Kim Kardashian is everywhere. With more endorsements than I even care to list, her fame and popularity has only increased in the last few years.

But I wonder, is Kim really that beautiful or is her beauty just the result of talented make-up artists, hair stylists, and airbrushing?

I've included in this post a few "candid" shots of Kim in her day-to-day life running errands, at the gym etc.

Now if we compare these first two pictures to a photo shoot Kim did for LIfe and Style Magazine that featured her "without makeup" there is an obvious difference! What's interesting is in the article she states she wanted to show people that she is "comfortable in her own skin" and not afraid to be seen without makeup. Yet, in this photo it looks like she has makeup on, and there's a clear difference between photos taken of her in her daily life and a photo taken during a photo shoot.

Overall, I feel such images of stars without make-up on are positive, and important for women to see. As the Dove commercial shown in class mentioned, our perception of what is beautiful is distorted because the images that the media provides us are distorted themselves.

If we continue to see examples of celebrities in their day-to-day looking like the rest of us, maybe some of the pressure will start to fade, and we can go back to appreciating what's really important.