“Try” by Colbie Caillat Challenges Standard of Beauty

The very talented Colbie Caillat just released the video for her latest single: “Try,” which addresses the beauty standards that women are held to in today’s society.

“This is what you want, to belong, so they like you… do you like you?” Colbie and various other women sing to the camera while gradually taking off the picture-perfect makeup applied to their faces, and shaking out their done-up hair.

“You don’t have to try so hard,” she asserts, as the skin blurring filter fades from the video, and her fine lines and pores become visible (yep, even celebs have them!).

She features women of different ages and ethnicities, with their own unique characteristics. In the end, they all face the camera wearing only their natural beauty.

 

In an interview with Elle.com, Colbie explains the inspiration for the song:

“Before coming to the studio I wanted to look pretty, so I had my nails done, I made sure I had the best outfit on, I had my hair and makeup artist come over and make me look all polished. And the thing is that I like myself when I’m not that way, but I feel like other people might not like me that way. And I know that most women go through that.”

While she says she still loves getting “all dolled up,” Colbie stresses that trying to live up to other people’s expectations is not what beauty is about. She goes photoshop-free on the cover of her latest EP, Gypsy Heart, and will be sporting less makeup during video shoots.

I absolutely love when celebrities speak out against the pressures that they are faced with as public figures, that eventually trickle down to women everywhere. It is important to hear that the expectation of beauty influenced by media is unrealistic from the women embedded in the media themselves. It helps us bring a little reality to the craziness that is our culture. Kudos to Colbie!