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Why are we still so judgemental about other women's makeup?

Kylie Jenner rocked a pared-back makeup look at The Golden Globes, yet the critical comments still rolled in


Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet at the golden globes
Melanie Macleod
Wellness Editor
On 9 January 2024
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The internet was abuzz this week after Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner attended the Golden Globes together looking super loved-up, and while their kisses and intimate chats were very cute, Kylie's low-key makeup look captured almost as much attention.

The 26-year-old beauty mogul cast aside her usual full-glam in favour of a pared-back look and while people online were praising her toned-down makeup, the compliments felt backhanded – a bit like when a well-meaning older relative, or a misguided boyfriend tells you: "You look so much prettier without all that makeup."

"She’s wearing less makeup and looks so much better," one person wrote, while another commented: "It’s so nice seeing Kylie looking more natural." A third added: "OMG her makeup looks so much better pared back."

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet at the Golden Globes© Getty
Kylie Jenner wore less makeup than usual to the Golden Globes

And of course, these comments are supposedly being nice to the mother-of-two, but something doesn't sit right about us passing judgement on how much makeup another woman wears. It feels as if they're disguising their critiques as compliments.

By praising how much better Kylie looks with less makeup, we're in the same breath criticising her usual, heavily made-up look, which I feel plays into the notion that wearing a lot of makeup is something to be frowned upon – that it makes the wearer lesser, somehow

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet kissing© Getty
Comments piled on on Kylie's new look

It’s not our place to comment on Kylie's beauty choices, especially keeping in mind that she has spoken openly about how criticism of her "thin" lips drove her to have filler when she was a teenager after feeling insecure. "I had an insecurity because this guy said something to me one time," she said during the Keeping Up With The Kardashians reunion in 2015. "Then I got an obsession with makeup because I would over-line my lips and it just made me feel confident."

DISCOVER: Kylie Jenner reveals which Kardashian sister daughter Stormi is closest to in most personal interview yet 

Kylie admitted that it was down to a man that she got filler in the first place, and online commenters are suggesting her new look is because Timothee prefers his women natural. Another insult to the Kylie Skin founder, to suggest that as an adult woman, she's willing to change a major thing about herself for the man she's dating. I highly doubt TImothee has any sway over his girlfriend's beauty choices.

Kylie Jenner in a black less dress© Getty
Kylie normally wears more makeup

Wearing makeup is Kylie's thing. She's built an empire on it and to say she looks so much better without her trademark look is to criticise what she feels makes her, her, as well as undermining her million-dollar business.

"The makeup that we decide to wear can be such a personal reflection on our personalities and mood," agrees HELLO! beauty expert Donna Francis. "Just like our clothes, what we feel like wearing today we may not feel like wearing tomorrow. And so whether we choose to go natural or full on glam should totally be up to the individual."

Whether she goes bare-faced or full coverage for her next event, it's Kylie's choice, and we can't wait to see her rock it!

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