Make-up free Michelle Bridges is the June Women’s Health cover star
NO make-up, no retouching: This is Michelle Bridges as you’ve never seen her before, on the cover of Women’s Health magazine.
NO make-up, no retouching: This is Michelle Bridges as you’ve never seen her before.
The fitness expert and star of The Biggest Loser has graced the June issue of Women’s Health magazine, on sale tomorrow, completely make-up and Photoshop free — and she looks amazing.
“I won’t lie — it’s pretty nerve racking,” Bridges says of her barefaced debut.
“You know, there’s going to be moments when you get all dressed up and do your hair and make-up and look gorgeous in that regard. But then you can be just as beautiful schlepping around in jeans and no make-up and it doesn’t matter, because what really matters is how beautiful you are on the inside. That’s a message many of us need to impart to younger girls,” she says.
The decision to have a make-up and retouch-free cover has dual importance for both Bridges and Women’s Health magazine — it’s serving as a positive body image message, and it’s also raising money and awareness for Cancer Council Australia.
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“Ever since Oscars night when Laura Lippman posted a barefaced selfie on Facebook in support of 81-year-old actress Kim Novak’s somewhat immobile face, I have applauded the women who have flooded Instagram with no make-up selfies,” editor of Women’s Health, Felicity Harley explains.
“Their efforts not only raised more than $47,000 for Cancer Council Australia but equally as import, spread the message that women should be happy with how they look, even without makeup. To support this cause, I wanted to find a woman who my readers admire and who always presents a confident body image — hair and make-up are obviously a big part of that — to appear on our cover, make-up and retouch free.
“So, I called Michelle Bridges,” she concludes.
Bridges is passionate about women being happy and confident with who they are, telling Women’s Health that life is all about finding a balance.
“It’s 2014 — any woman who says she doesn’t feel pressure to look a certain way would be lying,” she says.
“I have good days and bad days. There’s some days when I’m on fire in the gym and I feel great and there’s other days when I think, ‘These jeans are getting a bit tight’.
“That being said, I train hard, look after myself with exercise and good food, but it is striking a balance and feeling confident that you’re OK. I should be happy. There are a lot of people out there who have real problems. Real issues. I think when you start to focus on aesthetics you’re on a slippery slope because there’s so much more to life, [like] relationships with others and relationships with yourself, rather than how you look in the mirror.
“I’m 43, and for the most part I’m probably more confident in myself than I’ve ever been. In your 20s you tend to be really selfconscious, trying to work out who you are and who you want to be. As time progresses you learn from your mistakes and feel more confident in who you are — it doesn’t necessarily all equate to how you look.”
Bridges has undoubtedly put her money where her mouth is by going make-up free in Women’s Healt h. She and the mag are encouraging anyone who hasn’t snapped a make-up free selfie yet to do so with the hashtags #makeupfreeMishyB #itsgoodtobeyou #nomakeupselfie #cancerawareness — and don’t forget to donate as you do so, at cancer.org.au/donate.