Selena Gomez offered fans a rare look at her skin and face sans makeup or any overt filter, sharing a series of smiley selfies on Instagram. “Me,” she wrote. Over 6.6 million people liked the selfie carousel. Celebs, including Aubrey Plaza, left positive comments. Plaza simply posted, “😍,” while Gomez’s close friend Connar Franklin wrote, “natural beauty.”
Gomez has been more active on Instagram lately after taking a step back from the app a couple of years ago and having her assistant post for her. “Wait can you tell I’m back on Instagram ?” she captioned a shot she shared of herself on January 10.
Gomez was seen out in public earlier this week at a NBA game in New York City. The actress is currently living there while shooting the third season of her, Steve Martin, and Martin Short’s hit Hulu series Only Murders in the Building.
In December 2021, Gomez spoke to reporters at a Rare Beauty event about how she came to accept her own natural beauty more after struggling with insecurity, fueled in part from being a child star. “I’ve been in makeup since I was seven years old. I feel like that kind of messed with me,” she said. “You’re so young and then working. I have professionals doing my makeup and suddenly I can look 25 when I was 16, and it was crazy. Then I felt like, ‘Oh, I look too young all the time. I should achieve that look more. I should try that.’ It just made me question my beauty for what it was.” She added that she created her brand Rare Beauty for those who had similar self-doubt about their appearance.
“I’ve been a victim to wanting to change my face and do things because I see such intense trends,” she continued. “I think the most rewarding part of creating this line is that we create a place for people who don’t necessarily want to get work done or change their face. They just want to embrace what they are and what they have.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.