Great news girls! Children in Need is launching its first ‘BearFaced Day’. On this day, you go without any makeup to help raise money for disadvantaged children, so put down that mascara and hang fire with the lippy.
To persuade us, Louise Redknapp, Lulu, Julia Bradbury and newsreader Sian Williams have been photographed by Rankin, (apparently) without a scrap of makeup on, ahem. Rankin, the world famous photographer. These woman no doubt also have access to world famous beauticians, facialists, dieticians. Who wouldn’t look radiant? I’m sure they don’t do their own housework or ironing or cooking either. They have no money worries, no fear of redundancy, no anxiety about retiring on a decent pension.
So why are they pulling rank and shoving this quite literally in our faces? Is it not enough to flaunt their exalted status to us minions, now they want to strip us of our one last defence against an often cruel world? Is it a case of, ‘see how beautiful and rich I am, you common little peasant, you?’ It is certainly a case of extreme vanity, if nothing else. There is something quite uncomfortable about rich people asking us hard-pressed peeps to part with our money. And in such an audacious manner.
There is a charity which visits woman undergoing breast cancer surgery, giving them makeovers. This has been shown to improve their self-confidence and feelings of self-worth. Can you imagine the uproar if a breast cancer charity fundraised by asking women to go without make up? Women going make-up free and raising funds for disadvantaged children is a very tenuous, slender link, based solely on the double bear/bare sound. Very clever, marketing guys, just jog on, eh?
In my case, I would frighten children and sentence them to years of therapy if I went without my daily slap, which kind of defeats the purpose. I don’t have cancer, but with MS ravaging my confidence, I rely on my box of tricks to set me up for the day. With a bit of makeup on, I can walk (stumble) with my head held high.
However, I would take part in ‘BearFaced Day’ on one condition. That I could wear a Pudsey costume the entire time…