The May issue of Marie Claire hit shelves and mailboxes this week with much ado surrounding its cover shot and photo editorial spread of Jessica Simpson. Appearing with no makeup, air-dried hair and, perhaps most noteworthy, no photo re-touching, Simpson’s willingness to go au naturale is startlingly brave. At a time when digital technology is allowing models to appear more unnaturally perfect than ever, this kind of mainstream exposure of natural beauty is a site for very sore eyes.

It’s worth acknowledging that even on her worst day, Jessica Simpson is probably stunning, and this photo shoot, which utilizes natural light and Simpson’s best angles, is indisputably gorgeous—there’s not a bad shot in the bunch. While some blogs are magnifying the images in an effort to figure out if she’s wearing a smidge of mascara or a hint of blush, I say, who cares? That’s exactly the kind of nit-picking that got us to the point at which we demand our models strive to look freakishly perfect for fear that someone might see that they might have—gasp— flaws! Given the candor of the photos and the accompanying interviews with women of all shapes and sizes, it’s hard to dispute that Simpson’s heart is in the right place: her intentions clearly are not to mislead, they are to educate and empower.

This issue of Marie Claire coincides with the airing of Simpson’s VH-1 show “The Price of Beauty,” a series that takes Simpson around the world to discover firsthand the often archaic and unusually extreme measures women take to be considered beautiful within their own cultures. From skin lightening in Mumbai to “fattening huts” in Uganda, the lengths that women will go to in order to be beautiful may seem alarming, but no more so than Westerners’ meticulous carb counting or frequent injecting of Botox. Simpson’s series is not only a critique of the beauty industry at large, but it also shows viewers that, at least culturally-speaking, beauty is completely subjective. How refreshing is that?

As if she weren’t walking the walk enough already, Simpson’s other beauty-related endeavor is an outreach initiative called A Beautiful Me, one that has her working hands-on with grade school to college-aged students to improve their self-image and self-esteem (and, oh, how the two are always indelibly linked!). Helping young people recognize their own individual beauty gives them the tools they need to combat the thousands of images of unattainable “beauty” that we’re all confronted with on a daily basis. As we mature and grow more comfortable in our own skin, it’s easy to forget how fraught youth is with insecurities about looks—and of course, for some of us, that never goes away completely. Raising three school-aged girls, I’m witness to that struggle daily, and can see firsthand the importance of having positive role models and healthy concepts of beauty that I can show them. If only there were more of them in the mainstream!

Jessica Simpson’s newly found commitment to positive self-image is especially resonant since she’s had her own fair share of media scrutiny (her recent “Mom Jeans” photo controversy springs to mind). In an industry that’s ruled by empty promises and hypocrisy, it’s truly beautiful that Simpson is willing to embrace her inspiring philosophies on the cover of a national magazine. Given Simpson’s oft-seen past persona as a ditzy bombshell, it’s particularly exhilarating to see a woman reclaim and rewrite her own identity. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m impressed with you Jessica Simpson!

A few months back headlines in the British news mentioned that an ad for mascara in a popular fashion magazine wasn’t a picture of the model wearing the advertised mascara but, horrors of horrors, she was really wearing false eyelashes. When a U.S. reporter called to ask for my opinion about this revelation my immediate reaction was, you’ve got to be kidding. I thought this can’t be the first time anyone noticed this! In the 30 years I’ve been part of the cosmetics industry I’m fairly certain I have never seen an ad for mascara where the model wasn’t wearing false eyelashes (at least individual false lashes, meticulously placed).

What I found jaw-dropping is that these reporters and editors thought this was newsworthy. How can this possibly be considered news of any kind? Have these reporters (all women) never really looked at an ad for a cosmetic that closely before? Are we so easily fooled by something this obvious? Talk about missing the elephant in the room! Next thing you know the news will be reporting on the revelation that pictures in magazines are extensively retouched via sophisticated computer programs or that the makeup on the model is rarely, if ever, the product or products being advertised. And any model over age 35 without a trace of visible wrinkles? Give me a break!

Respectfully, I know that on some level we know these ads are phony, but the desire to believe otherwise, to want the fantasy that a mere purchase of a mascara, foundation, or anti-wrinkle cream can truly alter our everyday appearance to the sublime is overwhelming for most women. That’s where our hope turns us into gullible, susceptible innocents at the mercy of the cosmetics industry. We’re ready to believe whatever they tell or show us. And don’t think you aren’t influenced, because you are. Those ads generate humongous sales or companies wouldn’t endlessly spend millions of dollars every month on myriad ads in major fashion magazines and on television to get your attention.

If you want to avoid getting sucked in the next time you pick up a fashion magazine or see an ad on television, here are the basics to remember:

1. Models and celebrities in fashion advertising are already gorgeous, with perfect skin and features. They can be enhanced but they started out with the bar already set above us mere mortals. Every model has been further transformed by talented makeup artists, hairstylists, stylists, and lighting experts.
2. Even after all the coifing, styling, makeup, posing, and the thousands of pictures taken so the best one can be selected, the picture is still extensively touched up to remove or drastically soften any flaws. I’ll never forget the time a model told me that she doesn’t look as good in real life as she does in pictures.
3. The women in hair dye ads do not get that color from the dye being advertised. Those highlights and flowing tresses took experts a great deal of time to achieve. The look was accomplished in a salon after hours of processing and styling, not in the model’s bathroom!
4. The women in the ads for shampoos and conditioners did not get their hair to look that way because of any shampoo or conditioner. It took lots of highlights, blow drying, flat ironing, curlers, styling products, and on and on to achieve the look that finally gets photographed for the ad.
5. Regardless of the claims asserted and the claims about what studies show, if it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t true. All cosmetic companies hire labs to create studies that prove their claims. My favorite example is ProActiv. Their results are stilted and embellished. The research on acne treatment does not support what they claim is true for their products (even Jessica Simpson on her own reality show said Accutane is what cured her acne!).
6. Wrinkle creams don’t replace plastic surgery, Botox, dermal injections, lasers, or light treatments, regardless of the name brand or who is selling the product (and it’s often a doctor who performs the real deal procedures, which is incredibly disingenuous).

There are many products out there that can make a noticeable difference in your appearance. But trying to live up to the images used to sell these products—expecting your results will be the same—is the stuff dreams are made of!