Alicia Keys Gets Real About What She’s Learned Going Makeup-Free

Update: Alicia Keys has learned a lot about herself this past year, she told Glamour in an interview. Namely, through her bare-faced journey that sparked a beauty-as-you-so-choose revolution. "I recognize now that how you look is your statement, because it’s a claiming of yourself," she told the publication. "You’re saying, 'Look, world. This is me. Love me or hate me, I really don’t care.'" The point, it seems, isn't so much about if you decide to wear makeup or not. Rather, it's about doing what feels right for you. "I think what happens in the world, and I think it’s part human nature and part programming, is we become an emulation of what we see. We become clones of each other. And to break free from that and say, 'Wait, I’m deciding to be my own individual self. And it looks nothing like what anyone else is doing.' There’s something so powerful about being my own gorgeous, beautiful, individual, unique self." Amen, girl.

Whether she intended to or not, Alicia Keys became the patron saint of the #nomakeup movement this year. Since announcing her right to rock a bare face, the songstress hasn't been spotted wearing a speck of lipstick, foundation, or cover-up — whether shopping for groceries or slaying a red carpet. That is, until now. In this month's issue of Allure, the Grammy-winning singer was spotted wearing makeup for the first time in nearly a year. And we're not just talking about a swipe of mascara — Keys went bold. Although she appears bare-faced on the cover, inside you'll spot teal graphic eyes, an edgy take on bottom liner, and streaks of purple color etched across her orbital bone, all courtesy of her personal makeup artist Dotti Streeters.

She also dropped a line of wisdom that explains her decision. "I'm not a slave to makeup," she told Allure. "I'm not a slave to not wearing makeup either." Yes. Girl.