Celebrities & Makeup

[MAC_Pixie04]

IDK if this is in the right place, I was in another forum and found a long thread slamming our current Political figures and Presidential/VP candidates and their makeup. Then, this morning on E! there was an entire HOUR show Celebrities Without Makeup, which is exactly what it sounds like. They were either slamming celebrities for going out without makeup on, or saying how great some of them looked without their makeup.

Maybe I'm a little bit biased, I've spent the last two weeks at home recovering from an operation, so I haven't gone anywhere or done. I haven't been doing my hair (I couldn't even wash it, I was disabled =( ) and I have absolutely not worn any makeup. I dunno if anybody else has taken a decently long hiatus from their cosmetics (for me, this is an eternity, as I am a retail makeup artist, wearing makeup everyday is a part of my work) but I'm finding it extremely liberating, my skin has never looked or felt better.

I know part of being a celebrity is supposedly looking fantastic at all times because you never know when you'll be photographed, but I mean, if I were a celebrity and I was running out in the middle of the night to get tampons, putting on powder and mascara would be the absolute last of my worries!

Why do we care so much? Is it only because their famous that we feel a need to judge them for going out and being a little bit normal and running to Target sans cosmetics? Or is it that we're just so used to seeing them dolled up 24/7 that when we get a shot of them without makeup we're shocked? Am I just enjoying my makeup free recovery a little too much lol?

 

[Beauty Mark]

I think we as a whole like to feel comfort that they can't have it all. They may have the adoration of millions, wealth that you and I can't imagine, and yet they still have the same skin problems that you and I have.

People also like to see others knocked down a peg.

 

[aziajs]

I think it's being used to seeing them made up with the benefit of hours of hair and makeup so when you see them without it it's shocking. I wear makeup almost everyday and when I don't I look at myself crazy because I am used to seeing something different. I look quite different made up with my hair done versus what I look like today when I just woke up, showered and threw on some clothes and pulled back my hair.

 

[chocolategoddes]

I watched that same E! special and I know what you mean.
These celebs spend hours getting glammed up for big events, so when we see them in their natural state, we are surprised by how "normal" they look.

We shouldn't take these types of shows to seriously to begin with, because they're only doing it to entertain the viewer, not to actually slam and insult a celebrity. It's all for childish fun, like tabloids and celebrity blogs.

But at the same time, I do think too much pressure is being put on these girls to look perfect. Why do we care so much about their appearance? I've said it thousands of times, it's only human nature. We like pretty things. That's what sells and makes money.

 

[MzzRach]

To me, this goes with all the extreme media whoring of celebrities in general. Personally, I have no interest in seeing what kind of latte someone drinks or what they look like when they go to the gym, or how they look without makeup, etc. But this kind of "celebrity coverage" is selling, or it would not continue.

It's gotten so much worse in the last 10-15 years.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

I know it's meant to be entertaining, but a lot of the comments were just plain ridiculous. For example, there was a picture of Ellen Degeneres in Rome last summer with her now wife. She didn't have on any makeup, her face had some redness to it, but she looked so happy and they both looked so in love with each other. And then some E! commentator had to go and ruin it by saying something like "Ellen is obviously in love in this picture, but her happy glow is being ruined by the redness in her face. You can put a little powder on and still be in love." I just don't think that's fair lol. I was having really fantastic mushy feelings looking at that picture (one of the many side effects of my recovery meds) and then that damn commentator just killed it for me lol.

I for one get more compliments from my boyfriend when I'm in my lazy clothes with my hair pulled up and no makeup on. I think it shows you how real and normal they are. I think I play for the celebrity team though, cuz I get pissed off when I see video and pictures of them being mobbed by people or their cars being trapped in my paparazzi that they can't even get a hamburger in a drive-thru or buy diapers at Target. I usually take their side lol

The one picture that did take me back was the one of Madonna in her gym clothes in NYC with no makeup, not because she wasn't wearing any makeup, but because she had these really odd hollows under her cheeks and eyes that made it look like someone had just beat the hell out of her; it didn't shock me, it baffled me a bit because I couldn't figure out why it looked that way lol

 

[MiCHiE]

I think it's disgusting to force anything on a person, and I think that's what the media does with their ridiculous critiques on celebs. Celebrities spend so much time in wardrobe/makeup/hair that I can't blame them for saying they "hate" it and don't do it otherwise. Even with our almost daily routines, it's different for us because we actually love makeup and most times, don't mind spending an extra 20 minutes transforming. But, if I had to have my somebody beat my face daily with wayyyy more than I normally wear, I would seriously crack. I don't think the love for makeup would endure.

 

[sharkbytes]

It reminds me of something my mother always tells me when I do a full face every day...if you eat turkey every day, you aren't going to be that excited for thanksgiving. Meaning that when people see you on a daily basis, they're expecting to see you fully made up because that's the norm for you. It can be quite a shock then, when that person doesn't wear makeup. But on the other hand, someone who hardly ever wears any will usually get a ton of compliments whenever they decide to wear a lot of makeup. ((Bear in mind, none of this stops me from wearing makeup every day, lmao. I love it and I don't care what people think.))

I think with celebrities, the former is true. Years ago, you never saw a celebrity without makeup because there was no paparazzi or cell phone cameras or the like. Everyone seemed much more glamourous. Now it's almost a sport to snap a shot of an un-made-up celeb, and it's kind of silly in my opinion. Everyone benefits from makeup, why should celebs be any different? Like it's a big shock that every once in a while, even a celebrity runs out the door to grab the paper in a robe and a towel, lol.

I guess it just sucks to me that a lot of people feel the need to tear someone else down to feel good.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Interestingly enough, I was just reading a chapter in one of my schoolbooks that describes how my attitude towards my makeup has shifted.

When I worked a job that didn't require it, it was fun for me to put it on, so I put it on all the time and loved it. The rewards were internal, I simply enjoyed it.

Now it's required, and I HAVE to put it on, and so I don't see it as my fun creative playtime anymore; play has turned into work lol. I think celebrities probably feel something similar; they can't just get dressed and have fun and look however they want because there's an expectation laid on them, and it becomes a part of their job, and they get hounded about it. How exhausting.

When I was a kid, it seemed like fun to be famous, now it just seems like it would really suck: no privacy, people following you around, being stuck in a constant bubble. Some seem like they really enjoy it and others always look so annoyed in "candids" and paparazzi shots. I think I'd end up one of those celebrities whose constantly giving the finger lol