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Selena, Jennifer, Adriana and the conversation we keep having about women's faces.

If we learned anything this week, it's that nothing fires people up quite like when a woman's appearance changes.

We've long known that the beauty standards are impossibly high for women in the public eye. 

They're expected to maintain a wrinkle-free complexion. But not look frozen. To keep their youthful glow from before they had children. But not get any work done. And God forbid they actually look their real age. 

But this week, three famous women had their faces picked apart and scrutinised for simply daring to exist in the world. 

The first being Selena Gomez. 

Watch: Selena Gomez talks about her diagnosis. Post continues below.


Video via Ellen.

The 31-year-old singer was called 'unrecognisable' and a 'completely different person' in a new photo she posted to Instagram. 

People scrutinised everything from her makeup to her face structure, speculating that she had undergone buccal fat removal and other cosmetic procedures. 

Image: Instagram/Selena Gomez

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"Is this Photoshopped?" someone questioned. 

"Did she get a face change? Sheesh.. couldn't recognise her," another commented. 

Then came the headlines. 

New Selena Gomez selfie confuses fans: ‘Is this her?’

Selena Gomez has left fans confused over a selfie she posted.

Jennifer Lawrence was next in line to cop criticism. 

After appearing at the Dior Fashion Show in Paris, the 33-year-old actress faced accusations she looked different due to recent cosmetic work.

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In conversation with Kylie Jenner for Interview Magazine, the Oscar-winner addressed the speculation. 

"I think it’s incredible what makeup can do because I work with Hung [Vanngo], who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since I’ve been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery," she said. 

"I’m like,‘I didn’t have eye surgery. I’m doing makeup. Well, apparently, I’ve had full plastic surgery.'

"I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when I’m 19 to 30 and I’m like: ‘I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because I’m ageing.' Everybody thought I had a nose job, and I’m like, 'I’ve had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up'."

Listen to The Spill hosts explain why Jennifer Lopez faced a beauty backlash. 

Then there was also that viral photo of Adriana Lima.

Photos of the 42-year-old supermodel circulated after she attended the Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes premiere.

And the public's reaction was very telling.

Most notably, it was picked up by Instagram account @celebface (an account that compares old photos to recent photos and decides if a celebrity has had aesthetic intervention) with the caption 'Then and Now'.

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Suddenly, Lima's face was big news. It was everywhere.

Posting a makeup-free selfie to Instagram Stories, Lima addressed the commentary. 

“The face of a tired mom of one teenage girl, two pre-teens, one active boy, a 1-year-old learning to walk, and three dogs. ... thanks for your concern," she wrote. 

Image: Instagram/Adriana Lima

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You'll also remember a few weeks back, when Jennifer Lopez faced scrutiny after sharing her skincare routine on Instagram, following her recent 54th birthday. 

"There’s no filters and no retouching on this video," she said into the camera.

"No filter. ALL. ME. #ThisIsMeNow at 54, glowing and happy @JLoBeauty," she captioned the clip. 

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In an interview with PEOPLE, Jennifer Lopez said, "When I go makeup-free in my videos, it is really about letting people know that it's okay."

"I love being fully made up and looking glamorous and being kind of the JLo that everybody knows in movies and videos and all that kind of stuff. But there's also just you with no makeup on and without all of the embellishments that is just as beautiful."

But the reaction was brutal. And people were mad. 

Some fans accused Lopez of leaving out an important part of her skincare regimen in the clip: injectables and fillers. 

Her followers felt lied to. Like they were being taken for a marketing ride on the JLo Beauty train. 

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More broadly, the singer was slammed for 'misleading' her audience and promoting unachievable standards.

And then there was Pamela Anderson.

After being pictured at Fashion Week last month sans makeup, the 56-year-old's face was plastered across mastheads all over the world. 

"I call it life-ing, not ageing," she explained. "Chasing youth is futile. All we can do is embrace who we are at the moment we are in, and be okay with where our feet stand right now."

But the public were divided. 

Was it a revolutionary beauty movement? Or a sneaky peek into the current state of female beauty standards? Unlike the commentary around the other four famous women, Anderson's was branded something of a celebration.

Of course, these incidents aren't anything new. 

As much as we like to scream 'change' in the beauty industry, how we treat female celebrities and their appearance seemingly remains the same. 

So, where does this leave us? And why is this a conversation we have to keep rehashing time and time again?

Women should be able to step outside their homes and exist without their face being open slather for the world to criticise. 

Want to hear more from Erin Docherty? Follow her on Instagram.

Feature image: Getty.