Fact: We all have lips.
Sometimes they’re dry, or thin, or the bottom one is fuller than the top one.
Others have small, fluffy baby hairs growing around the lip line, and/or thicker, darker hairs on their upper lip.
But you wouldn’t know it scrolling through Instagram. Not with FaceTune, Afterlight, VSCO or any number of the photo editing apps that blur out any perceived imperfections.
That’s why it’s really quite brilliant that cosmetics brand MAC reposted a photo of a real human pair of lips wearing lipstick, complete with upper lip hairs.
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The image was originally shared in July by Toronto makeup artist Matthew King and shows a model wearing the Chestnut Lip Pencil ($30) and a limited edition Try Again Lipstick.
It wasn’t until MAC requested to regram the image that it gained traction – at the time of publishing, the post has over 125,000 likes and 1,000 comments.
Some of those comments include criticisms of the model’s facial hair being left in.
“She needs to do her upper lip… Those hair on upper lips, demand to be plucked… That stash tho… They couldn’t Photoshop her whiskers out?” some of the comments read.
Thankfully, the positive comments (and guenuine interest in the lipstick) outweighed the negative ones.
“Yesssss someone real… Thank you for not photoshopping out her hair… Love the colour, and the natural unwaxed upper lip hairs… I’m happy u (sic) showing up the real way a woman/human is… People have facial hair, get over it.”
Scroll through the brand’s Australian, US and UK Instagram accounts and you’ll find a handful of other images of lips up close where the baby hairs under the models’ lips are visible, as well as skin that resembles real skin (but with makeup on, of course).
To put things in perspective, we’re talking about one photo among millions on the social media platform. Sure, beauty brands can always do more to produce images of women we recognise and that we can see ourselves in.
But considering how taboo upper lip hair or moustaches on women are, this photo and the people who decided to share it deserve positive reinforcement. After all, small steps lead to big change.
As with any of the hairs on your body, it’s completely up to you what you choose to do with them.
But it’s important to remember that, just because someone or something told you to remove them, doesn’t mean you have to.
Do you care about seeing body hair in beauty campaigns, or would you prefer it be edited out?
P.S. If you’re keen for some honest beauty advice, get Mamamia’s new beauty podcast You Beauty in your ears below.