By Zoe Ades ’18, Staff Writer

Makeup has become the one consistent aspect of red carpet events. No one knows what the next fashion trend will be, or who will stand out, but makeup will always be in attendance. Makeup has been worn at every award ceremony in recent history until two powerful women decided to shake things up a bit. Alicia Keys and Alessia Cara inspired millions of headlines when they went bare at the Video Music Awards (VMAs). Artists are expected to make a statement at an award ceremony by wearing daring outfits, but showing up without make up is an even bolder move – one that will get the people talking.

In a recent interview on the Today show, Keys explained her reason for wearing no makeup at the VMAs: “It’s kind of crazy, even this conversation, it kind of shows our obsession of the standard we hold of women, the standard of beauty… It’s really about how you feel and about your life… It’s everyone’s lane that you choose, whether it’s natural hair, makeup free— it’s your lane.” Keys preaches the idea of thinking for yourself, and doing whatever makes you happy. She explains that you are in control of how you feel. Ironically enough, society responded with heavy backlash towards Keys about her stand against societal expectations of beauty. She then clarified that she is not against makeup through a tweet that read, “Y’all, me choosing to be makeup free doesn’t mean I’m anti-makeup. Do you!” This tweet further supports her example of choosing to love herself in order to be happier. She even said in her interview that she loves makeup, but it decreased her self esteem as she began to rely on it.

Keys was not the only “makeup-free” artist at the VMAs. The up-and-coming singer and songwriter Alessia Cara leaves her makeup at home every time she performs her hit “Scars to Your Beautiful.” Cara also took to Twitter to explain her reason for not wearing makeup. She said, “It only feels right to be my true self when singing about self-acceptance.” Not only does she preach in her song “that beauty goes deeper than the surface,” but also that “you should know you’re beautiful just the way you are/and you don’t have to change a thing/the world could change its heart.”

But how influential are these catchy, yet positive, song lyrics? When opening the question up to the NA community, Tess Ostroff ‘18 responded that the makeup-less movement “was great because it made a positive statement to young girls that they don’t have to wear makeup to be beautiful.” Ostroff’s opinion proves the subtle success of both stars’ messages. When asked, music enthusiast Benjamin Berkowitz ’18 said that he believes “it’s a good thing that they’re not wearing makeup because it might help people realize that people should just do what they want… [and] realize that celebrities and other people will do what they want to do and that eventually it won’t be such big news when someone doesn’t wear makeup.”

These  “no makeup” statements  have not caused any drastic changes. While so many people have spread the message to “be yourself,” few have followed through with it and exposed their true selves. Alicia Keys and Alessia Cara have now confidently distinguished themselves as role models and great examples of this message everyone has been trying to spread. They remind us that beauty does not have any rules; in the words of Alicia Keys “Do you!”²