Franchesca Ramsey Points Out Unrealistic Beauty Standards

Naked Truths is a series where we ask cultural influencers, makeup artists, and badass women about their relationship with self-confidence while they remove their makeup. Women are constantly being told that in order to be taken seriously, they can't invest in their appearance — the logic being that pretty can't equal smart. Cut to Franchesca Ramsey. She creates YouTube videos that deal with gender, race, and class through a pop-culture lens. She is known for her work on MTV's Decoded and is currently a writer for Comedy Central's The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. She loves the look of a full lashline and a filled-in brow — a look she creates by using falsies and a brow pencil. Historically, Black women have endured negative comments about having fuller lips, but Ramsey loves to take pride in hers by wearing bold colors. Let's all take note: Ramsey believes that you should work with what you already have to enhance the features you like — not to completely change how you look. Watch Ramsey chat about beauty trends and analyze where they come from, all while removing one layer of makeup at a time.