My Daily Joe

It was very refreshing for us to come across this latest video piece, titled “No Rose Petals & Bubblebaths“, which is composed of candid video footage snapped behind the scenes of Vlad Yudin‘s dark comedic film Last Day of Summer, starring Nikki Reed and DJ Qualls.

What is most admirable about actress Nikki Reed in this video — who stars alongside Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in the mega-blockbuster film Twilight – is that she is seen here without makeup, sporting dark-rimmed reading glasses and a black knit cap and she seems completely untethered by the fact that the she’s au natural while the cameras are rolling, as she’s seen laughing and chatting it up with her co-star, funny man DJ Qualls (All About Steve).

With constant pressure overwhelming millions of young girls everyday, it’s inspiring to see a young actress like Nikki Reed showing these young women that you can be beautiful without wearing a lot of makeup or revealing clothes, and you can indeed feel great about yourself without it. Heidi Montag should take note.

While Nikki is naturally stunning in this impromptu video, it is a very notable contrast to her role in the movie Twilight, in which Reed portrays Rosalie Hale. According to the Stephenie Meyer novel (after which the film was made), the character of Rosalie is described as being the “most beautiful person in the world” with long, platinum blonde hair and snow white skin. With naturally dark hair and features, Reed had to undergo a extensive change in appearance for the film, which included bleaching her brunette locks and wearing heavy makeup to lighten her skin, an experience she described to MTV as “such a brutal process,” saying, “It took 36 hours initially to make me blonde, and every other day, I was bleaching my head and my skin.” Reed continues, “We all had hours of hair and makeup in the morning, and then when we showed up on set, it was raining. And because we are vampires, we can’t shoot in the sun! So, we were always shooting when it was cloudy, and then there was hail, and the makeup was pouring off.”

Most celebrities, both young and seasoned alike, are very selective about each and every image of themselves that hits the internet these days. Every photo must be Photoshopped and approved, every video clip heavily edited. And we rarely see a female celebrity leave the house without her face plastered with makeup, a full set of false eyelashes, fingernails perfectly manicured and their hair perfectly coiffed. Unless, of course, they are caught off guard by the ever-evasive paparazzi, in which case you can be certain that once an uninvited picture pops up on PerezHilton.com or similar celebrity gossip sites, the surprised star will be absolutely mortified at the idea of looking…well, normal for goodness sake. Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Christian Aguilera are three celeb divas that immediately spring to mind who literally never emerge into the public without first hiring their glam squad to whip them into their Red Carpet standard.

Reed is said to have opted for a wig in the film’s sequel, Twilight Saga: New Moon, whose massive ticket sales overwhelmed box office records with a whopping worldwide total of $456.3 million in just 12 days!

Also equally noticed is the standout song featured in the video, called “No Rose Petals & BubbleBaths” which was written and performed by R&B/pop artist, Sabrina, who was recently featured on HipHopDX and has featured with Grammy-nominated group, Nappy Roots, as well as several other notable artists. “No Rose Petals & Bubblebaths” is the title track to Sabrina‘s upcoming album, slated to be released in 2010. Visit www.yoursabrina.com for more information on Sabrina.

We will most certainly be watching out for this inspiring young starlett, Nikki Reed, as she will be returning with co-stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner to reprise her role as Rosalie in the third Twilight sequel, Eclipse, as Reed‘s character is set to take on a more pivotal role in the film.