Meet the popular makeup artists shamed for not wearing makeup

We’ve seen it before – women shamed for not looking like their ID – whether it’s because they lost weight, gained weight, cut their hair, or in this case, chose to *gasp* go without makeup for a day.

Popular Vancouver makeup artist, Samantha Ravndahl, was recently shamed for not wearing makeup on a business trip to London.

After getting off a nine and a half hour red-eye flight (bless her soul), Ravndahl went through passport control and was harassed by a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport.

I don’t know how many people choose to wear a full face of makeup for an overnight flight, more power to those who do, but being attacked for wanting a fresh face certainly seems like a steep price to pay.

She went on to tell him that she was clearly wearing makeup in that photo, but he continued to badger her about it, while simultaneously holding her passport up to her face, causing a scene.

“I’ve never in my life felt so embarrassed, ashamed and apologetic for my bare face.”

The officer didn’t stop there. He then went on to undermine her career as a makeup artist, and claimed that he doubted her credibility.

Uhm yeah. She has 2.4 million followers on Instagram.

All in all, she said she was questioned for about ten minutes while doing her best to hold back tears.

Other makeup artists have faced similar challenges. Tatiana Rose, 19, is a makeup artist from Sydney, Australia with 25.2K followers on Instagram. She wanted to share her experience with people doubting her career.

“I have gotten a few negative reactions, like when I say I’m a makeup artist they’re like ‘Oh, is that all you do?’ ‘Can you live off that?’ As if anything artistic could be a real and paying job.”

She goes on to describe being criticized by her teachers at school for wanting to pursue makeup artistry.

“I remember one week a teacher came back to me after calling me in for a ‘career counsel’ and told me that, in life, they will always choose the more academic one over the talented one. That was the week I left school and started pursuing my career.”

Rose describes the pressure to wear makeup every day as a makeup artist.

“I think the pressure comes from others who would almost expect you to wear makeup all the time.

“I totally understand if there are artists out there who feel they need to wear makeup all the time, it feels like a status you need to uphold.”