Alicia Keys is a vision on the cover of Allure Magazine‘s February 2017 issue.
The shoot would be the first time the singer will allow herself a little makeup in an editorial shoot since she took a break from wearing makeup last year.
She explained to the magazine that her decision to stop wearing makeup doesn’t mean she has anything against makeup or people that wear it.
“I’m not a slave to makeup. I’m not a slave to not wearing makeup either. I get to choose at [any] given moment. That’s my right,” she said. “I think makeup can be self-expression,” she says. “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. Whatever mode of expression that empowers you, that’s what you should do. What I am not down for is this ridiculously high, unrealistic expectation about appearance that we as women are held to.”
She also talked about her disappointment at the outcome of the US elections and what she’ll be doing to make a change during Donald Trump’s administration.
“The We Are Here Movement [a wide-ranging social-justice organization founded by Keys] will stand in support of Hispanics, refugees, people of color, Muslims, and anyone who feels afraid in the upcoming Trump era. I have a hope that President Trump, as a New Yorker, will have more liberal views than his campaign rhetoric suggests and that in the end our system of justice will prevail. But it does hurt that racism was not a deal breaker for millions in the election. However, as an artist, I expect to continue to use my voice for things that matter, as I have since the beginning of my career. That won’t change. As an activist, I will continue to fight for what’s right. That won’t change, either. It’s time for all of us to be engaged. As a mother, I am a lioness.”
