From Brigitte Bardot’s trademark winged eyeliner to Taylor Swift’s signature red lip — an iconic beauty look can become synonymous with the celebrity wearing it.
Pamela Anderson carved her own hallmark look back in the ‘90s, featuring pencil-thin eyebrows, frosted smoky eye makeup, and overlined lips. Furrthermore, the Baywatch actress typically paired this glamorous look with a perfectly messy up-do.
However, you may have noticed that in recent years, she has been makeup-free at Paris Fashion Week and red carpets. However, it turns out there’s a bittersweet reason for her change.
Pamela’s long-time friend and makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2019. Alexis was first introduced to Pamela back in 1993. Upon their first meeting, she created her signature makeup look for a Playboy shoot.
“I’d heard about her, she’d been on Home Improvement and she’d just started on Baywatch, but she didn’t really have her image — she was a baby,” Alexis recalled in a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail.
Pamela told Elle earlier in 2023 that following the passing of Alexis, she no longer found joy in makeup.
“She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup.”
The former Baywatch star’s move to a more natural look also started when she swapped the glitz and glam of Hollywood for the serenity of Vancouver Island. To match the change of scenery, the actress began unveiling a pared-back, makeup-free look both on her Instagram as well as at various events.
And so, Pamela debuted her new look at Paris Fashion Week. Here we are a year on, and she is maintaining her make-up-free style.
She was all smiles and energy at the January 2025 Paris Fashion Week. The Last Showgirl actress graced the front row of the Christian Dior Haute Couture showing in a super chic ensemble. She wore a black lace headband, dark grey scarf, Dior blacker, black leather belt and dark grey trousers. And again, the leading lady chose a minimalist outfit for the Jacquemus Menswear show. She donned a striking white buttoned-up high-collared dress with her hair loosely pulled back.
“I am much more comfortable in my own skin, but I also am in an industry that really focuses on beauty. And I thought, ‘I’m going to challenge beauty,'” Pamela told US publication Today.
“I think challenging ourselves is what keeps us young and beautiful. And I think, really genuinely, beauty does come from within and you don’t have to play the game,” she added.
“Chasing youth is futile,” Pamela said. In the interview, she referred to the mass media coverage her decision has created in a separate interview with People. “I really didn’t know anyone would notice it, but I’m glad it became a positive message.”
Pamela’s appearances at Paris Fashion Week are of many in recent years where she has defied expectations and ditched high-maintenance glam and opted for monochrome, effortlessly chic looks.
