Maura Higgins bares all for no make-up selfie

Posing make-up and filter free in a black off-the-shoulder top, Maura wrote:

RAW ... like many of us, there are so many times I stop to read the nasty comments in my DM’s or online & every single time I can’t help but think of the younger generation stepping on the social media bandwagon! Us women especially get criticised day in and day out about our body’s, hair, makeup, skin...I could go on forever.

She continued:

I am very lucky to be confident inside & out and I want to empower women to do the same. We don’t need to use filters or apps, being yourself is more than enough although a minority of the online community sometimes try and convince us otherwise. Everyone preaches to be kind to others when really we need to also preach how important it is to be kind to ourselves; be comfortable and proud in your own skin.

Reaction to Maura’s make-up free selfie

Maura received plenty of support for her post, both from fans and celebrity pals including Denise Van Outen, Gemma Collins and of course boyfriend Chris Taylor. However, some of her followers were still not satisfied, calling her ‘literally unrecognisable’ in the make-up free snap.

The commenter accused Maura of not ‘embracing her natural skin tone’ and editing and filtering all of her photos. Maura hit back, insisting that she only enhances lighting in her photos rather than editing them and that she wears make-up and fake tan because she loves to.

Celebrate natural beauty

Maura’s post obviously struck a chord with a lot of her followers, as many of them were inspired to post their own make-up and filter free selfies, accompanied by their own messages about unrealistic beauty standards, which Maura shared to her story in a celebration of natural beauty and keeping things real.