Alicia Keys wears makeup for the first time in nearly a year.
While, Keys, 35, has stuck to her guns — proclaiming to showcase only her natural beauty no matter the occasion — the 15-time Grammy winner compromised with a fresh look for her recent Allure cover shoot.
While she appears to be bare faced, the “No One” songstress enlisted makeup artist Dotti to create three spring inspired looks featuring a teal cat eye, black lines under her eyes in another photo and streaks of turquoise shooting out from the corners of her eyes in a final picture. “I’m not a slave to makeup. I’m not a slave to not wearing makeup either,” she told Allure. “I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right.”
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Keeping in line with many creatives, Keys went on to reveal that her stance on makeup stems from her passion for self-expression — not radicalism. Instead, “The Voice” coach discovered herself sweating under bright lights and experiencing breakout after breakout — and enough was enough. “I started at 20 years old in this ridiculously invasive world in which everyone covered me in makeup and then threw me under tons of lights, so I’d sweat for two or three hours,” she says. “It took me so long to finally say, ‘Whoa! Who am I under there?’ That is just my own personal quest.”
Even though some critics have criticized her decision to embrace her natural beauty, claiming that if everyone had perfect skin we’d all go makeup-free, Keys says perfection isn’t the point. “I am all about a woman’s right to choose. I think a woman should do anything she wants as it relates to her face, her body, her health,” Keys explained. “Whatever mode of expression that empowers you, that’s what you should do. What I am not down for is this ridiculously high, unrealistic expectation about appearance that we as women are held to.”
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In fact, according to Keys, ditching society’s definition of beauty has empowered her. “I think there’s something really beautiful about what resonates from within us. One thing I’ve heard more than ever is this glow that people refer to that I have. I kind of recognize that glow because I’ve begun to listen to myself inside,” she added. “And I think there’s something really powerful that happens when you start to listen to yourself. It makes you feel more aware. In touch. More confident. I’m not more confident because I think I’m better than, but because I’ve been hearing myself more, listening to myself more. And that’s taken a little minute to arrive at that place.
“But there’s definitely something powerful about the way your inner feels that reflects on the outer, on your skin. That, to me, is real beauty.”
What are your thoughts on Key’s continued stance on living a makeup-free lifestyle? Is it working for her? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
