When The hashtag #NoMakeup started trending on social media, some celebs took the plunge and posted 100% natural pics, and the results were eye-opening, to say the least.
Here are some celebrities who are unrecognizable without make up.
Tyra Banks is naturally gorgeous, and to say that she needs to do herself up to be beautiful would be ridiculous. After all, makeup didn’t win her the distinction of being the first African-American woman on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. But, yeah, the crazy eyes and derp-y facial expression she makes here aren’t doing her any favors. Definitely a crazy ex-girlfriend vibe going on.
Holy crap, celebrities get pimples, too? Yep, we know it’s hard to believe, but actress and model AnnaLynne McCord has some zits under that foundation. She’s just like us, only her acne landed her a probably pretty lucrative deal with BenzaClin, while ours just got us rejected by people we asked to the prom.
Chelsea Handler made a name for herself with her bold stand-up comedy, uncensored autobiographical books, and no-punches-pulled talk show on E! She’s also been posting topless photos to Twitter for years, so it’s no surprise that her #NoMakeup photo is one of the roughest of the bunch. Obviously played for laughs, the intentionally bad photo looks more she was trying to recreate one of those “after” photos in a substance abuse awareness campaign.
This Kylie Jenner “no makeup” pic was one of the ones that was criticized, since she clearly is still wearing eyeliner, but we included it anyway, because the nose and lips she has now make her look like a completely different person. That has to be more than just makeup, unless Revlon invented a creme base that shaves down nasal cartilage and a lip pencil that doubles as a tire pump.
There is no musician better known for outrageous looks than Lady Gaga. From the meat dress to that weird egg thing to the countless other getups that had her looking like she was headed to a masquerade ball in Hell, the “Born This Way” singer never fails to shock. Which is probably why this stripped-down, natural hair color shot had everyone wondering if that was really Gaga, or just some pretty brunette who’s a little sad because it’s raining and she was supposed to go to the beach that day.
Critics on social media did not react with uniform kindness when Stefani changed her look for the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, eschewing the usual heavy stuff for a more “earthy” approach. Yet, around the same time on Instagram, she did more (or was it less?) than just take away the bright red lipstick and thick black eyeliner, both of which have become ubiquitous for Stefani over 20-plus years in public view. She took it all off. She just woke up, and you can tell, but whoa. Stefani has never looked sweeter, or even sexier, than she did in a selfie posted on Instagram in May 2016.
Here is what you might call a stark contrast. Emmy-winner RuPaul projects a beautiful image when made up, no matter in drag or not. But looking that iconic is hard work, and there are going to be moments when RuPaul Andre Charles just won’t look like the RuPaul we all know. One example is a moment from 2016 while visiting San Francisco with his partner of 20-plus years, Georges LeBar. It would seem quite possible that RuPaul out-of-costume could slip through life entirely without being noticed, were it not for his Instagram account. As he has said on several occasions, the only time you’ll see RuPaul in drag is when he’s getting paid for the show.
Perhaps it’s the cute way she put her hair in a “birthday” bun, but you can’t argue that Shakira has serious natural beauty. No matter how much (or little) makeup she’s wearing, Shakira rocks like nobody else can. It might be a stretch to say that she could go “unrecognized” anywhere, given her international fame, but let’s see her give it a shot walking around Times Square with her hair styled like so.
Demi Lovato is arguably the queen of no makeup selfies. She posts them constantly, and she’s even done a naked, no makeup, no retouching shoot with Vanity Fair to embrace and reinforce the concept of positive body image to other women. And while she usually looks great, this one kind of misfired. Maybe it’s the blonde hair with dark roots or just a weird angle, but we would have guessed this was the kid from Jerry Maguire all grown up before we guessed Demi.
Adele’s passionate voice overshadows her personal style, but the Grammy-winner has cultivated a distinct look since gaining international popularity. In interviews, Adele has said she prefers to go for bold and “very dramatic makeup” when performing, a look that contours “Boy George-style with lots of blush on my cheeks.” Conversely, she’s also unafraid to be seen in public without the filter of makeup, like in August 2016 when Adele appeared on Instagram to announce she was postponing a show because of an illness. Her entire Instagram account is peppered with no-makeup selfies that appear to pop up whenever the mood strikes.