We’ve all been there. You shut your front door after a long day at work, stumble down the hallway to make a couple of tea and find yourself looking at someone you barely recognise in the little mirror you’ve positioned on the wall – yourself. Despite having spent the day sat at your desk (and trying to move as little as possible), you find your mascara smudged halfway down your face, your hair knotted on top of your head and your under-eye bags no longer even remotely disguised beneath your concealer. “Have I really looked like this all day?!” you think, wiping at the black dust gathered around your eyelids.

Chances are, if you’re a woman who chooses to wear make-up into work, you’ve had this experience. Yes, there’s something great and empowering about dressing up and doing your make-up to head into work, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got the time to top it all up at lunchtime and keep it looking “pristine” throughout the day. 

That’s why we love Fearne Cotton’s new Instagram post, which sees the presenter, podcaster and TV personality sharing two photos of herself – one before a long day of meetings, and one after.

While in the first photo Cotton is pictured with her hair done, make-up freshly applied and wearing a fashionable outfit, in the second, she’s looking a lot less “put together”, with her hair tossed to one side and wearing a comfy red jumper over the top of her clothes. 

The best bit about the whole thing? It’s not just funny and relatable – it’s also a powerful example of how sharing the whole picture on social media really makes a difference.

If she wanted to, Cotton could have chosen to omit the second picture, choosing to focus instead on the more “perfect” and “socially acceptable” side of her. But instead, she chose to give us the whole picture – a decision which challenges the myth of perfection which so often dominates the content we see on social media.

Because, in reality, no one looks fantastic when they get home after a long day at work – and while, of course, sharing an after-work selfie isn’t a game changing move, it’s nice to see someone we admire reminding us that, despite her success, Cotton is just as ‘flawed’ and ‘imperfect’ as us. 

As she previously wrote for Stylist: “You can’t go wrong when you are being truly YOU. Your decision making might be different to others but when you tap into your gut emotions and follow them clearly, the outcome will always be the right one.

“The way you present yourself might not fit in with those around you but others will see you shine brightly – because you’re thoroughly expressing the essence of YOU.”

Image: Getty