Alicia Keys says going makeup-free was a ‘rebellious moment’

Alicia Keys has revealed her famous years-long decision to stop wearing make-up.

In a recent in-depth interview for a magazine cover story, the classically trained pianist revealed that the life-changing decision was born out of a “rebellious” phase. The singer-songwriter has avoided the use of cosmetics since 2016, choosing to keep her face natural whether she’s at home or attending a high-profile event.

Alicia Keys’ soul-searching journey has liberated her society’s beauty standards

Nearly three years after admitting she was “addicted” to makeup, Keys — whose real name is Alicia Augello Cook — shed more light on her makeup-free journey. The “No One” hitmaker addressed the topic during a chat with InStyle magazine on Thursday for the publication’s June 2023 cover story.

“When I had my rebellious moment, which the world obviously witnessed with me, I just got to know myself,” the “Try to Sleep With a Broken Heart” singer told the publication’s director, Madeline Hirsch.

She added that she had “her own experience of feeling really rebellious” about what individuals were “saying to me, what the world, society was telling me, what I was supposed to look like, because I fell into that and subscribed to it. “

The mother of two also said that her choice to go cosmetic-free was about getting to know herself and rejecting society’s beauty standards. Ultimately, the Grammy winner had to analyze what she had been taught about how she should behave and look in order to build a new set of values. thoughts and feelings. HE expressed:

“As I started to get more into that personal relationship with myself, I started to realize, ‘Okay, this isn’t about anything in particular. It’s not about makeup or no makeup. This isn’t about mascara or the lack of mascara. It’s not about the lipstick or the lack of lipstick.”

Explaining further, Keys stated: “It’s about how you want to express yourself and what space you want to occupy for yourself. And what kind of boundaries do you want for yourself?”

As it turns out, reinventing herself led her to create her own lifestyle brand, Keys Soulcare, in 2020. The product line targets customers who want to “treat” themselves through various products, from makeup to body care to candles. While promoting her InStyle interview on Instagram, the MTV Video Music Awards winner wrote to her millions of followers:

“The world is so… physical. You know, they don’t really teach you about the spiritual, about the soul, they don’t really teach you how important it is to be a whole person from the inside. My skin didn’t start to change until I changed the energy around me and within me.”

The “Sesame Street” guest star has been preparing for stardom since she was young

In November 2021, The Blast detailed that Keys spent her younger days with her mother, Terria Joseph, in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. He started playing the piano at the age of seven after falling in love with the instrument.

Her unique vocals inspired her to write songs as she progressed and eventually set her up to become the driving force behind her music career. The Billboard Music Award winner’s life changed when she met music manager Jeff Robinson, who loved her raw talent and took her under his wing.

Robinson helped him create a bunch of demos and songs that he pitched to record labels until he signed with Columbia Records at age 15. However, the “Empire State of Mind” collaborator’s relationship with the label quickly ended due to a difference in the artistic vision of the two parties.

He then briefly joined A&R at Arista Records before moving to J Records where his creative abilities were not limited and he released his debut studio album. “Songs Of A Minor. The project, like her other works such as ‘A Woman’s Worth’, ‘Diary of Alicia Keys’, ‘Unplugged’, ‘As I Am’ and ‘Girl on Fire’, was widely acclaimed by the public.

Today, Keys has earned a place among the music industry’s highest-grossing artists in the United States. In fact, the luxury home she shares with her husband of nearly 13 years, Swizz Beatz, highlights her burgeoning net worth. In 2013, the New Jersey estate, which has 32 rooms, was valued at $12.1 million.