Gen Natural: These side-by-side comparisons prove that women don't need makeup to be beautiful

In a world of Photoshop and Instagram filters, we all need a wakeup call every now and then that we’re just as beautiful without makeup.

That’s why there’s a new movement taking over social media. Women around the world are uploading comparison photos of themselves, one with a full face of expertly applied makeup and a second au natural. The trend is called Gen Natural and is all about appreciating women, made up or not.

“But why is society pressuring us that makeup will make us just a bit more beautiful? Isn’t natural just as beautiful? Well, it should be. Who needs lipstick to look or feel pretty?” asked the blogger behind Diary of a Fit Mom.

“I don’t want to hide my flaws constantly. It’s not who I really am. Today, I challenge you to be comfortable in your own skin… it’s time to break this stigma that society has placed upon us. It’s time to break these unrealistic beauty standards and celebrate who we truly are.”

The Gen Natural trend supports the growing body positivity movement online where women are countering society’s pressure to appear physically flawless. The #bopo hashtag has more than 390,000 posts on Instagram, featuring women of all sizes and beauty preferences.

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“Accept the blemishes, the pimples, the redness, the acne. Learn to embrace the scarring and the freckles because it’s what makes you unique and beautiful. Most importantly it makes you, you. And that is a beautiful thing. Regardless of what society’s standard of beauty is,” wrote model Sonny Turner.

This trend has even inspired some Instagram users to consider what truly matters in society. Is it perfect hair, skin or body? In a world filled with so much hate, this trend is inspiring social media users to prioritize what really matters.

“… We all want to be appreciated and it’s nice to be told you’re ‘beautiful,’ that you have a ‘great body’ or ‘perfect hair.’ But do you know what the real compliments sound like? ‘You’re such a kind person,’ ‘You’ve really made my day!’ ‘Thank you for being so thoughtful,’ ‘I couldn’t have done this without you!’ ‘You make me happy.’ Don’t ever be so focused on trying to be as ‘perfect’ as possible that you forget to enjoy being real,” posted another user.

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“Shoutout to editing apps and photoshop for making the entire world believe they’re not quite beautiful enough.”

Unilever Personal Care, which owns such brands as Dove, Axe, Tresemmé and St. Ives, conducted a study on today’s beauty standards. A senior insight manager from the company told the Daily Mail that this au natural trend is part of the millennial generation’s desire to ditch traditional beauty standards.

“For the emerging generations, namely millennials and gen z, there is a trend for moving away from this image of perfection to embrace their true, natural selves.”

With the natural beauty trend growing by 10 per cent in the last decade and women under 35 admitting they prefer the effortless look proves this may not be the end of the Gen Natural movement.

“In a world dominated by perfection, you’d be mistaken for thinking we are on a mission to continually better ourselves – and always look our best, no matter what.”

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