Alicia Keys turned her bare face into a movement this year. (Photo: Getty)

2016 has been a tumultuous year, to say the least. But when it comes to makeup, we are on the come-up. Men are breaking barriers and wearing foundation, concealer, and even lipstick as they please, while women are shifting away from societal expectations of physical appearance, proving that makeup should be about choosing what you want for yourself based on what makes you feel confident and authentic.

Read on for the six most inspiring moments of this year’s no-makeup movement.

Alicia Keys ditched makeup completely.

Brave, fierce, and strong are all words we’d use to describe Alicia Keys for joining the no-makeup movement. (Photo: Getty)

The actress and singer made her makeup-free red carpet debut at the MTV VMAs this August, and we haven’t see her wear a drop since.

Y’all, me choosing to be makeup free doesn’t mean I’m anti-makeup. Do you! ???????? pic.twitter.com/Mg0Ug9YA9q — Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) August 29, 2016



Keys adopted and spearheaded the no-makeup trend because of personal preferences, resulting in a social media movement that inspires women to exude confidence and protest the idea that they have to wear makeup every day.

Mila Kunis appeared on the cover of Glamour without makeup.

Mila Kunis is so much more than the makeup she wears. (Photo: Glamour)

Mila Kunis looked flawless on the cover of Glamour’s August issue, wearing only serum, eye cream, and lip balm.

Kunis said she felt confident during the shoot because she doesn’t normally wear makeup anyway. “It’s not something that I associate with myself,” she said. “I commend women who wake up 30, 40 minutes early to put on eyeliner. I think it’s ­beautiful. I’m just not that person. So to go to a shoot and have my makeup artist put on face cream and send me off to do a photo, I was like, ‘Well, this makes life easy.’ And you’re still protected. Nobody’s there to make you look bad.”

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Zendaya shut down a Twitter troll who dissed her makeup-free photo.

With or without makeup, Zendaya is a role model for us all. (Photo: REX)

The 20-year-old proved that nobody can mess with her, showing her fans the importance of sticking up for themselves.

When a man tweeted about seeing her without makeup, she had the perfect response that demonstrated her confidence.

Disney princesses went makeup-free.

You’ve probably never seen Disney princesses like this before. (Photo: Buzzfeed)

In a video from Buzzfeed, Disney princesses were depicted without their typical heavy eyeliner and shadow, making the princesses we loved growing up more relatable and realistic.

Beauty vlogger posted a no-makeup selfie to show her fans their worth.

Kudos to ThaTaylaa for peeling back the layers and proving she’s beautiful on the inside and outside. (Photo: Facebook/ThaTaylaa)

Taylor, or ThaTaylaa, revealed her acne to her 45,000 (and counting) fans in an effort to embrace everyone as they are, no matter what they look like.



She shared her “flaws” in an effort to normalize them and expand society’s narrow view of beauty.

The upcoming 2017 Pirelli calendar featured six women over 45, unretouched and makeup-free.

Julianne Moore, bare-faced and beautiful. (Photo: Pirelli/Peter Lindbergh)

Peter Lindbergh shot the 51st Pirelli calendar, including Nicole Kidman, 49, Robin Wright, 50, Uma Thurman, 46, Helen Mirren, 71, Julianne Moore, 56, and Charlotte Rampling, 70, all not wearing a drop of makeup and without photo retouching. The brand called it a “radical and inspirational departure from previous years.”

“I wanted to portray women not in terms of their perfection, but through their feelings and emotions,” said Lindbergh. “That’s why I called this edition of the calendar ‘Emotional’: not some artificial perfection, but the real world and the emotions that well up behind the faces of these women.”

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