Alicia Keys is widely known for her artistic, soulful approach to fashion and beauty. For several years, however, the “No One” singer, who celebrates her 44th birthday on Saturday, was best known for popularizing the makeup-free movement.
Beginning in 2016, Keys opted to go make up free while attending public events, an act of reclamation for her natural, unfiltered beauty. When Keys went makeup-free for an album photo shoot she described feeling like “the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt,” she wrote in a Lenny Letter essay at the time. The movement went on to inspire other women, like Pamela Anderson and more, to also go makeup-free.
“I was taking on these tremendously oppressive beauty standards that I thought somehow applied to me in regards to being perfect, and I obviously rebelled against that,” Keys previously told WWD in May 2022, referencing her previous disavowals of makeup.
“I found my way around to the fact that I get to create my beauty standard, I get to choose what is beauty to me, and how I want to express that.”
Keys has since returned to makeup in a major way. In 2022, ahead of the Met Gala, Keys’ brand in partnership with E.l.f. Cosmetics, Keys Soulcare, launched its first collection of color — skin care hybrid products.
Here, WWD takes a look back at Alicia Keys’ makeup-free journey through the years.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images Alicia Keys attend the 2016 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images Alicia Keys attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 28, 2016 in New York City.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images Alicia Keys attends the rally at the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for Dior Alicia Keys attends the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2017/2018 at Musee Rodin on March 3, 2017 in Paris, France.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for NARAS Alicia Keys poses in the press room during the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 2018 in New York City.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for Billboard Alicia Keys attends Billboard Women In Music 2018 on Dec. 6, 2018 in New York City.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images Alicia Keys, recipient of the iHeartRadio Innovator Award, poses in the press room during the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards which broadcasted live on FOX at Microsoft Theater on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for THR Alicia Keys attends The Hollywood Reporter’s Empowerment In Entertainment Event 2019 at Milk Studios on April 30, 2019 in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images Alicia Keys visits the SiriusXM Hollywood Studio on Jan. 22, 2020 in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for The Recording A Alicia Keys attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on Jan. 26, 2020 in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for dcp Alicia Keys poses backstage for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, broadcast on May 23, 2021 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS Alicia Keys attends the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on Sept. 12, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for Haute Living Alicia Keys attends JR Ridinger Celebration Of Life at Faena Forum on Oct. 8, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida.
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Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Look Through the Years [PHOTOS]
Image Credit: Getty Images for National Portra Alicia Keys speaks onstage during the 2022 Portrait Of A Nation Gala on Nov. 12, 2022 in Washington, DC.