Shailene Woodley Wore Almost No Makeup in 1 of Her Movies: ‘It Added a Lot to the Film’

Thanks to her chosen profession, there are a lot of times when Shailene Woodley leads a pretty glamorous lifestyle. Woodley is no stranger to red carpet events, magazine shoots, and more. Furthermore, since the Divergent alum is on camera so much, she often goes through an extensive hair and makeup process. However, for one of Woodley’s movies, she wore very little makeup while she was filming.

Shailene Woodley loves using natural products for makeup

In Woodley’s day-to-day life, she tends to prefer a more natural look. The actor has even used beets and berries in lieu of wearing lipstick. However, when she’s shooting a movie or a TV show, she’s almost always assigned someone to do her makeup. And since the camera gets up close and personal with actors, makeup for film tends to be much heavier and more intricate than it is for an average day.

The movie star wore very minimal makeup for ‘The Spectacular Now’

Of course, there are the rare films that allow actors to be barefaced. When Woodley was filming the 2013 movie, The Spectacular Now, she went without makeup for most of the film. In a conversation with Interview Magazine, the Endings, Beginnings actor admitted that while it was a bit of a vulnerable experience, she’s glad she did it. Furthermore, Woodley feels that it helped the movie feel more authentic.

“Apart from a couple of scenes, I don’t wear much makeup in the film,” Woodley shared of The Spectacular Now. “Watching it back, there were some scenes where I was like, ‘Oh, god. I wish I’d put some makeup on. I look awful!’ But once I let go of my insecurities, I could see how it added a lot to the film. The fact that we weren’t wearing makeup made it seem much more real and relatable because we’re playing awkward high school students, not beauty queens.”

Woodley sometimes goes to red carpet events barefaced

But Woodley’s makeup-free look didn’t stop with The Spectacular Now. She also made a commitment to go barefaced on red carpets part-time. After seeing an unrealistic photo of herself in a magazine, the Insurgent alum decided to make a change to how she showed up to some of her events.

“It was not a proper representation of who I am,” Woodley shared of the airbrushed photo. “I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that—and most of it isn’t real. So (a) I don’t really wear makeup that much anyway, so part of it is just a selfish, lazy thing, and (b) I want to be me. I do think it’s fun sometimes to dress up for the Oscars or for certain events—I get to be like a five-year-old again, wearing my Cinderella dress. But for some events where it’s a more casual vibe, I just want to be me.”

Clearly, Woodley has found a balance that works for herself. It’ll be interesting to see if the actor ever decides to do another movie barefaced.