The Problem with Make-up Free Gaga

[ANVEEROY 61,269]

“Take it off,” Bradley Cooper supposedly said to Lady Gaga.

“It” refers to the tiny bit of makeup Gaga was wearing at the screen test for what became her starring role in the latest reboot of A Star Is Born, according to a widely circulated story in the LA Times.

The story, which has now been repeated by its stars several times and elevated to lore in only a few short weeks, goes like this: During the screen test, Cooper, who is the producer, director, and lead actor in the movie, whipped out a makeup wipe and dragged it down Gaga’s face from forehead to chin. He then told her, “Completely open. No artifice.”

But does not wearing any makeup mean a woman is more authentic? It appears to be what Cooper and his character, Jackson Maine, both believe. In fact, it’s what a lot of people believe. As a society, we claim to value what’s “natural” when it comes to women and their looks, but when you dig a little deeper, that’s not really what we want. We want them to look beautiful without any intervention at all, which is an unachievable goal considering that society’s idea of what is beautiful is so narrow: young, skinny, conventionally pretty, light-skinned. It’s impossible for women to win, so celebrating Gaga’s makeup-free face as the ultimate sign of her authenticity is more complicated than the sound bites would have us believe.

Let’s unpack this Bradley Cooper makeup removal situation a little bit more: 1) Why the hell was Cooper carrying makeup wipes on his person? 2) Did he give Gaga the opportunity to cleanse her face properly, at least? Makeup wipes are not great for the skin! Next time you invade someone’s personal space to impose your beliefs on them, please offer them an oil or a gentle cleanser instead, Bradley.

And, importantly, Lady Gaga was on board with it. She said ditching the makeup helped make her a better actor, helped her inhabit the role. “It put me right in the place I needed to be, because when my character talks about how ugly she feels — that was real. I’m so insecure. I like to preach, but I don’t always practice what I preach,” she said in the LA Times interview. Gaga has publicly stated that she’s been plagued with doubt about her own attractivenesssince the beginning of her career and has addressed it on many occasions. For many women, makeup imparts confidence, and the vulnerability of a bare face is real.

In case you are not aware of Gaga’s extensive beauty canon, she loves makeup and uses its transformative power masterfully. She has been working with makeup artist Sarah Tanno for almost a decade, and the two have collaborated on some of the most clever and unique makeup looks in recent memory. They make art together. The looks are not natural — metallics and sequins and bright eyeliner figure prominently. Gaga’s signature look is that she has no signature look. She is also working on a makeup line of her own, called Haus of Beauty, as Recode reported in July.

In an interview for Vogue’s October issue, in which Lady Gaga appears on the cover wearing a “natural” makeup look, the author notes, “The biggest challenge for Lady Gaga was creating a musical character that was not like ... Lady Gaga.” The irony here is that the “authentic” Lady Gaga we see in A Star Is Born is a fictional character. The real Gaga — fake eyelashes, stick-on gems, and all — is authentic as hell.

More: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/2/17929616/lady-gaga-a-star-is-born-no-makeup

[ANVEEROY 61,269]

Honestly speaking, Gaga has really changed. I don't know what happened to her, but nowadays she always tries to 'establish' that she doesn't like her GLAMOROUS persona. Its more like someone forced her to transform into Gaga. Sometimes her statements contradict with her own preached beliefs. 

[Bling 31,470]

Here I thought the answer was “nothing, she’s perfect” 

[DaftFameMonster 2,527]

There are some points he has made

[Bio 23,538]

The no makeup look is supposed to be authentic to the CHARACTER, not to Lady Gaga.

[Bonkers 29,640]

This is one of the reasons that people are paralyzed by anxiety.  Because everything gets analyzed and pulled apart and blown out of proportion.  Not here for it.  

 

[Andy McQueen 4,484]

Ridiculous article. 
 

[MonsterOfficial 11,079]

i- it's a simple request from Bradley.. why did they have to make an essay about it 

[Ziggy 11,949]

Honestly I thought it was weird to tell her to take the makeup off. Like, it can be a form of expression and I feel like perpetuates the idea that artifice cannot be genuine. Fashion is a form of expression, after all. 

