Celebrities Share Pictures of Themselves without Make-up

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

1. fad (n.) [fad] – an interest or activity that many people follow with strong excitement or feeling

Example: Wearing large beaded necklaces and bracelets became a fadlast summer.

2. candid (adj.) [kan-did] – not planned; being caught unprepared

Example: The photographer likes taking candid shots of people in the streets.

3. blemished (adj.) [blem-ishd] – marked by imperfection or flaws

Example: Her face was blemished because of the pimples she had when she was young.

4. flaunt (v.) [flawnt] – to display or show off oneself

Example: She flaunts her beautiful face through pictures on social networking sites.

5. foster (v.) [faw-ster, fos-ter] – to promote or help develop something

Example: A teacher must foster a good learning environment for the students.

Article
Read the text below.

American actress AnnaLynne McCord boldly shared her barefaced photo on Twitter, joining a growing celebrity fad of posting pictures without makeup. It all started when a candid picture of McCord was taken in Vancouver, Canada last month. Celebrity news websites criticized her blemished skin. McCord was upset at first, but a week after, she posted a picture of herself without make-up on Twitter. She said she did not care anymore if people made negative comments.  Instead of being criticized again, however, she was praised by the media and her fans. McCord added she always wears makeup whenever she is working, so she has a natural look in her personal life to let her skin breathe. Her boyfriend also likes for her to flaunt her real beauty. Recently, many stars such as Bethenny Frankel and Jennifer Love Hewitt have posted their own makeup-free faces on Twitter. Other celebrities have posed for People’s magazine’s Most Beautiful Issue without makeup. According to Brian Solis, a media analyst at Altimeter Group, celebrities’ fresh-faced photos are grabbing much attention from fans and social media. Fans may feel better about themselves by seeing a star’s imperfections, or they may find the star’s honesty likeable. Many publicists also now encourage stars to share “natural look” pictures to foster a relationship with the community. However, some stars might have fake reasons and are just doing it to gain attention. Some stars fix their hair, plan the scenery and poses of their photos and later say their pictures are candid.

Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor. 

Discussion A

·         Why do you think people sometimes criticize celebrities’ appearances?

·         Why is physical appearance important to some people?

Discussion B

·         Do you think make-up is important? Why or why not?

·         Which do you prefer, people with makeup or those with natural looks? Why?

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