There are women who wouldn't dream of leaving their house without makeup applied, but Jennifer Aniston, 45, ditched her stylist and makeup artist for a new indie movie and she called it "liberating."

According to Us Weekly, when Aniston was photographed on the Los Angeles set of "Cake" last April, her character's brunette hair color, bob hairstyle and makeup-free face made the actress virtually unrecognizable.

The "Friends" alum joined Deadline's "Contenders" panel on Saturday, Nov. 1, to talk about her upcoming drama, "Cake," where the glamourous actress had interesting things to say about filming the movie without cosmetics. According to Aniston, the lack of cosmetics and glam helped her embrace the role of Claire Simmons, a woman whose body is scarred and put back together with steel pins following a car crash. The face of Aveeno skincare said the experience was "so fabulous -- so dreamy and empowering and liberating."

"The only time I had to sit in the makeup chair was just for the scars," the Golden Globe winner added.

The entire "Cake" team received a standing ovation following the film's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

"[Aniston] really went there, to the point that even her fellow actors were truly impressed with her performance," a source told Us Weekly. "She left all the self-consciousness behind her. People were really blown away."

In "Cake," the versatile actress departs from her past insatiable boss and stripper-disguised-as-mother roles to play Claire, a woman who's addicted to painkillers following a car crash that leaves her in chronic pain. Aniston's character tries to procure drugs in Mexico with her loyal housekeeper (Adriana Barraza). Caught up in self-pity, deep depression and the haze of painkillers, Claire finds comfort in investigating the death of Nina (Anna Kendrick), a woman she met at a chronic pain support group who commits suicide.

The movie is expected to be a top contender in the Oscar race. The date of its wide release will be in January 2015.

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