The power of makeup: 14 unbelivable before and after shots of shocking makeup transformations

'The power of makeup' is the challenge started on YouTube shocked the beauty world and change the perspective of makeup people got used to.Women have been wearing makeup to accentuate their features and appear more attractive since the ancient times. A little bit of foundation, concealer, brow pencil, mascara and lipstick is pretty much everything a modern busy woman who wants to enhance her natural beauty and look fresh needs to do her basic everyday makeup routine. It’s the daily boost of confidence and the feeling of being put together and ready to rock the world, but not the desire to please somebody or create the false impression that makes them ‘put the face’ on every morning.
While makeup is proven to improve the looks and hide the imperfections that should not define the personality, but often cause lower self-esteem and confidence, it’s also the form of self-expression and the kind of art that broke away from the professional makeup artists’ world and became broadly accessible for more and more women and men who want to experiment with their appearance and diversify their looks using the power of makeup.
The beauty industries caught up with this trend and used the general excitement in their favor by providing the widest choice of various products, which are supposed to make our skin look young and flawless, our eyes bigger and brighter, our eyebrows - on fleek, our cheekbones - more prominent than ever, our lips – plumper and sexier, our imperfections – completely invisible. The more innovative, long-lasting and ‘life-changing’ those products are the better.
At the same time, a lot of natural beauty advocates encourage women to embrace and love their appearance as it is and stop covering it up with the tons of makeup, that erases their unique features and promotes unrealistic beauty standards, which impose disturbing effect on women and put them under incredible pressure to meet that universal image of ‘a perfect woman’ that is actually a living drawing of a makeup artist. Some men have been accusing women of wearing too much makeup, as they ‘trick’ them with their false looks, while others appreciate the everyday effort women put into looking flawless.
Thus, the border between makeup that makes women more confident and makes them feel more beautiful and excessive makeup that undermines the value of natural beauty and makes people hide behind their ‘full face of makeup’ as they feel ugly without it, has got quite fine.
These photographs on ‘The power of makeup’ – a YouTube challenge started by a famous beauty guru Nickie Tutorials (the first picture) was aimed to show the drastic transformation you may achieve by applying makeup, to show that there’s no harm in wanting to look different depending on the mood and being whoever you want, and to prove that people look equally amazing with and without any makeup on. A lot of YouTubers and ordinary people started uploading their “the power of makeup” videos and photos.
They weren’t afraid to show their bare face with acne, scars, thin eyebrows, etc. to make other men and women more confident about their natural appearance, as well as great about wearing makeup if they want to.
Another important message she began spreading is that we have to be aware of the fact that none of us look that perfect in everyday life. Thus, if a young girl or an adult women starts comparing herself with a stunning model/celebrity on a magazine cover or on Instagram, she has to remember a few things. That the mode/celebrity’s makeup was created by an experienced makeup artist and her hair was done by an excellent hair stylist who spent at least a few hours to make the woman look like that.
Thus, if just a few skills and a makeup bag are able to transform you into a 'perfect woman', you're one one of them already.
In the end of the day, when the makeup comes off, it’s the natural face and the inner beauty that has a true shine. And makeup? It is just for fun.
(Note: In most cases, women and men on the photos below did their makeup on their own.)