When we see celebrities looking perfect on the red carpet it's easy to imagine that they actually are perfect. We forget the hours of hair and make up preparation and just see the finished product. The result is that many of us have unrealistic beauty standards.
One celebrity who is painfully aware of this is Blake Lively. Speaking to Refinery29 she said that she doesn't want her two daughters to think that what they see in the red carpet is normal.
"We have really unrealistic beauty standards and beauty norms," the 29-year-old actress said.
"What you're seeing on red carpets and in magazines takes a lot of effort and a lot of people. People don't understand that it's all very constructed," Lively explained.
"What little girls are seeing isn't what [these celebrities] look like when they wake up in the morning — even though it's no less beautiful."
Lively has got two daughters with her husband Ryan Reynolds, 2-year-old James and 4-month-old Ines. She says that since becoming a parent she has been able to reflect more objectively on her own perceptions of beauty.
"There's this awareness of what they're going to be exposed to and what they grow up seeing," Lively said.
"For me, it's important for my daughters to know that it's not real life. They're seeing me dressed up in all this hair and makeup, but they also see me without that. I want them to see both sides, because there is never just one side."
In order to be more real, Lively has posted a number of photos on Instragram that show the effort that goes into her 'natural' look. In one picture she smiles as a make up artist brushes bronzer on to her face and a hair stylist sprays her hair. "Thank you @lorealmakeup @kristoferbuckle @rodortega4hair@lorealhair for making me look like I slept more than 2 hours last night. #breastfeedingmama" she captions.
In another photo she sits in front of a mirror while the same stylists work around her. Her caption speaks volumes: "I did not wake up like this."