No Filter by Vogue's Beauty Secrets
Beauty standards have been long tethered to out-of-reach standards. Vogue’s Beauty Secrets series is rewriting the script by offering a platform for real and diverse beauty narratives.
Words Bridgette Yutuc
Photos courtesy of Vogue official website and Youtube account
June 12, 2025
We are relentlessly surrounded by narrow beauty standards imposed on us. Makeup has become less about self-expression and more about blending into a seamless, polished ideal.
From glossy pages to silver screens, beauty has often been portrayed through images of women whose features sharply contrast our own. This lack of representation has fostered a quiet sense of exclusion and undervaluing of our natural traits.
That’s why Vogue’s YouTube series Beauty Secrets arrived like a breath of fresh air—barefaced and unapologetically real, celebrating the full spectrum of human beauty.
Filmed in natural lighting, often outside the confines of sleek studios, the series features celebrities who candidly share their skin concerns and rituals. It balances glamour with authenticity, helping dismantle outdated beauty ideals through relatability and inclusivity.
Beauty Maximalism in All Its Glory
Perfectly echoing the chaos and creativity of her 2020 album Manic, singer-songwriter Halsey’s 18-minute makeup routine is a glitter-drenched act of rebellion.
Her look defies symmetry: one eye awash in holographic blue glitter—symbolizing her past traumas—while the rest of her face remains experimental, whimsical, and fearlessly bold.
This is for women who embrace the art of maximalism. Women who celebrate individuality through creative freedom. It’s a reminder to never hold back. Wear the blue eyeshadow. Scatter the glitter. Swipe on graphic eyeliner—even on an ordinary Tuesday.
Unapologetically Acne-Positive
"I'm definitely the girl on the plane with the acne stickers. I've definitely worn pimple cream in the airport. I'm talking public. I don't care."
Singer Normani’s skincare and 90s-inspired makeup routine is more than beauty content—it’s a love letter to little Black girls, and to all girls, encouraging them to embrace and destigmatize acne.
Whether she’s prepping for a high-glam shoot or walking the red carpet, Normani makes one thing clear to her makeup artists: if they cover her beauty marks, they must bring them back.
For a pop icon to speak so candidly about breakouts is revolutionary in a world obsessed with concealing every flaw.
Breaking the Beauty Rulebook
While most celebs breeze through a “no-makeup” look in under ten minutes, drag icon and TV personality Trixie Mattel takes us on a full technicolor journey. Her 33-step routine transforms her from barefaced to Barbie.
For Trixie, drag is more than makeup—it’s a form of art. It challenges rigid gender norms and proves that makeup holds limitless possibilities. There is no beauty rulebook.
By presenting Trixie’s routine with the same reverence given to a supermodel’s skincare or an A-lister’s five-minute glow-up, Vogue is making a bold, inclusive statement.
Ageless Allure
"I wasn’t scared of going gray. I was just concerned that I’d never model again with gray hair," said 73-year-old model Maye Musk in her Beauty Secrets episode.
That simple confession speaks volumes. The beauty industry has long equated beauty with youth, fueling an impossible chase for eternal smoothness, tightness, and “reversal.”
But Maye Musk, with her luminous skin and striking silver hair, defies that narrative. Her age isn’t a liability—it’s her signature.
