On Aug. 28, singer songwriter Alicia Keys stepped in front of cameras at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) without a stitch of makeup on.

It was unprecedented.

On this day, she inadvertently set forth a social movement for women everywhere -- the no-makeup movement.

Keys had, however, already given up on makeup a few months before she made her statement on the VMA carpet. She wrote about her decision to stop wearing makeup in May this year here:

"The universe was listening to those things I'd promised myself, or maybe I was just finally listening to the universe, but however it goes, that's how this whole #nomakeup thing began."

"'Cause I don't want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing."

As expected, naysayers criticised her for her controversial move. Supporters backed her up, praising her for her confident, badass move.

Hours after Keys's appearance at the VMAs, inspired women started using the hashtag #nomakeup, posing photos of their makeup-free faces.

Keys has made it clear that she is not "anti-makeup", but merely chose to go makeup free.

While the movement is a reassuring pat on the shoulder for the larger umbrella movement of female empowerment, we don't expect to see women everywhere jumping on the bandwagon anytime soon -- and here are a few reasons why.

No-makeup only works if you're good-looking

It's the antithesis of the entire movement, but I said it. Whether we like it or not, expectations of beauty still exists -- sometimes even more strongly reinforced amongst women.

Women are aware that these expectations are constructed, but when a particular idea about beauty is so deeply rooted in society, many of us face an uphill task trying to subvert it.

Mixed signals that the media is sending isn't really helping our skepticism towards the #nomakeup movement as well.

We're talking about promoted articles like "The Best No-Makeup Makeup Kit Ever" sitting right in the middle of a piece talking about how Keys looked fantastic without makeup.

We're talking about how the images of bare-faced women we see in the media are conventional (yes, by our constructed standards) celebrity-type beauties.

Sharing images of confident, ordinary women who go without makeup and still kickass would go a long way. You'd be pleased an increasing number of them if you search #nomakeup on Instagram.

Y'all, me choosing to be makeup free doesn't mean I'm anti-makeup. Do you! ?? pic.twitter.com/Mg0Ug9YA9q

— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) August 29, 2016

Beauty is a luxury not all can afford

"Natural" beauty often comes in bottles of skincare products. And skincare products can be very pricey. Which is why beauty is, in many ways, a privilege reserved for those who can afford it.

It doesn't matter if you're female or male. With a lucky combination of good genes, access to clean water and money to afford good skincare products, you are likely to have skin that's free of problems.

Which makes you more likely to be confident enough to ride the no-makeup trend.

This means that (yes, the same beauty standards we are trying to overcome) attractive people have the advantage of being able to step out barefaced with confidence, while others may have a harder time doing so because they have a higher mental wall to overcome.

The ultimate enemy is the beauty standards we are held to

For as long as women are held to beauty standards, we run the risk of facing backlash for joining the #nomakeup movement.

Yes, makeup, to some women, might not even be thought of as something to empower or enslave.

But does this mean we should continue to hide behind makeup because we are not "beautiful" enough to successfully debut our bare faces to the world?

The answer is a firm no.

The #nomakeup movement is an excellent example of how we can start the discussion about what beauty is, and how we can come to redefine what beauty stands for.

But for ordinary women who want to go makeup-free, it's going to take time for us to overcome the mental obstacles that we have -- let's hope that this movement endures long enough to see us through it.

Top photos via Joanne Peh Instagram

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