Pamela Anderson is still having to explain her make-up free moment at Paris Fashion Week

Pamela Anderson is an icon, whether that's with her signature "Pamcore" makeup – all pencil-thin brows, over-lined '90s lips and smoky eyes – or without it, something that she proved by going makeup-free at Paris Fashion Week..

And yet for some reason, a woman in her 50s choosing not to wear makeup at a high-profile event, caused a furore on social media and in the press – and not always a pleasant one. Now Pamela Anderson has addressed her no-makeup moment. “I'm makeup free at home, so why not for Paris Fashion Week?” she told People in a new interview, adding that “chasing youth is futile” and that “I don't have to be cool anymore. I can just be me. It's very freeing to be comfortable in your own skin.”

As a beauty editor, I celebrate a natural beauty look and feeling empowered to be comfortable in your own skin. As a feminist, I support the right of women to smash through traditional beauty tropes and just be themselves – whether that means choosing to go bare-faced with just a face full of moisturiser or choosing to create a gorgeous makeup look. All that matters is that it is her choice.

At the time, detractors pointed out Pamela's fine lines. But even comments by pro-agers left me feeling uncomfortable. “It actually takes a lot of work to look this good without makeup”, wrote one, as if only hard work somehow makes it OK for a woman to shun foundation and blusher. Others peddled the usual back-handed compliment that makeup-free Pamela "looks good for her age”.

Even celebrities waded into the argument. In an instagram post, Jamie Lee Curtis said: “THE NATURAL BEAUTY REVOLUTION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN! @pamelaanderson in the middle of fashion week with so many pressures and postures, and and and, this woman showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face.” She concluded: “I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion.” Selma Blair added in the comments: “Love this. Beautiful self-assuredness.”

For the record, I also loved Pamela's makeup-free look. But for me, the problem with this conversation is that we were having it at all. Whether you're a fan of Pamela's makeup-free look or not, it's ultimately still making a judgment about what a woman should and shouldn't look like in public.

I also believe that a woman can show up and claim her seat at the table whether she's wearing makeup or not. By turning Pamela's no makeup look into an act of rebellion, it's potentially othering and demonising those women in their 50s who still love to wear makeup as a form of self-expression. In my book, going makeup-free doesn't automatically mean that you're falling on the feminist sword. Nor does wearing a slick of red lipstick mean that you've done it for the patriarchy.

When she rocked up in Paris, Pamela made a choice about her appearance. And until her makeup-free face made the headlines, she was owning that choice. Now she's forced to defend it yet again.