Throughout her career, Alicia Keys has been applauded for her unique voice and catchy songs, but later in life, she was also praised for her stance against beauty standards because it came to a point where she stopped wearing makeup; what inspired her decision to do it?
According to the Miami County Republic, the musician admitted that her time in the music industry inspired her to ditch her go-to cosmetics products.
In an interview with The Cut, the musician said: "I started out in the music world when I was 17 years old and you are told that you put on this and you wear this, you get yourself together and you get ready to perform."
She explained that she got a chance to transform and be in a place where she could identify how she wanted to express herself thanks to makeup.
"All of that is a beautiful part of growing and a beautiful part of being a woman is that you get to express yourself," she added.
Alicia Keys Decided to go Makeup Free
Later on, the musician realized that she didn't need any of those makeup in order to feel beautiful.
She added that it opened her eyes to how she didn't feel comfortable or beautiful because she didn't have her "armor" on and if she didn't have all of the products on her face and hair, as well as pretty clothes, that she was less than beautiful.
"I realised, like, Whoa, what's underneath all that?' It allowed me to have a conversation with myself about how I wanted to feel and even what I wanted to let go of," she further discussed.
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After self-reflecting, Keys noted she was able to recognize that people are perfect the way they are and it doesn't mean they don't have times when they wanted to be different.
For example, she noted that there are times when she only wear sweats and she doesn't care at all.
Alicia Keys Rebelled Against What People Have Been Telling Her
In a cover story for InStyle Magazine, the musician revealed that her decision to go makeup-free in 2016 was also a part of rebellion as people have been telling her lots of things, especially dictating on what she was supposed to look like.
Initially, she "fell into that" standards, but she later had her rebellious moment by not wearing any beauty products at all. (via Page Six)
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