make-up any girl can wear.’ But given that the global beauty industry is worth a jaw-dropping $160 billion, it’s clear that there are girls – and lots of them – who disagree.
20-year-old Annie Garau is in the news for daring to defy that billion-dollar industry in her own personal way. Sick of ‘hurling mental insults’ at her appearance, she decided to go make-up free for one year. And 200 days in, the Indiana University student says she’s become a lot less worried about her looks.
‘I still don't exactly see myself as beautiful, but I care a whole lot less. I've started relying more on my other assets,’ she wrote in a now-viral article for the Kentucky Lexington Herald-Leader.
Pretty heartwarming stuff, right? But while I applaud Annie’s conviction and commitment (200 days is a long time to do anything, let alone carry out a dramatic social experiment), the underlying idea behind her experiment is far from a ‘girls, we are all beautiful’ Christina Aguilera group hug of solidarity.
The ugly flipside of the natural beauty trend is make-up shaming – and you only need to visit the MakeupAddiction thread on Reddit to see it alive and kicking in the 21st century. For some of its 180,000 fans, one of the most common topics of discussion is how to deal with people who make fun or demean women who enjoy make-up.
It’s discouraging to hear people say that wearing make-up makes you “fake” and going without it makes you a better person
‘It’s discouraging to hear people say that wearing make-up makes you “fake” and going without it makes you a better person,’ one user commented. “I don't think there's anything wrong with not wearing makeup, but I've personally seen how finding someone the right lipstick can change their entire day. Why is it so bad to enjoy that?’
Make-up shaming goes beyond faux-compliments like ‘you don’t need to wear that much make-up to get boys!’ In fact, we’re probably all guilty of make-up shaming: hands up if you’ve made fun of the perma-tanned lasses on Snog Marry Avoid or mocked the Scouse brows on the TOWIE cast.
The pernicious ideal of natural beauty means that these girls will never be seen as desirable or authentic. ‘If they’ve got nothing to hide,’ the reasoning goes, ‘why don’t they post a #nomakeup selfie? Megan Fox has done it!’
First off, not everyone is as genetically gifted as Megan Fox, who could roll out of bed, into a rubbish skip and still look ready for a cover shoot. Second, what if people just like doing their make-up that way?
'Someone who always does a statement lip or their eyebrows a certain way does that for the same reason you'd wear fashionable clothes or do your hair the way you want,' says Kate, a 24-year-old beauty writer. 'It's about your self-image and the image you want to project in the world.'
I don’t doubt that many women feel pressured into wearing make-up, but there are just as many who use it as a vital form of self-expression and creativity
I don’t doubt that many women feel pressured into wearing make-up, but there are just as many who use it as a vital form of self-expression and creativity. You could put on a black T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, but a tenner’s worth of Superdrug make-up could transform your whole look. In that sense, make-up has far more universal appeal than fashion; for starters, it doesn’t discriminate based on body shape or weight.
'With a fashion item, only people with a certain type of body shape will be able to pull it off,' explains Kate. 'With a beauty trend anybody can do it. It'll look less good on others, but there'll always be a way of making it your own. On a creative level, that’s empowering.'
In an ideal world, beauty experiments like Annie’s wouldn’t exist; going make-up free wouldn’t be seen as a big deal. But neither should choosing to wear make-up, either. After all, our bodies – and our faces – are our own.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.