I wonder why they did it? They knew the "real" photos were not going to be attractive yet they went with the project. Maybe they wanted to re-establish their own identities and distance themselves from their screen personae?
I once met my X at her place after she had a short meeting at work.. we hadn't been dating long. she was wearing a plain T shirt and some shorts, with her glasses on and her hair was a mess because she got out of bed and went to the meeting. I thought she looked gorgeous to me without makeup and straight out of bed, was the first time i saw her like that... and when i told her that she was surprised and didn't believe me. but i was telling her the truth.
if a woman doesn't look good without a makeover then she doesn't look good period. i like the natural look.