Alicia Keys Is Starting a War on Perfectionism—And It’s About Time

Alicia Keys has been making headlines this week for her treatise against perfectionism. “I don’t want to cover up anymore,” she wrote. “Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.” Keys was referring to how empowered she felt when doing a photo shoot wearing nothing but a fresh-from-the-gym glow on her face. It’s a spirit she shares with celebrities including Susan Sarandon, Zendaya, Lorde, and more—who have taken to Instagram proudly makeup-free—and, more recently, with the Resort 2017 runways, where some of the season’s most directional shows have been celebrating the beauty and power of a fresh, unadorned face.

At Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Acne, models sauntered forward with natural skin and what appeared to be not a stitch of makeup, save for the occasional, save for the occasional mad dash of blue lipstick or white eyeliner, daubed on just for the fun of it. The reigning backstage message seemed to be an inspiring come-as-you-are, woke-up-like-this freedom. “I feel the most beautiful when I feel strong; comfortable in my skin; and clear about where I am, where I’m going, and what I’m trying to do. And when I do, I feel very connected to myself, and I feel really beautiful,” Keys told Vogue last November, explaining that she pairs meditation with a product-free face to clear her head and skin of unnecessary weight.

This makeup-less moment comes on the heels of a recent push for body acceptance from head to toe, a zeitgeist taking shape on social media, magazine covers, and toy store shelves (even Barbie is joining the movement). “Before I started my new album, I wrote a list of all the things that I was sick of,” writes Keys. “And one was how much women are brainwashed into feeling like we have to be skinny, or sexy, or desirable, or perfect. One of the many things I was tired of was the constant judgment of women. The constant stereotyping through every medium that makes us feel like being a normal size is not normal, and heaven forbid if you’re plus-size. Or the constant message that being sexy means being naked. All of it is so frustrating and so freakin’ impossible.” That’s all to say, with temperatures soaring, there has never been a better excuse to leave it all behind and let your skin breathe. In Keys’s words, “I hope to God it’s a revolution.”

 

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