[LeJudas 6,490]

1 hour ago, Anveeroy said:

Honestly speaking, Gaga has really changed. I don't know what happened to her, but nowadays she always tries to 'establish' that she doesn't like her GLAMOROUS persona. Its more like someone forced her to transform into Gaga. Sometimes her statements contradict with her own preached beliefs. 

Well wasn't it just so that she could get famous, when she first started she was natural and Stefani, when she realized it would take more she went full glam and pop star persona Lady Gaga was created. I understand if she never felt that was totally her and just one aspect of her personality that helped her feel confident. It's also totally okay for her to take time off of "Gaga" and be "Lady"

[Schizophonic 7,015]

11 minutes ago, MonsterOfficial said:

i- it's a simple request from Bradley.. why did they have to make an essay about it 

unfortunatly there will be more of that kind of stuff coming up, the bigger the movie gets, the more they will search for anything to tear appart. gaga will reach a new level of stardom but that comes with a price and that will change quite a few things.

and wait for the oscars, there will be backlash in whatever form it comes. thats hollywood, build you up to break you down and then do it all over again. but she was aware of that from the very first moment of her career.

[REALITY 77,377]

I'm sorry, but this article sounds so incredibly pretentious that it just baffles me how people think like this. First of all, as @Bio said, taking the makeup off was not necessarily meant to be authentic to Gaga, but authentic to Ally. In no way should you connect the two. She is playing a character in a movie, and Bradley wanted the character of Ally to be portrayed and represented in a very specific way, and part of that is making sure that Gaga (the actress) doesn't have any makeup on.  

Secondly, why is this author acting like Bradley pushed her up against the wall and forcefully took off her makeup? I feel like this person is more offended that Gaga isn't offended that Bradley took off her makeup. Obviously, Gaga doesn't have a problem with it, so why does he?

This article also seems to be completely contradicting itself. It talks about how women are "supposed" to be portrayed in our society (skinny, light-skinned, with makeup, etc.), but then talks about how removing that makeup is all of a sudden "not authentic." 

[Guest Adarsh]

You know what the headline would have been if she had kept her glamorous persona?

"Lady Gaga refuses to let go, is she even serious about acting?"

People just need something to talk about thats it. 

[Dukttape 1,437]

1 hour ago, Bonkers said:

This is one of the reasons that people are paralyzed by anxiety.  Because everything gets analyzed and pulled apart and blown out of proportion.  Not here for it.

I'm sorry critical thought scares you.

[Luzaleja 2,321]

1 hour ago, Anveeroy said:

In an interview for Vogue’s October issue, in which Lady Gaga appears on the cover wearing a “natural” makeup look, the author notes, “The biggest challenge for Lady Gaga was creating a musical character that was not like ... Lady Gaga.” The irony here is that the “authentic” Lady Gaga we see in A Star Is Born is a fictional character. The real Gaga — fake eyelashes, stick-on gems, and all — is authentic as hell.

That's exactly it, though? A Star Is Born is not a documentary about Lady Gaga. It's a movie about Jackson and Ally. It has nothing to do with Gaga, and she's tried so hard to make sure people understand this. The no make up being authentic is for the character, not for Gaga. She is not playing herself.

59 minutes ago, Anveeroy said:

Honestly speaking, Gaga has really changed. I don't know what happened to her, but nowadays she always tries to 'establish' that she doesn't like her GLAMOROUS persona. 

Where has she done this? In some of her most recent interviews for ASIB she's talked about how much she loves her make up and her fashion. Both the Lady part and the Gaga part. I don't remember where, but she basically said that it is all who she is, it just depends on how she's feeling. 

9 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

Honestly I thought it was weird to tell her to take the makeup off. Like, it can be a form of expression and I feel like perpetuates the idea that artifice cannot be genuine. Fashion is a form of expression, after all. 

It was weird to me too, at first. But it's just who the character is. They needed the character to be as different from Gaga as possible.

It does make me uncomfortable that some people are talking about this character being the "real Stefani" and even some thinking it's about Gaga's real life  Like, even Ellen DeGeneres said to her in their interview that she thought Ally was the Gaga people didn't get to see behind the scenes, and Gaga had to tell her it's not her at all  

I like that Gaga is still wearing her strong make up and fashion to the promo for ASIB, because that is a way in which she expresses herself. That is part of her authentic self. We really do need to stop seeing women wearing make up as them being fake.