'I have no intention to shame anyone': Alicia Keys defends decision to go make-up free... as she wears a little for the first time in a year for Allure shoot

By Ross Mcdonagh For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:41 EST, 17 January 2017 | Updated: 16:42 EST, 17 January 2017

Alicia Keys has revealed her no make-up policy isn't a strict one.

The 35-year-old has opened up about her stance on cosmetics in a new cover story for Allure.

'I’m not a slave to makeup. I’m not a slave to not wearing makeup either,' she said. 'I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right.'

My choice: Alicia Keys has defended decision to go make-up free

Her call: 'I’m not a slave to makeup. I’m not a slave to not wearing makeup either,' she said. 'I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right.'

The singer, who caused a bit of a stir when she announced she was forgoing cosmetics last year, insisted she wasn't preaching down to anybody.

'I think makeup can be self-expression,' she said. 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.'

To prove her point, the superstar wore just some colourful eye-liner for her Allure shoot — the first time she has worn any make-up in an editorial shoot since last spring. 

A touch: To prove her point, the superstar wore just some colourful eye-liner for her Allure shoot — the first time she has worn any make-up in an editorial shoot since last spring

To critics who say it's easy to do when you have perfect skin, she rebutted that a) she is not perfect - she has had skin problems for years - and b) perfection is not 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. Whatever mode of expression that empowers you, that’s what you should do,' she said.

'What I am not down for is this ridiculously high, unrealistic expectation about appearance that we as women are held to.'

A photo posted by Allure Magazine (@allure) on

The Voice judge said years of wearing it in the music industry caused her skin to break out, which made her feel even more self-conscious.

'I started at 20 years old in this ridiculously invasive world [the music business] in which everyone covered me in makeup 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.'

The Fallin' hitmaker claimed that her so-called 'glow' had did not emanate from her skin, but rather somewhere deeper.

'I think there’s something really beautiful about what resonates from within us,' she said. '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. 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. 

Free: The singer, who caused a bit of a stir when she announced she was forgoing cosmetics last year, insisted she wasn't preaching down to anybody

Toll: The Voice judge said years of wearing it in the music industry caused her skin to break out, which made her feel even more self-conscious (pictured in 2004)

Glowing: I’ve begun to listen to myself inside: The Fallin' hitmaker claimed that her so-called 'glow' had did not emanate from her skin, but rather somewhere deeper (pictured November 2015)

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,' she added. 'That, to me, is real beauty.'

The mother-of-two said it was such things that she was sick of - like women being forced to feel inadequate or insecure - inspired her most recent music.

 'Another one: I am so annoyed at the way we force boys to be fake strong—don’t cry, don’t be soft. Let a boy be able to dance! Let a boy paint his nails. So a boy wants to paint his nails. Who cares! All these strange, oppressive ideas.'

List: The mother-of-two said it was such things that she was sick of - like women being forced to feel inadequate or insecure - inspired her most recent music

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