About
No Makeup Selfie is a type of selfie in which the subject is shown without wearing any cosmetics.
Origin
On Twitter, the hashtag #nomakeupsefie has been used to denote a makeup-less selfie since as early as in September 2012[16], around the same time the term selfie is believed to have entered widespread usage online.
Precursors
Makeup-less photographs of women have long been treated as an aesthetic criterion in the mainstream and celebrity news blogosphere[17][18], mainly through paparazzi shots of actresses and singers seen in public without wearing makeup or side-by-side comparisons. Similar trends have been observed in other cultures and language zones as well, for instance, in 2006, a makeup-less beauty trend and selfie fad known as 쌩얼[13][14] (“Sang-ul,” meaning natural face) swept across the Korean web as part of the larger Ulzzang phenomenon, and in Japan, the term すっぴん[15] (“no makeup”) is used to highlight or praise someone’s beauty qua beauty.
Spread
On March 18th, 2014, #nomakeupselfie[4][8] had its first breakout on UK’s Twitter and Instagram after British student Fiona Cunningham created a Facebook page titled “No Makeup Selfie” after being inspired by actress Kim Novak who appeared at the Oscars ceremony without any makeup. According to the Telegraph[2], the other selfie fad was started under the moniker #itsokkimnovak[3][6] by @LauraLippman earlier that month in support of the 81-year-old actress. Between March 19th and 20th, both #nomakeupselfie and #itsokkimnovak evolved into a viral fundraiser campaign for breast cancer awareness on Twitter (#breastcancerawareness), raising more than £2 million in donations for Cancer Research UK in 48 hours.
Notable Examples
Tweets about “#nomakeupselfie”
Celebrity Participation
Dozens of British celebrities have participated in the #nomakeupselfie movement, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Adele, Amy Willerton, Helen Flanagan, Kym Marsh, Jemima Khan, Michelle Heaton, Lucy Watson and Jodie Marsh, among others.
Parodies
Soon, a number of spin-off campaigns for other charity causes and parody hashtags were born, including #SellotapeSelfie[11], #Manupandmakeup[10] and #Dickinasock.[19]
Search Interest
External References
[1]Twitter – Laura Lippman’s Tweet
[2]Telegraph – ‘No make-up selfie’ trend helps cancer charity raise £1million in 24 hours
[3]Twitter – Tweet Results for ‘#itsokkimnovak’
[4]Twitter – Tweet Results for ‘#nomakeupselfie’
[5]Twitter – Tweet Results for ‘#nomakeupnominate’
[6]Topsy – Analytics for #itsokkimnovak
[7]Topsy – Analytics for ‘#nomakeupnomination’
[8]Topsy – Analytics for ‘#nomakeupselfie’
[9]Adweek – How a ‘No Makeup Selfie’ Trend Suddenly Became a Cancer Awareness Effort
[10]Twitter – Tweet results for ‘#manupandmakeup’
[11]Twitter – Tweet results for ‘#sallotapeselfie’
[12]Twitter – Tweet results for ‘#dickinasock’(NSFW)
[14]Google Trends – Chart Results for ‘쌩얼’
[16]- Twitter – @SophieGuidolin’s Tweet
[17]Entertainmentwise – Celebrities without Makeup! (Jan 1st, 2001)
[18]Look At This – Celebrities without Makeup (Aug 23rd, 2006)
[19]BuzzFeed – Men Are Putting Their Penises In Socks On Instagram For Cancer Awareness And It Is So, So Good(NSFW)