Let's get one thing straight: blemishes and acne are completely normal and a skin concern that many of us – including me, a beauty journalist – struggle with. However, that's not to say that they can't be complete confidence assassins, because, at times, they totally can! What with the airbrushed world of social media today, it's no secret that it can take a village to sift through oversaturated posts to find #real and #relatable content.
Having said that, one person (read: celebrity) who has been embracing her skin breakouts and encouraging us all to do so, too, is Millie Bobby Brown – and we're so for it.
Over the last few years, Mills has shared a number of candid, makeup-free posts to normalise acne to her fans, friends and followers. And to comemorate, we've rounded up every single one of said posts into a curated timeline of gorgeous MBB realness.
So, when in need of a #realitycheck, you know where to come...
16 May, 2024
On her skincare brand's Instagram page, florence by mills, the actor shared a makeup-free selfie taken in public. "more #embraceyourskin moments with mills 💘 "cheers to loving your skin no matter what comes its way!” xo -@milliebobbybrown"," the caption reads.
2 May, 2024
Another florence by mills culprate, Millie glows in a makeup-free pic, showing her real skin texture and some light acne. "Embrace your skin with mills ✨," the caption reads.
Fans flooded the comments with words of appreciation, sharing how Millie and the brand have helped them. One person wrote: "To everyone who needs to hear this right now: your skin is perfect the way it is💗✨".
5 February, 2024
This takes us back to other no-makeup moments, like when Millie uploaded a super-cute pic with her puppy to the grid, captioned: "When he asks me what I’m up to". In the snap the actor/author/entrepreneur wears a cosy t-shirt with her hair swept up and not a scrap of makeup on.
And we weren't the only ones appreciating her casual candour. A whopping 2.5k people liked the comment "Millie without makeup>>>>>" in just one day.
22 December, 2023
Proving that blemishes and flare-ups are totally normal, no matter the regime you implement (hi, hello, hormonal breakouts), Millie and her brand shared a collaborative no-makeup, unfiltered post, captioned "feeling wildly me 💜".
It can't be underestimated how much images like these help push the dial on what skin looks like and help destigmatise acne, pores, fine lines or any other number of the totally normal features of human skin!
So, snaps for Mills, please.
Elena Chabo is Cosmopolitan UK's former beauty writer, working on everything from buzzy celeb news and trending beauty, to sincere first-person reviews and engaging video content for social media. She also creates meatier features and expert-led how-to guides, for print and online. Her passion for Black beauty, textured hair, and the ways beauty interacts with culture, society, identity and relationships, quickly took over her writing career and led her into beauty journalism. Following an MA in Magazine Journalism in 2017, she cut her teeth across various roles at Stylist Magazine, before taking on a Digital Writer role at Good Housekeeping. It was here that beauty took centre stage and she launched and ran the site's first stand-alone beauty section. Remaining at Hearst, she joined the Cosmo beauty team in 2022. Find her on LinkedIn.
Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK, with over four years of experience reporting across the brand's print, social, video and digital platforms. Lia covers everything from emerging trend analysis to viral celebrity hair and makeup moments, making her an expert at spotting the season’s next big beauty look (before it takes over social media feeds).
In 2025, she was named The Rising Media Star at the Love Perfume Awards with The Perfume Shop, recognised for her outstanding digital fragrance content and for building genuine authority within the space. She is passionate about challenging outdated beauty stereotypes, championing inclusive representation in beauty, and educating readers on the trends, products and conversations shaping the industry today. Follow her on Instagram or find her on LinkedIn.
