Emmy Rossum has been thinking about how beauty and feminism can coexist

May 2024 · 4 minute read

For the title to this story, I really wanted to use Emmy Rossum’s quote “there seems to be something inherently at odds about beauty and feminism.” Since she turned it around at the end and concluded that no, there isn’t anything contradictory in loving makeup and beauty and being a feminist I decided to use one of her milder quotes on the topic. US Magazine presents it without context and it sounds rather… short-sighted to even pose the question I’ll say.

Emmy is the new face of Burt’s Bees makeup’s “I am not synthetic” campaign. She’s been talking about beauty, feminism and natural beauty in particular, since Burt’s Bees is known for being an all natural line that is not tested on animals. She uses their products on her Showtime show, Shameless, where her character Fiona is often bare-faced and in a state of disarray. Emmy says that Burt’s Bees helps showcase women’s “authentic” beauty and that their campaigns “feature real women.”

“I’ve been using Burt’s Bees products on Shameless for a long time,” Rossum tells PeopleStyle exclusively of her partnership. “Fiona has a very natural look. The Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm is all we use on Fiona, and their eyeliner as well. So I was very excited to get involved with the campaign. The products themselves are made with natural ingredients and not tested on animals and that really hit home on a number of levels for me.”

“I think in the last year or so, probably closer to the election, women felt more fired up than ever. I feel like this is a second wave of women’s liberation, feeling empowered to be yourself, speak your mind, be passionate about the things you believe in and stand up for what you believe in. So this campaign is not just about being synthetic, it’s the idea of being a real woman,” she says, adding, “The visuals of the campaign feature real women who are embracing their authentic beauty. They are not feeling pressure to conform to a homogenized or overly artificial idea of beauty and they’re kind of just bringing out their natural beauty.”

“My husband’s favorite thing about my face is the blue vein under my eye, so I don’t often wear under eye concealer in my everyday life because he likes to be able to see my actual face,” she shares. “So I think it’s the idea of being true to yourself and being the best version of yourself and not the best version of somebody else.” – People Style

The actress teamed up with Burt’s Bees for their #NotSynethetic [sic] campaign, and celebrated at the Eventi Hotel on Wednesday, October 25, where her minimalist makeup and dewy skin made her vivid lipstick pop. She also chatted about her views on playing with beauty products and how it plays into her feelings of self-worth.

Rossum explained that just because you love makeup doesn’t mean you can’t be a feminist. “I’ve been thinking a lot about beauty and feminism and how the two can coexist because on the surface there seems to be something inherently at odds about beauty and feminist but really when you think about it, self care — the practice of self care — is human and it’s an animal instinct,” she told the crowd. “We want to look and feel our best.” – US Magazine

[From People Style and US Magazine]

I adore Emmy, she’s one of my favorite celebrities and I love to see what she wears to events and how she’s styled. She was a great choice for this campaign as there’s something so genuine about her. That said, I’m disappointed that she even brought up the issue of feminism and makeup/beauty somehow being incompatible. (To be fair to her, the entire conversation may have been scripted by a marketing team. It’s like they’re trying to co-opt activism to sell products, and we’ve seen how that works out.) That discussion should have been retired long ago, but now is the time that we’re revisiting a lot of issues that many of us considered cut and dried. Of course women can love hair, makeup and fashion and still be feminists. Why even pose that question? Also, this language around “real” women needs to be reframed. How about saying that the Burt’s Bees campaign uses women from all walks of life who are not models? Models are real women too, and actresses who wear couture, dress sexy and get full MAC makeovers are still real women and feminists. You can wear fake eyelashes and a full face of makeup and still be a real, non-synthetic person. There is no one way for a real woman to look.

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