in a barbie world, there are still real women

elle europe has released a new cover with a series of famous women with no makeup or photoshop in response to popular response that many of today's covers present an unrealistic image of women. sophia coppola and monica bellucci were two of the women brave enough to participate.

i 'm sure many of you have seen dove's commercial on beauty and how most firms photoshop the hell out of an image to create an idealized beauty that no one can reach. (this is also true for men - i remember andy roddick being very upset that his arms were photoshopped to look bigger than they are on the cover of men's health a few weeks ago.)

i'm glad that this is happening - i know that everyone loves idealized beauty and i have to admit that i've done more than my fair share of photoshopping my images for fashion work. but at the end of the day... few things are more beautiful than a woman's raw beauty.