I have never worn a lot of makeup. I actually didn't even wear lipstick until I was in my 40s and even now, 7 years later, I prefer a slick of glossy lip balm over a highly-pigmented gloss any day. I’m a show-off-your-skin kind of makeup wearer. I like to look healthy and glowy. I also love to see real-ness in skin too. Freckles, moles or beauty spots as I like to call them…even fine lines - they are what bring character to the face. Make you look like you!
And this is why I absolutely love Pamela Anderson right now. I must admit, I’d never thought an ex-Baywatch star who had previously been better known for her ostentatious blonde bombshell Playboy looks, would be up there on my beauty icons list. But since watching 'Pamela, a love story' on Netflix I have been in awe of the raw authentic beauty that she really exudes both inside and out.
Since the documentary's release, the Hollywood icon has been embracing her natural beauty during her public appearances too. Just this week, Pamela made a makeup free appearance at the 2023 Fashion Awards in London where she confidently graced the red carpet in a beautiful white Victoria Beckham trouser suit. Yet it was her face that was the centre of attention.
© Getty“Something just kind of came over me and I was dressing in these beautiful clothes and I thought, ‘I don't want to compete with the clothes,’” Pamela explained to Vogue France during her first appearance going make-up free at Paris Fashion Week last October. “I am just being me, kind of who I am. I am not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room. I feel like it’s just freedom. It’s a release.”
Pamela is clearly unfazed by embracing her natural beauty. She has explained in many interviews that her journey of self-evolution and self-acceptance has led her to a place where she is the “happiest I’ve ever been in my own skin.”
And the secret I believe is that Pamela looks really comfortable in her 56 year-old skin. Even whilst hundreds of camera flash bulbs are popping at red carpet events, happiness and contentment oozes out of Pamela’s makeup-free face. Yes she has visible pores, fine lines and a little sun damage, yet her wide eyed, genuinely natural smile and sparkly eyes emphasize that her beauty is beyond what any makeup product could give her.
© GettyAnd while Pamela has admitted that she still feels surprised to see the signs of aging when she looks in the mirror, she is actually fine with it and feels as good as ever. ‘“I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror’” she told Elle magazine earlier this year. “‘I go, ‘Wow, this is really...what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey," she told the magazine. "But I feel rooted for. I feel good. I’m in a good place.”
So thanks to Pamela, I will continue to feel more confident about taking the less is more approach to my makeup look this party season and beyond. Yes, I still want my skin to glow and to look its best, but at the same time I will be unapologetic about showing off my fine lines, open pores and freckles too.
