Pamela Anderson has nothing against makeup. It's just that she's been there, done that in her younger years. That's why now, at 58, she's attending fashion shows and film premieres with a blissfully bare face.
It's a look, especially for older women, that serves to plague and perplex. Do we chase youth (and relevancy) with a full face, or do we foster radiant skin and march on makeup free?
“I’m not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room,” Anderson told Vogue ahead of a recent show she attended during Paris Fashion Week. “I feel like it’s just freedom. It’s like a relief.”
Down here in the non-celebrity world, is it just as easy and comfortable to go makeup free? Some proponents of the look, along with style and beauty experts, weigh in.
Going makeup free on the job
Women, particularly older women, are not universally giving up makeup, but Anderson, Alicia Keys and other celebrities who have publicly shown off bare faces have certainly inspired some to cast it off.
Working women, however, acknowledge difficulties doing that on the job — especially in traditional, less creative work spaces.
“I do still think that there are some politics associated with it. More around feeling and looking polished,” said Deborah Borg, the chief of human resources for a creative-leaning company that has roughly 25,000 employees.
She said she's seen more women come into work makeup-free since COVID, and thinks the pandemic significantly altered the workplace dynamic.
Borg, 49, gave up makeup four years ago, save an occasional swipe of her bold, signature red lipstick. At Dalya, a cozy clothing shop in New York's trendy Soho neighborhood, she lent herself as a model to demonstrate how to help one's bare skin glow and how to use attire and accessories to accentuate the look.
Skin prep for a no-makeup lifestyle
Makeup artist Rebecca Robles counseled Borg and others with mature skin to think hydration when choosing products to make the most of their bare faces.
Robles recommends a five-step workday routine: A gentle cleanser that doesn't strip the skin; a vitamin C serum to brighten and mitigate fine lines; a moisturizer with sun protection; a separate broad-spectrum sunscreen for an extra boost (don't forget to apply that to the ears); and a glossy lip balm for a bit of added polish.
No mascara? No problem. Use a lash curler to offer a bit of pop to the eye, Robles said. And gently brush brows into place to complete the look.
Find products with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, Robles suggests, and always swipe up with skincare products. Minimize tugging and pulling on the skin.
“When your skin is glowing, one thing that’s really fun to keep in mind is that light reflects off that moisture in the skin and can help blur out any fine lines or enlarged pores. So it’s win-win,” Robles said.
She advised that each product should sit for a minute or two before the next step is applied.
Borg emphasized the ease of her morning routine since going makeup free. She used to spend about 30 minutes just on makeup. Now, she does hair and face in half that time.
Make color in clothes sing
Natalie Tincher, a personal stylist and founder of Bu Style, praised Anderson, Keys and other celebrities who have gone without makeup both publicly and on social media.
“They look beautiful and they’re so confident in their natural persona and who they are that I feel like it’s really giving an example for all of us women to say, ‘Hey, what am I hiding? I don’t have to do that. I can make the choice if I want to go no makeup, minimal makeup, full glam. I can have those choices,'" she said.
For her clients going makeup free, she uses a three-prong approach.
First, with clothes, "use a lot of color. I call it our filter,” Tincher said.
Secondly, play with texture; it determines how light will be reflected. “So if you have something more matte, that is going to create a more soft lighting on you. If you have more silk satin, like say something like a blouse, it’s going to be more like a laser beam,” she said.
Finally, accessorize. Tincher said added touches like lapel pins, earrings and necklaces can provide a finished polish — especially if that polish is still expected at work. A considered style can offset judgments about going makeup free, she said.
“Think of your outfit as the big picture. When you walk in, what is the statement that it’s making? It’s not just about one part of you, it’s your whole presence in a room,” she said.
Others who dumped makeup and why
Colleen Gehoski Steinman, who lives near Lansing, Michigan, recently pivoted from a career in public relations and fundraising to professional sewing. During the pandemic, she stopped coloring her hair, then gave up wearing makeup much of the time.
But at 59, she's not a stickler about it if she's going to be in lighting that will wash her out.
“This is who we really are, and you can be beautiful just as you are,” Steinman said.
In South Carolina, Cate Chapman manages a bagel shop and sells her homemade custards at farmers markets in the Greenville area. As a teen, she was all-in on makeup but has been happily free of it since the early 1990s.
“I just thought, for one, makeup is expensive,” said Chapman, 57. “Putting it on is time-consuming. As a female, I’m making less, and my male counterparts don’t have to put out this expense. It isn't fair. It feels expected, and it’s not right.”
Makeup, she said, “felt like prison.” She stopped gradually, giving up foundation first. But still, she's not above applying a bit of mascara on special occasions.
“If you enjoy it, do it,” Chapman said. “But if you feel like a slave to it, let it go.”
Picture Courtesy: Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
