This September, the Marc Jacobs spring/summer 15 show lit up Instagram feeds, standing out from the #NYFW stream – the models weren’t wearing any make-up. Not just that “no-make-up make-up” style. Really, no make-up. The make-up-free look had been bubbling up in magazines and Instagram hashtags for a few months, and it seemed like the fashion crowd was trying to decide whether the Marc Jacobs show was bold and innovative or just a natural next step for a beauty trend. Something about that question that writers, bloggers and editors were posing sticks out, though: is no make-up really a “trend?” Or, is it something that’s always been there, an option favoured by some women, whether a purposeful statement or just the choice to not put a bunch of stuff on their faces? And, is that choice the better choice than wearing make-up?
No-make-up moments have come in waves through history. The early 90s ushered in grunge, a response to the OTT glamour of the 80s.
The idea to wear make-up extends all the way back to Egyptian times, and while men have taken up the blush brush from time to time, it’s been consistently women who have never lost the will to both conceal and enhance. Before cosmetic companies existed, there were times when women used burnt matches for eye-shadow or “young boys’ urine to fade [freckles]” (according to WebMD’s “History of Make-up). Today it can just require extra time and money that not every woman is thrilled to spend. So, why not forgo it? We have seen enough beautiful images of bare-faced women and enough high-profile women have been photographed sans cosmetics. While image standards remain high in the media, we seem to be readily entering a time in which we celebrate women and natural beauty. Do we really need make-up anymore?
No-make-up moments have come in waves through history. The early 90s ushered in grunge, a subculture that was built on the principle of not primping and preening. A response to the OTT glamour and excesses of 80s pop and hair metal, grunge and its followers took the focus away from appearances. Soon the purposeful nonchalance regarding appearance made its way into fashion, and suddenly the unplanned became planned. But the au naturale thing was happening all the same. It had gone from kids in Seattle to models on the runways and celebrities on billboards, but the look still wiped the slate clean when it came to beauty. It made bare faces cool. Think of Calvin Klein campaigns, and Kate Moss in the iconic images of Corinne Day.
Then there’s our fascination with French women – of course, something that’s always been there but seems to build up to fever pitches every now and then. Thanks to current celebrations of French nonchalance like Caroline de Maigret’s book How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style and Bad Habits, we’re reminded why they just get it right. French girls prove how elegant a bare face can be, their mix of bedhead, no make-up and understated clothing exuding effortless cool. Can you imagine de Maigret or Lou Doillon donning anything but the occasional smudge of eyeliner? They make you feel like make-up is a waste of time, maybe it’s trying too hard. Maybe the most sophisticated thing we can do with our routine is not care so much.
If no make-up as a trend does anything, hopefully it spreads the word that not wearing make-up is by no means letting anything go. You can be polished without slathering anything on your face.
Parisian-chic or not, it would be silly to say the entire idea of make-up or none is just a trend. But the embrace of the make-up-free face in fashion and media comes in waves, in the form of trends and movements. Grunge, normcore and Francophilia can inspire even women who do typically wear make-up to consider stopping. It’s understandable that some trends will popularise this beauty choice, but at the end of the day, it’s more of a lifestyle than a trend.
Forgoing make-up shouldn’t have to be tethered to trends or statements – you’re probably not thinking of either when you skip it during your dash to get ready in the morning. But there are definite feminist undertones in making the decision to wear or not to wear. In The New York Times’ “Beauty Unmasked for All to See,” Stanford law professor and author of The Beauty Bias Deborah Rhode spoke about the double standard, that men can rise to the top of Silicon Valley in a t-shirt but women walk a line with make-up – spending too much time on our beauty routines is “vain,” while nixing make-up is “letting ourselves go.” If no make-up as a trend does anything, hopefully it spreads the word that not wearing make-up is by no means letting anything go. You can be polished without slathering anything on your face. In the same Times article, make-up artist Diane Kendal explains that no make-up “looks much more modern and dynamic. Being fresh-faced gives you an air of confidence.” She names typically bare-faced women like Vogue Editors Emmanuelle Alt and Tonne Goodman, women known for their style and certainly not for laziness.
Make-up has always been a comfort issue: what are you confident wearing? And the idea of no make-up should be the same. If you love cat-eye liner and a slick of lipstick, you should wear it, but if you can’t be bothered with make-up, then it doesn’t matter what’s in or out of style. What we can take from bare faces being on trend, and from the ever-ongoing conversation about whether it’s a feminist statement is that it is our choice, and that we shouldn’t feel the need to pack on the cosmetics if we don’t want to. And truthfully, with the deeper embrace of no make-up, why bother? Who wouldn’t love the extra funds they spend on make-up back in their wallets, or that twenty minutes back every morning? If it’s good enough for Caroline de Maigret, it’s good enough for us.
Credits
Text Courtney Iseman
Photography Harry Carr, Marni spring/summer 15