The praise came quickly via social media when singer/songwriter and “The Voice” judge Alicia Keys opted to attend last month’s MTV Video Music Awards without makeup.
Then came the backlash, with Twitter scolds saying, “Alicia Keys and her fake … feminist ‘don’t wear makeup and love yourself’ campaign needs to go,” and “Alicia Keys and the ‘no makeup movement’ is annoying and imaginary.’”
The 15-time Grammy winner had launched a makeup-free campaign in June to promote an upcoming album, telling Fault magazine: “Before I started my new album, I wrote a list of all the things that I was sick of. And one was how much women are brainwashed into feeling like we have to be skinny, or sexy, or desirable, or perfect. One of the many things I was tired of was the constant judgment of women.”
Living in a largely patriarchal, Christian society, women are subject to societal rules designed to keep them in check, lest all hell break loose. “The rules” cover everything from the way we sit to what we are allowed to wear to be perceived as either plaything or the girl a man brings home to mama.
Over time, a woman’s right to choose has become a major source of division, whether talking Roe v. Wade, advancing a woman’s right to get an abortion, the choice of career vs. family, or, most recently, whether to go makeup-free.
The New York Times wrote about the no-makeup movement, with a headline referring to the “Tyranny of Makeup.” Indeed, a global beauty industry slated to bring in $265 billion in annual sales next year will not be willing to slip quietly into the night, Keys’ protest notwithstanding.
Refinery29, a popular fashion and beauty website, ran an article stating “Alicia Keys isn’t brave for not wearing makeup,” concluding that it was simply a choice and to call such acts “brave” or “inspiring” diminishes women’s true accomplishments, whether raising children or advancing music, arts or sciences.
The New York Post referred to the great division as “Makeup Gate” and hoped for a “peaceful resolution.”
In reality, the no-makeup trend has slowly taken root over the past five years as advances in skin care have turned the goal of a beauty regimen into having skin so flawless that one requires no makeup.
What products can’t accomplish, lasers and injectibles often can, and many a medi-spa is able to zap spots, shrink lines and pores, reduce fat or plump the skin to get women steps closer to perfection.
Other tricks available include tattoos to fill in brows and line the eyes, while regular appointments for eyelash extensions have replaced mascara. With such enhancement, little more is needed, save for a dab of lip gloss.
No doubt some of the vitriol aimed at the 35-year-old Keys — whose unadorned, freckled-face beauty still sets a standard few women can attain — stems from a generation gap and women reluctant to give up their comforting routines.
At the BareMinerals counter at Macy’s Ala Moana, makeup artist Natily Taguding said: “I think all women love makeup. The reason they do is because makeup empowers them. We work so hard to take care of everybody else first, but makeup is something we do just for us.
“My job is to make women feel confident. If it’s through makeup, so be it, if it’s through a no-makeup look, so be it.”
Paulette Kitchell Fukumoto, cosmetics sales manager at Macy’s, said: “It’s harder to do a no-makeup look than a made-up look. It starts with good skin care.”
She said she talks to many shoppers who want to achieve Jennifer Lopez’s natural-looking glow, but that “it calls for tons of concealer and airbrush foundation.”
Also leading the trend forward is the millennial generation. “They’re into earthy, organic, authentic,” Fukumoto said. “They’re choosing a different way of life, like, when did activewear get so big? Now, if I put on earrings to go out, I have to ask myself, ‘Is this too much to wear?’”
Get the look
The no-makeup look is one of the trends for fall. Here are the BareMinerals products used to create a natural look on Jen-ai Bullard, shown below, who normally doesn’t wear makeup but who said products felt so light she would be willing to use them on a dress-up occasion.
“The no-makeup story is really a skin story,” said makeup artist Natily Taguding. More steps were used to clean, prep and moisturize Bullard’s skin to smooth the way for a handful of color products.
Skincare products employed were: Oil Obsessed cleansing oil ($30), Dirty Detox refining mud mask ($35), Skinsorials Mix. Exfoliate. Smooth. exfoliator ($22), Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion Serum ($48) and PrimeTime foundation primer ($24).
Color products used were: Complexion Rescue ($29.50), a tinted, hydrating SPF 30 gel cream used all over the face; a light dusting of Bare Pro powder foundation ($30); Bareskin complete coverage serum concealer ($21) for spot correction; and Invisible Light translucent powder ($32) brushed onto cheekbones and the bridge of the nose.
For those not quite ready to take on the no-makeup look, another trend for fall is the smokey eye with a pop of highlight or glitter color.
Macy’s Impulse beauty counter manager Jessica Hermano created the look on Destinee Hanaike using the following products from Urban Decay, except where noted:
Naked Skin primer ($34); Too Faced “Born This Way” foundation ($39); Naked Eye Palette ($54) colors “Combust,” “Password,” “Black Market” and “High”; Moondust eyeshadow palette ($49) colors “Granite” and “Element”; Anastasia brow powder ($21); Anastasia eyebrow pencil ($21) in “Soft Brown”; All-Nighter Makeup Setting Spray ($30); Afterglow 8-Hour powder blush in “Score” ($26) and Afterglow 8-Hour powder highlighter in “Fireball” ($26).
The Impulse Beauty Team will be offering makeup lessons featuring new fall products, including Urban Decay’s Naked Matte Eye Shadow Palette and Moondust cream eyeshadows at 6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Oct. 1 and 4 p.m. Oct. 2. To book an appointment, call 941-2345, ext. 2304.