Alicia Keys: ‘I’m not a slave to make-up’

Speaking to Allure magazine about her fashion and beauty choices, the powerhouse said: “I’m not a slave to make-up. I’m not a slave to not wearing make-up either. I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right.”And the ‘Empire State of Mind’ hitmaker has admitted she will never “shame” anyone who decides they want to wear concealer or mascara and doesn’t think anyone should be “ashamed” of their choices because she considers make-up as a form of “self-expression”.

She explained: “I think make-up can be self-expression. I have no intention to shame anyone at all [who chooses to wear it]. No one should be ashamed by the way you choose to express yourself. And that’s exactly the point. However, if you want to do that for yourself, you should do that.

“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.”

And Alicia has hinted she believes her music career, which saw her “covered” in beauty products prior to her long performances, was the reason she developed bad skin.

She said: “I started at 20 years old in this ridiculously invasive world [the music business] in which everyone covered me in make-up and then threw me under tons of lights, so I’d sweat for two or three hours.

“It took me so long to finally say, ‘Whoa! Who am I under there?’ That is just my own personal quest.”