Makeup can change everything. A swipe of mascara to define the eyes. Stained lips to draw the gaze. Makeup can be a joyful pop of color on a gray day, increase confidence in a woman, change how she sees herself. It can even change how she’s seen by the world. Too often, our truest selves are treated as a problem to be fixed. We come into work without makeup and colleagues ask if we’re sick. We come from the gym and are not recognized by our regular barista. Relentless ads offer the ideal woman, airbrushed to unattainability.
Imagine if, instead, the “ideal” was having no ideal, and makeup wasn’t the default. What if we didn’t have to change one thing in order to feel confident? Christina Naguib’s series strips it all away, showcasing women as they are. Because beauty is innate. Beauty is strong. Beauty is bare.
