Kim Kardashian Called Out For Her "No Makeup" Selfie: "Stop Selling a Lie"

We hardly used any make up here. Cream Concealer Shade 7. And cream contour sticks. That's it! @kkwbeauty @kkwfragrance pic.twitter.com/kk2nH6w3xI

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 27, 2018

Posting a "no makeup" selfie can be an empowering, emotional experience. Kim Kardashian's latest certainly drew out a lot of feelings, but many aren't exactly positive. That's because some people on Twitter are accusing the cosmetics mogul of lacking transparency when it comes to promoting her beauty line.

On April 27, Kim went on a Twitter spree in honour of her upcoming KKW fragrance. The perfume's campaign images include a series of intimate close-ups of Kim's body that veer into NSFW territory, but one of the pictures is also just a straight-on head shot.

The stark simplicity of the head shot conjures comparisons to a (superglam) driver's licence picture, but it's the image's caption that got people riled up. Kim wrote, "We hardly used any make up here. Cream Concealer Shade 7. And cream contour sticks. That's it!"

It's worth noting that it appears (to this writer's eye, at least) that Kim could be wearing some sort of gloss to accentuate her lips, along with some powder on her chin and perhaps highlighter around her Cupid's bow and cheeks. There could also be some photographer's retouching at work.

TWO MORE DAYS - KKW BODY @KKWFRAGRANCE pic.twitter.com/siLIgH2y4I

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 28, 2018

Regardless of Kim's face chart (or lack thereof), a model named Sonny Turner took to Twitter to accuse Kim of something else: not being truthful about the time and money it takes to look that good barefaced.

As Sonny wrote, "I hate when privilidged [sic] people use this tactic to get supporters of lower incomes to purchase. U also have lash extensions, HD Brows, hundreds of dollars wroth of facials & probably some form of facial surgery. Stop selling a lie it's unfair."

Another person agreed and replied with, "It hurts younger girls self esteem. It took me so long to figure out about all the extra stuff so when I saw models look like this I felt like something was wrong with me." According to another, "The makeup industry uses borderline unethical marketing tactics."

Others weren't as bothered by the original picture, noting that Kim has been honest about her exorbitant skincare routine in the past. The 37-year-old often documents her various facials on social media, and she once copped to spending over $4,500 on skincare products alone.

"It's marketing," one person said. "Every company uses models with good skin. Who cares what Kim has got done? Not everyone has to be natural to promote a brand."

It's no secret that makeup advertising has a history of capitalising off of society's hyperperfect standard of beauty, and often impressionable or vulnerable people fall victim to wanting to attain an impossible look. Luckily, brands like CVS, Missguided, and Suave are beginning to be more transparent in their advertising. Here's hoping social media activity such as Sonny's will encourage others to follow suit.