6 Times Angelina Jolie Went Nearly Makeup-Free And Looked Flawless

For a movie star of Angelina Jolie's caliber, it's hard to believe that she'd ever be known for work outside of Hollywood, but the A-list mother-of-six has miraculously shifted the spotlight away from her stellar career as an actor and director, drawing the world's attention to her humanitarian endeavors. In particular, Jolie's activism revolves around the plight of refugees; she was a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) between 2001 and 2012, when she pivoted to a role as a special envoy until 2022, serving two decades in total. Between this important work, her impeccable job raising six kids, and her talent as an actor, Jolie has offered the world more than enough impressive feats, but we at Glam have noticed one more: her radiance without makeup. 

Love or hate her films, Jolie rarely looks anything less than flawless when she steps onto a red carpet. This might come down to Angelina Jolie's best style secrets, which includes leaning toward more natural makeup, as she's long perfected the soft-glam look. Along with a neutral lip, her signature makeup look often consists of sultry black eyeliner that makes her blue eyes pop, a dusting of shimmery pinkish eyeshadow, and seamless blush and contour on her porcelain skin, chiseling those enviable cheekbones even more. However, when the "Maleficent" actor forgoes her glam squad, she still looks flawless with even, bright skin and eyes that dazzle with an inner glow. We've rarely seen Jolie go completely makeup-free, as she doesn't often leave the house without a trusty swipe of eyeliner and mascara, but when she does tone it down, we're reminded that a goddess walks among us. 

Angelina Jolie typically saves her boldest eye makeup and definitive contouring for the red carpet, going mostly au natural for meetings and humanitarian engagements. After all, the focus should be on the great work she and organizations like UNHCR are doing — not makeup. In 2016, the star visited the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan to meet with displaced Syrian children and wore next to nothing on her face as she raised awareness for the people inside the camp and heard their stories. The cherry on top was her low bun, which was a perfect match for her stripped-down face.

In 2017, Angelina Jolie refocused her talents behind the camera to direct the Netflix war film "First They Killed My Father." She opened up about her experience in the "Director's Editorial" featurette, but the A-lister kept her look appropriately basic as she discussed the movie's heavy content. Other than a subtle stroke of contour to define her cheekbones, Jolie stuck with black eyeliner on her top lid, mascara on her outer lashes, and a kiss of pearly, neutral lip balm. Her hair was similarly low-key, loose and flicked back to represent her refreshing attitude toward getting glammed up: It's completely optional. 

Angelina Jolie's preference for minimal makeup, particularly at engagements related to her activism, is nothing new. Back in 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative, Jolie participated in a panel discussion on refugee education, and she made it clear that she didn't need to hide behind a face full of makeup to get her point across or be taken seriously. The "Maria" star wore a little eyeliner and mascara on both lids, but the rest of her look was bare and beautiful. Again, she let her tresses flow without any structure and was the image of natural beauty as she worked to make the world a better place.

Fast-forward nearly 10 years after her panel appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative, and Angelina Jolie was keeping her minimal-makeup game strong. She hadn't appeared to have aged a day as she met with Greek Prime Minister Aléxis Tsípras in Athens in 2016 on behalf of the United Nations, again to discuss the refugee crisis. Staying true to her simple look, Jolie went fresh-faced with only a hint of eyeliner, matching her barely there makeup with a simple black dress and small, dainty hoop earrings. She's wearing hardly any makeup, and yet Jolie looks beautiful enough here to grace the cover of a magazine.

In December 2022, Angelina Jolie took to Instagram to announce her retirement from UNHCR after two decades of service. To mark the moment, she posted a photo of herself with one of the children she had met during her work with the organization, in which the movie star was makeup-free except for her go-to eyeliner. With a huge smile, no doubt inspired by the wonderful people she'd met with UNHCR, Jolie shined with bare skin and her hair simply pulled back beneath a cap. Clearly, she doesn't need any advice on stylish ways to take a baseball cap up a notch.

From this photo taken at a 2018 press conference, where Angelina Jolie addressed Syrian refugees at the Zaatari camp, we couldn't be more sure that true beauty comes from within. It's difficult to tear your eyes away from the humanitarian because she's glowing — just not from the stuff that comes in bottles marked "dewy" and sold at Sephora. We suspect her inner glow comes from knowing she's advancing the causes she cares so much about, and there's not a product on this planet that can compare. That's the true secret to looking fresh-faced when you don't have makeup.