Alicia Keys on Going Makeup-Free: 'It Took Me Forever To Get This Skin'

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Alicia Keys wasn't always comfortable going makeup-free.

The 35-year-old singer, who shows off her fresh-faced glow and gorgeous curls on the cover of Elle UK’s annual Feminism Issue, spoke to the British publication about her battles with skin care and more.


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"It took me forever to get this skin," Keys told the magazine. "I mean I know how it feels to have a face full of bumps and pimples. I lived through that in the public eye."

Despite being a former spokesmodel for Proactive acne treatment, Keys credits a change in diet with clearing up her complexion.

"When I first got pregnant [with 6-year-old son Egypt], I started eliminating dairy from my diet and drank a lot more water, which made a huge different to my skin," noted the mother of two.


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The native New Yorker's bare-faced look has inspired celebs like Kim Kardashian and Gabriel Union, though she's not quite comfortable with calling the new trend a "crusade" against makeup.

"Some have called this a crusade. Well I died laughing at that," Keys said, explaining what motivated her to lose the face paint.

"I used to feel the pressure to appear as the music industry expected but I don't now," proclaimed the 15-time GRAMMY winner.

Keys also gushed over her mother, whom she called most influential woman in her life, and proclaimed herself a feminist.

"Whoever isn't feminist is crazy," she added.


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