Unsure if the selfies you scroll through on your Instagram feed are self edited? They most likely are, despite recent movements in skin positivity like ‘free the pimple’ and no makeup makeup that genuinely involves no makeup. The most basic version of popular selfie editing app Facetune is free to download and almost every budding influencer is ultra blurring out their imperfections while their followers forget what’s real.
Makeup brand Urban Decay has recently started using its platform of almost ten million Instagram followers to showcase makeup artists and fans who embrace their real skin in selfies. Pores, freckles, fine lines and peach fuzz are left unedited, highlighting a focus on actual makeup artistry rather than a retouched version of “perfection”.
Followers are loving the new wave of authenticity with comments like “finally someone who isn’t photoshopped to not look human” and “YES FRECKLES.”
Let’s face it — we’ve all got skin texture and pores that won’t disappear. Sometimes a healthy reminder is needed that the retouched selfie you’ve just hit a like on isn’t that close to the real life mirror reflection. While the beauty industry still has a long way to go in being more inclusive and embracing all imperfections, this is at least a sign that we’re heading in the right direction.