Make-up is one of the most exciting ways to indulge in play and fantasy. You can explore different colors and textures, emphasizing your favorite parts of yourself while exploring new ways to express your inner light. However, it can easily get dangerous once you find yourself relying on it to feel beautiful.
While there’s no shame in wearing make up, it’s crucial to make sure you love what going on underneath. Here are six Black female celebrities without makeup who prove embracing your raw beauty is always worth it.
Alicia Keys
R&B songstress Alicia Keys made a public vow in 2016 to stop wearing makeup, stunning on countless red carpet events with a bare face. Sharing that she realized she had gotten addicted to wearing makeup, Keys wrote in a Lenny Letter (a feminist forum created by Lena Dunham) “I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.” While Keys occasionally wears make up from time to time, she stayed good on mainly remaining natural, even launching her own skincare and beauty line that focuses on the health of your skin first and foremost.
Serena Williams
When Serena Williams is on the court making tennis history, she doesn’t need any extra layers of makeup clogging her pores. The athletic superstar is no stranger to glam, giving red carpets everything. But at the end of the day, the mom and wife is certainly comfortable rocking it both ways. She’s also the force behind WYN Beauty, marketing products that were formulated, tested, and perfected with deeper skin tones as the starting point.
Oprah
Talk show host and media mogul Oprah has gone make-up free online many times. In fact, it’s typically when she’s cooking or gardening, two of her favorite hobbies. In this Instagram video, Oprah is documenting her getting ready for a red carpet event, showing off a bare face and natural look. She’s a testament to the fact that all the money in the world can buy you the best make-up, but it. will always be worth it to take care of what’s underneath first.
Ciara
When R&B songstress Ciara is on stage, she activates superstar mode. However, as a mother of four, she’s more than comfortable keeping it chill at home. In an uploaded selfie embracing her most natural state, she writes: “No makeup. No extensions. Vulnerable. My Beauty Marks and all. The real me.. and I love it. Finally embracing myself fully! It feels good.”
Keke Palmer
As someone who has struggled on and off with acne, multidisciplinary Keke Palmer doesn’t shy away from showing off her bare face. In fact, in 2020, Palmer posted a series of make-up-free selfies on Instagram, revealing her acne and sharing her diagnosis of PCOS. She wrote, “I’m not perfect, but I’m learning to love myself, flaws and all.” Even though she’s a new mom, she also joked, “I feel like I’m gonna look 16 forever.”
Kerry Washington
Writing, “Feeling strong, centered and full of love from today’s stretch/yoga sesh,” actress Kerry Washington offered a make-up-free look following some self-care stretching. Washington is no stranger to showing off her bare face online, proving that loving yourself without covering yourself is always worth the inner work.