It’s sadly rare to see “real skin” in beauty ads. Skin texture is often blurred. “Flaws” like freckles and blemishes are edited out. And pores? They seemingly don’t exist in the world of beauty marketing. But makeup brand Urban Decay is challenging this advertising norm. The brand is being celebrated for featuring models with “real skin” on their Instagram feed, and other brands should be paying attention.
Urban Decay, who often reposts photos originally uploaded to Instagram by makeup gurus and artists, has recently turned its attention to gurus who use minimal editing techniques.
One of their most recent reposts is a red smoky eye look from Linda Hallberg, a makeup artist and the founder of her own cosmetics line. In many of her makeup looks, Hallberg keeps her foundation to a minimum, leaving her natural freckles and skin texture on display.
“Finally the beautiful reality is revealed. No more plastic photoshop surgery. Way to go!” Instagram user @pixie__pi commented on Hallberg’s photo via Urban Decay’s Instagram feed. “YES FRECKLES,” another Instagram user, @makeupwithshelbs, commented.
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The makeup brand also featured Instagram makeup artist @glowawaymeg, who flaunted a gorgeous gothic cat eye look (and her pores!).
“Finally someone who isn’t photoshopped to not look human,” Instagram user @loli_mua commented on Meg’s Urban Decay feature.
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If the mega-popular beauty brand Urban Decay advocates for unedited, natural-looking skin, perhaps its time for other beauty brands to do the same. A company like Glossier can also be used as an example, since they aim to create products that don’t hide “imperfections” like freckles and acne scars.
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Whether you’re a full-coverage lover or someone who prefers to be au naturale, remember that your unedited skin is beautiful — no matter the texture, color, or presence of pores. Now, we hope that Urban Decay takes this a step further and allows their own models’ natural skin to shine.
