Babalwa “Barbielicious” Mneno Goes Makeup-Free in Viral Picture

• A picture of South African socialite Babalwa "Barbielicious" Mneno has gone viral on social media
• The media personality went makeup-free for her latest snap and caused quite a stir
• Online users debated over Barbielicious' striking appearance, with allegations of cosmetic procedures being raised

South African socialite Babalwa "Barbielicious" Mneno recently ditched her makeup and flaunted her natural face.

The controversial reality TV star and event host shared a picture of her bare skin in a recent Instagram post on 14 October 2025, reflecting on her self-care journey.

Mneno lamented the damage she had caused by neglecting her skin, which resulted from sleeping with makeup on.

"For years, I’ve neglected my skin because I believed I had the most amazing skin. I would sleep with my makeup on every night, and had never experienced dealing with a pimple or any issue that comes with sleeping with makeup on."

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As a public figure, Babalwa ensures that she's prim and proper for possible photo ops, which means stepping out with a full face of makeup almost daily. However, as she says, this soon caught up with her as she aged.

"With age, never using sunscreen and having to work night shifts, my skin has seen the pits! What I thought were small freckles turned out to be something more serious. It started to spread from my under eye towards my cheekbone area on both sides of my face."

The 47-year-old former model mentions that, to conceal the pigmentation, foundation became her best friend, and she never left the house without full coverage. This moved on to trying over-the-counter products to treat the damage, but none of them worked.

She revealed that after consulting with celebrity aesthetician, Dr Nadia Dannhauser, she has started to see results. Babalwa even shared close-up pictures showing the pigmentation as well as the products she's using.

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Dr Dannhauser has helped several socialites in South Africa, including reality TV stars Mpumi "Mrs Mops" Mophatlane, Sbahle Mpisane, as well as Lethabo "Lejoy" Mathatho, who received lip fillers in 2023 before her famous BBL.

Babalwa joins these stars as one of the doctor's many celebrity patients, and it's clear that her work speaks for itself.

Her photos generated over 2,000 likes on Instagram and sparked a series of reactions from the online community, both of praise and criticism.

See Babalwa Mneno's pictures below:

Mzansi reacts to Babalwa Mneno's picture

Fans and followers admired Babalwa's natural, ageless beauty, with the following comments.

ramla_hair_beauty said:

"For some reason, seeing you with no filter and makeup, I can confirm you are so beautiful and ageless. Our imperfections can never take that away either, wow."

weza_solange added:

"Even with all that, you still have amazing skin."

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charmedcrazy_13 encouraged Babalwa:

"You're beautiful even with these blemishes. Yes, our skin needs to be taken care of when you can. Face card is important, sana lam. Wishing you all the best in your journey."

minnimique posted:

"This is why I love you, you're so real. Can't wait to see the results."

Meanwhile, on the other side of social media, the comments about Barbielicious' face were harsh and unkind.

the.p.grober said:

Yoh, I thought I was seeing a ghost."

InkunziUMthiya wrote:

"She's been through the ringer, I see. She almost looks like a boy now."

LuckyMashavha wrote:

"She must be arrested for deceiving us all these years, lol."

Gert_LeNinja asked:

"Is Barbielicious on Wednesday bleaching?"

Social media criticises Anele Zondo's BBL

In an earlier report, Briefly News shared online reactions to a photo of Anele Zondo's new body.

The rapper went under the knife to get her dream body, but not everyone online was happy with the results.

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People accused a late cosmetic surgeon of allegedly botching Anele's BBL, saying the doctor had other unsuccessful procedures under her belt.

Source: Briefly News