For the June issue of ELLE Québec, I was asked to participate in the styling of a portfolio of Québecoises personalities to highlight the fifth year of Canal Vie/ELLE Québec's Journée sans maquillage (No makeup day).
This cultural phenomena that has also taken place in schools and the workplace has been recently propelled by the advent of social media. I'm not sure if I'm surprised to learn that many a young teenage girl does not go to school without makeup as her armour. Or that showing one's "real face" is something noteworthy. But I get it. Culturally we have become attuned to seeing women with a "full face," imperfections begone, makeup/Photoshop rule, and reality is perceived through a screen or a printed page. If only Marshall McLuhan were alive today!
Which brings us back to our photo shoot where I had the pleasure of styling makeup free television personality Rebecca Makonnen and actress Marina Orsini. Photographer Marc Montplaisir captured these two awesome women in simple striking monochromatic portraits. Makonnen pulled off a structured asymmetrical Halston Heritage dress with ease while Orsini gravitated towards a silk top from BCBGMAXAZRIA paired with a summery pant from Icône by Simons.
hashtags of note:
#NoMakeupSelfie raises £8M for Cancer Research UK, read two different takes here and here
#WokeUpLikeThis : empowering self affirmation or not so #humblebrag?
