Style File: You But Better

The other day I had a conversation with a male friend that was both funny and thought provoking. Like most guys, he was perplexed by the whole concept of makeup.
“Some girls just look so different without it,” he said. He said he saw a friend without makeup and thought her skin was an entirely different color.

Of course, she didn’t look bad. In fact, she probably looked better than the version of herself with caked off-color foundation, kohl-rimmed eyes and spidery lashes.
It reminded me of a paragraph I read in Jean Godfrey-June’s memoir, “Free Gift with Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup.” Jean is the fashion and beauty director of Lucky Magazine, and her interesting take on beauty made me rethink everything I knew about makeup.

In the beginning of her book, Jean wrote about how her main goal when applying makeup is to look as if she isn’t wearing any at all. Even though she applies around 11 products every morning — including gel eyeliner, tinted moisturizer, blush and under-eye concealer — she never looks made up. She looks naturally pretty, understated and unassuming but still completely glamorous.

“The idea is you but better,” she wrote. “Your eyes, but a little bigger, a little more entrancing. Your skin, but with fewer blemishes/wrinkles/blotches. Your lips, but just a tint-y bit more colorful, shiny and appealing.”

Jean’s approach seems easy enough — none of us actually want the world to know we’re covering a blemish with concealer — but it also feels kind of revolutionary. Before reading her book, I’d never really heard someone write about makeup this way. Jean fully advocates trying big beauty trends like burgundy lips and retro liquid liner, but on a day-to-day basis, she’s typically more in favor of a subtle, delicate application. Less is more.
Luckily, fashion has fully embraced this minimal take on beauty. At Fall 2013 Fashion Week, the “no makeup” beauty look was spotted at countless shows: Céline, Christopher Kane, Proenza Schouler and The Row and Rochas, among many others. The models looked practically bare-faced. Of course, we know they were wearing concealer, foundation, a touch of eyeliner and mascara and maybe a lip stain — but the emphasis on natural beauty was paramount.

It communicated a sense of easy confidence, like they weren’t intentionally ditching the smoky liner, but maybe they wanted to put the focus on something else — like the clothes. It was refreshing and looked a million times better than any sooty eye shadow or liquid cat-eye.

The look has to be tweaked individually, of course. I could never sacrifice a bright lipstick from time to time — in fact, I own around 10. But as I’ve matured in the past few years and prepare to graduate, I’ve come to realize the precise role makeup plays and how to use it to the best of my abilities.

Not only do I appreciate using less products and feeling like my makeup is invisible, but I understand just how important it is to simply look like an improved version of yourself — not anyone else.

Take any girl with heavily lined eyes or caked foundation and apply it all with a light hand, and I guarantee she will look significantly prettier. I’ve found that the trick is to get nearly perfect skin — due in part to the right skin regimen, good concealer and a sheer tinted moisturizer or BB cream — and the rest just kind of falls into place. A little eyeliner, a few swipes of mascara and you’re the fresher, more radiant version of ... you.