The idea that women should accept their imperfections and be proud of their natural selves is so mainstream at this point that advertisers have co-opted it to sell more beauty products that encourage the exact opposite (see: all of Dove's Real Beauty ad campaigns). Amy Schumer smartly makes a similar point about our complicated notions of feminine beauty in her latest spot-on sketch from her Comedy Central show, Inside Amy Schumer.
What starts off as an inspirational song about how women don't need makeup to be beautiful (which also functions as a deft parody of One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful") takes a hilariously sad-but-true turn when Schumer goes makeup-free. "It's like I tore out the shag carpet assuming there were hardwood floors underneath, but it turned out to be just dirty linoleum," one of the boy-banders laments of Schumer's natural look. Watch the full sketch below. —Samantha Rollins
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardonCartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dadIn the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Sudoku medium: August 2, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
