Alicia Keys wears makeup for Allure: 'I get to choose'

Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Alicia Keys chose to wear makeup for her recent photoshoot for Allure.

The 35-year-old singer sported eyeshadow and eyeliner in the magazine's February issue after nearly a year of going barefaced.

"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 explained in the interview.

Keys said she was inspired to stop using makeup after years of wearing heavy cosmetics in the entertainment industry. She admitted to a longtime struggle with skin problems, but said she isn't concerned with perfection.

"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," the star declared.

"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 added.

Keys had vowed to "approach [beauty] differently" in an essay for Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter in May. She made the decision after an "uncomfortable" but empowering barefaced photoshoot for her album Here.

"Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn't put on makeup," the singer confessed. "I promised I would approach things differently this time regarding my image and allow my real self, as is, to come through."

Keys released Here in November, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and includes the singles "In Common" and "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)." Her 6-year-old son, Egypt, composed and performed his first song the same month.