Why Alicia’s Bare Beauty and Rihanna’s Multi-Shades of Foundation Both Promote Choice and Equality

If you’ve been living under a rock, let us be the first one to tell you that Alicia Keys has sworn off makeup. Well, at least heavy makeup. She has been spotted with very light makeup since her makeup free face has been blessing us all over media. But compared to the heavy makeup most celebrities sport, it’s safe to say that she is really going makeup free. If you’ve been living under an even bigger rock, Rihanna has launched her new beauty line, Fenty Beauty. The beauty line caused celebration all over social media with its multiple shades of makeup for a world that has multiple shades of beauty.

To some people,  the moves Alicia Keys and Rihanna have made appear to be heading in opposite directions. One is shying away from makeup and embracing her natural beauty while the other is not only applauding makeup but launched her own line. But what they are both doing is giving freedom to women to choose who they want to be. Alicia is making it ok for women to go bare faced into the world while Rihanna is servicing the underserved market of the multi-shaded colored community by giving them a multi-shaded makeup line.

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In her recent Elle Brazil cover, Alicia keys is stunning with her freckled, bare face and box braids. Of course, it is not new for women to swear off makeup. Other celebrities have done it in the past. In fact, it was a bigger movement a couple of years ago to post makeup-free selfies all over social media.

However, Alicia doing it consistently for a long time shows that it’s not a trend but a lifestyle. For women who don’t enjoy makeup but feel forced to spend hours every week putting on layer after layer to cover very blemish, this movement, led by such a famous face, is a breath of fresh air and a push to chose who you want to be not who you are supposed to be. It’s a statement saying your bare face is okay for the world, there is nothing wrong with it that needs to be covered up.   

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On the other hand, nothing is wrong with wearing makeup if it makes you happy. What is wrong is having to be forced to wear makeup that doesn’t fit your shade because your shade is grossly under represented in the makeup aisle. For that dilemma, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty has come to the rescue! If wearing makeup makes you happy and it empowers you, Rihanna is giving you the tool to do it correctly. That is promoting choice and equality.

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Equality is not everybody having to “embrace” their natural beauty and go makeup free and rock natural hair. Equality is also not everybody wearing a beat face. Equality is having the freedom to choose to love makeup, hate makeup, or love/hate makeup. The choice is up to you, these women are just making it ok and convenient for you to make that choice.