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In theory, I agree with Jamie (another icon I adore, btw). At GLAMOUR, we smash through glass ceilings and traditional beauty tropes, after all. But as a beauty editor, I celebrate a natural beauty look and solid skincare routine as much as I do a gorgeous makeup look.
As a feminist, I feel very strongly that a woman can show up and claim her seat at the table whether she’s wearing makeup or not.
Ultimately, the problem with this conversation is that we’re having it at all. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, it’s still making a judgment about what a woman should and shouldn’t look like in public. By turning Pamela’s no makeup look into an act of rebellion, it’s potentially othering and demonising those women in their 50s who still love to wear makeup as a form of self-expression.
When she rocked up in Paris, Pamela made a choice about her appearance. And until her makeup-free face made the headlines, she was owning that choice. Now she’s forced to defend it, explaining that her reason for going makeup free is that her long-time makeup artist Alexis Vogel tragically passed away from breast cancer.
In the same way that going makeup-free doesn’t automatically mean that you’re falling on the feminist sword, wearing a slick of red lipstick doesn’t mean that you’ve done it for the patriarchy, either. The bottom line is, Pamela Anderson turned up at Paris Fashion Week wearing clothes. And unless I’m mistaken, that’s the whole point of a fashion show – to let the clothes do the talking?
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR’s Acting Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.