13 times celebrities went totally makeup-free

Last week, the world was blessed with a whole series of photographs of Christina Aguilera who had ditched her signature red lipstick to go completely bare-faced in a beautiful shoot for Paper magazine. The singer looks incredible, with many saying she looks better without makeup or that she looks completely unrecognisable. And while she looks amazing with lipstick and dramatic eyes as well, it was quite special to see Christina makeup-free for once too.

Speaking to Paper Magazine, Christina opened upon about the criticism she has faced since the beginning of her career. In particular, how she has been compared to other female singers, such as Madonna.

"Either women are not sexual enough or we're not fulfilling enough of a fantasy for you, but then if we're overtly sexual or feeling empowered in a certain kind of way, then we're shamed for it," she explained. "Madonna had to go through it in her day, and she paved the way for my generation to come up. And paying it forward, now a younger generation is coming up and I'm loving what I'm seeing. It's so incredible."

READ MORE: Here's when it's time to bin your makeup once opened

However, she did note that things are much better now. "They don't have as much backlash when they come out on the scene," Christina said of emerging female artists. "And I did. It was a very interesting and controversial time for me."

"There's always gonna be the good and the evil, the dark and the light," she added. "I think now is the time, more than ever, that we're seeing that in every sense of the word."

READ MORE: Kim Kardashian's makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic swears by these six beauty rules

This may be because we're so used to seeing celebrities all "glammed up" on the red carpet, or with their hair and makeup done for the screen or stage. The Genie In A Bottle singer isn't the only celeb to reveal what she looks like without makeup either. In fact, from everyone including Sofia Vergara to Gal Gadot, there are many celebrities who have decided to upload a #nomakeup selfie to Instagram for us all to gawk at. Behold, 13 celebrities posing au naturel:

1. Chrissy Teigen

2. Lady Gaga

3. Tyra Banks

4. Adele

5. Gal Gadot

6. Jennifer Lopez

7. Beyonce

8. Sofia Vergara

9. Katie Holmes

10. Zendaya

11. Nicole Richie

12. Cameron Diaz

13. Carrie Underwood

From post-gym selfies to times when they were just feeling really good in their bare, glowy skin, these celebs all had one thing in common: they look flawless without makeup. Alicia Keys proudly vowed to ditch makeup forever a few years ago, choosing to let her natural beauty shine instead.

Writing an essay on Lenny Letter, Alicia said "Women are brainwashed into feeling like we have to be skinny, or sexy, or desirable, or perfect. One of the many things I was tired of was the constant judgment of women."

"Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn't put on makeup: What if someone wanted a picture?? What if they POSTED it??? These were the insecure, superficial, but honest thoughts I was thinking. And all of it, one way or another, was based too much on what other people thought of me."

But while completely ditching makeup was a way for Alicia to come to terms with the idea of being "brainwashed", others feel totally empowered by makeup. And who says they can't be?

Whatever your preference – makeup or no – you know what makes you feel best.