7 Black Celebs Who Aren't Afraid to Show Off Their Natural Beauty
National No Makeup Day: 7 Black Celebs Who Aren’t Afraid To Show Off Their Natural Beauty
Dabbling in beauty products can be a fun hobby and a profitable livelihood for some…cue Rihanna! But it’s also nice when you can give the cosmetics a rest and rock your natural beauty. What better day to do that than on April 26, which is National No Makeup Day! Created in 2011, the day aims to help women feel empowered and confident without makeup. Many people regularly go sans makeup and embrace their natural skin. Here are some of our favorite Black celebrity women who fearlessly flaunt their makeup-free faces.
1. Gabrielle Union, 52
Gabrielle Union, the ’90s bombshell, who many agree is aging gracefully (if at all), is not afraid to post those makeup-less selfies. With her fresh face being front and center in the camera, the Bring It On star’s brown freckles draw all the attention. Union has posted what her real skin looks like more frequently in recent years.
But in 2009, she did her first makeup-free cover shoot for People magazine. Ten years later, she went back for another shoot where she discussed how she feels about not wearing makeup. The mother-of-one told the publication, “For the most part, I feel most like myself without makeup. It’s how my friends and my husband and my loved ones appreciate me most. Again, because I think makeup can be a mask, and I think the older we get, that we feel like the more makeup we have, the better we look. Sometimes it just looks like an older woman with a lot of freaking makeup on. I’ve made peace with: this is my face and I’m okay with it. It does all right by me.”
2. Halle Berry, 58
Halle Berry is another ’90s actress who left men weak in the knees so much so that her name has been mentioned in several songs. The Boomerang actress has also notably been wearing less makeup in the last few years. Last August, she posted a selfie for her 58th birthday with no makeup on, showing off her buttery smooth skin.
In a 2023 interview with Marie Claire, she talked about deciding to wear little to no makeup. She said, “I have realized that less is more and less is best when you’re going down that path of life. So I’ve gotten in touch with just taking care of my skin, staying healthy, exercising, and going down my natural path. I wear very little makeup these days, other than when I’m going out to an event or something like that, but even then, I try to keep it as natural as possible. And in real life, I’m kind of makeup-free these days, I think it’s been working for me.”
3. Alicia Keys, 44
R&B singer Alicia Keys infamously decided to put the makeup brushes down back in 2016. This was just as she was preparing to release her album Here. She wrote a letter on the website The Lenny Letter, where she expressed her frustrations with how society places beauty standards on women. She then talked about a candid moment she had with her photographer who wanted to take a picture of Keys just as she was coming out of the gym. Keys wrote that she was sweaty, and wearing a scarf, so it was an uncomfortable moment for her at first. But her photographer wanted to capture her “real and raw.”
After the shoot, Keys said, “I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt … 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.”
The “Girl on Fire” singer has since started wearing makeup again, but appears to embrace her true skin more. She told Allure in 2017, “I’m not a slave to makeup. I’m not a slave to not wearing makeup either. I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right.”
4. Yara Shahidi, 25
Yara Shahidi talked about embracing her skin in a 2019 Instagram post. She uploaded two natural selfies of her wearing a messy bun and no makeup. Posing in the sun, she even put her acne marks on display.
She wrote in the caption, “Happy Sunday from me and my skin that I’ve committed to love in every and all states 💕with travel + work + 24/7 in makeup I have to actively remind myself to not sweat the details (aka the blemishes) and reframe it as a reminder to make sure I’m taking care of myself.”
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5. Tracee Ellis Ross, 52
Tracee Ellis Ross has always been outspoken about societal standards and causes that she believes in. She’s especially vocal when it pertains to women. Ross has never seemed to make any vows to not wear makeup, but she often posts pictures and videos without it. When it comes to beauty standards, she has stated that she is not so much focused on the exterior of individuals. Instead, the Girlfriends star is concerned about who people are on the inside.
She told Yahoo Style in 2017, “We used to live in a concealer culture, and we’re not there anymore. There’s the culture of perfection that is this manipulated idea that’s not human. And there’s a beauty that comes from within. I’m drawn to this culture of beauty that’s an authentic expression of who people are. It makes me feel something. I get inspired by anything.”
6. Tamera Mowry, 46
Tamera Mowry has been going all in with her natural beauty for the last several years. She’s put a heavy focus on growing out her natural hair, for one. But she also embraces her natural skin. In fact, makeup-free days are some of her favorite days, according to her.
In a 2019 Facebook post, she shared a selfie of her wearing a robe with blonde faux locs.
For the caption, she wrote, “This is me 😊 My favorite days are the makeup-free days. I feel like my true self 🙌🏽 #nomakeup #allnatural #nofilter.”
She said something similar the next year when she posted another selfie of her wearing a pink blouse and a headband embellished with pearls. She gave a gentle smile, while glaring into the camera. Without the makeup, her beauty marks, including moles and freckles, had their time to shine too.
7. Garcelle Beauvais, 58
Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais has been considered a beauty for decades. Even with no makeup on, the former model still radiates through her photos. In 2022, for Mental Health Awareness month, she shared an up-close selfie wearing a towel on her head.
“Happy #SelfCareSunday,” she wrote. “This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, I hope you remember you’re beautiful just as you are, no filter or makeup needed. You shine just fine.”
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