This girl is seriously on fire. In case you haven’t already heard, Grammy-award winning artist and singer of the international soundtrack to New York, Alicia Keys, has started a new makeup movement. The best kind of makeup movement. A #nomakeup movement.
In a letter she penned to Lena Dunham called ‘Time to Uncover’, the songstress states that the pressures on women to be beautiful mean constantly “hiding a piece of who you are in order to fit into a picture of what others seem to see as perfection”.
The singer also writes about her struggles with beauty and image within the entertainment industry and how she became a “chameleon” through the continual reinvention of her appearance. But through all of it, she questioned her ability to stay true to herself.
“I was finally uncovering just how much I censored myself, and it scared me. Who was I anyway? Did I even know HOW to be brutally honest anymore? Who I wanted to be?”
Keys writes about self-discovery and a renaissance of self-assurance that led to uncovering her face and staying makeup free to simply be herself. The artist writes “I found my way to meditation, and I started focusing on clarity and a deeper knowing of myself. I focused on cultivating strength and conviction and put a practice in place to learn more about the real me”. As if we couldn’t love her anymore, we just found some extra admiration!
We are totally fan-girling over her newfound self-respect, freedom and above all, her ability to share it with the world! It’s definitely a bold move to go bare-faced and brave our appearance-based society with #nomakeup whatsoever. She’s hoping it’s a revolution, and we’re right behind her because there is nothing better than humbly being yourself.
“I hope to God it’s a revolution. ‘Cause I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.”
What do you think?
Are you inspired to go makeup free?
Kelly Bastaja is our very own in-house motivational mantra devotee. With a background in fashion, styling and all things arty, her dreamy vocabulary is another trick up her sleeve. Kelly works here at Lorna Jane HQ as a Creative & Content Specialist and inspires us all to believe that anything is possible. With a keen eye for street style and love of berry-topped Bircher bowls, Kelly has a certain ‘je ne said quoi’ that keeps our office lively, creative and aspirational.