When Pamela Anderson took her place on the front row at Isabel Marant’s spring/summer 2024 show in Paris, the standout part of her look wasn’t the lemon-yellow dress she was wearing, or her signature blonde hair naturally waving down her back. It was her makeup—or lack of it, to be precise.
The 56-year-old actor and author went completely makeup-free for the runway show, revealing glowing skin and a sprinkle of freckles across her cheeks. And it’s not the first time Pamela has stepped out with her natural complexion on show.
Earlier in the week, she paired a no makeup look with sharp tailoring and long, straight hair to attend The Row’s spring/summer 2024 show. And her recent Pandora jewelry campaign saw her with a similarly pared-back look.
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In an interview with ELLE earlier this year, Pamela shared the reason behind her choice to pare back her makeup—her perspective changed after her makeup artist Alexis Vogel passed away in 2019: “She was the best… And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup.”
Pamela isn’t alone in her move towards pared-back beauty. There’s a wave of celebrities embracing their makeup-free skin, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, Halle Berry, 57, and Tracee Ellis Ross, 50, who often post barefaced pictures on Instagram.
In an industry full of exaggerated beauty trends—and, in Pamela’s case, a history of wearing bold makeup looks, often created by Vogel—to go without it in public, whether that’s to millions of followers online or at one of fashion’s biggest events of the year, is the ultimate power move. And to do so over the age of 50, in a society that encourages women to remain looking “perfect” at all times, truly is a reclamation of power and a level of self-acceptance we can all aspire to.
In her ELLE interview, Pamela said: “I did notice that there were all these people doing big makeup looks, and it’s just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite of what everyone’s doing.”
She added: “I think we all start looking a little funny when we get older. And I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror. I go, ‘Wow, this is really what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey.’” Well, we’re loving witnessing where this journey takes her.
Deputy Chief Sub-Editor
Olivia is ELLE’s Deputy Chief Sub Editor – in other words, she gets paid to read ELLE for a living, overseeing the production of our monthly print issues. When she’s not editing copy or scattering her words throughout the magazine, you’ll probably find her snacking, talking about how great her friends are, trying not to buy more clothes or rolling her eyes at something – usually with a takeout coffee in hand.
