Alicia Keys Gets Honest About Flaws, Fears and Confidence

How can women truly come together, dismantle perfection, and empower one another?

Earlier this week Keys conveyed her thoughts on society, women, and beauty in an essay she penned for Lena Dunham’s website, The Lenny Letter .

Throughout the letter dubbed, “Alicia Keys: Time To Uncover,” Keys opens up about her trials and tribulations while finding her own sense of beauty, confidence, and acceptance of self in a media crazed world where women are always expected to attain perfection and beauty.

Keys shares her challenge to break through the agony her fears and self-esteem writing, “But the truth is … I was really starting to feel like that — that, as I am, I was not good enough for the world to see. This started manifesting on many levels, and it was not healthy.”

What is so powerful about her letter is that by Alicia Keys – a beautiful, celebrity songstress, calling out her own insecurities and battles with appearance, she simultaneous holds up a mirror to all her readers as well.

She writes:

“Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn’t put on makeup: What if someone wanted a picture?? What if they POSTED it??? These were the insecure, superficial, but honest thoughts I was thinking. And all of it, one way or another, was based too much on what other people thought of me.”

How many of us can relate to this exact sentiment?

While Keys has definitely not been the first celeb to share her bare-face to the world, she has maintained these truths posing for a raw and honest photoshoot with photographer Paola Kudacki as well as releasing the video for “In Common” all in promotion of her upcoming album.

Nervous and resistant at first to do her shoots completely natural, once she dived in Keys felt incredibly alive stating, “I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt.”

Maintaining her vow to stop covering up in every way, “Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing,” Keys keeps it rolling makeup free in a new spread from Fault Magazine where she discusses her journey of finding beauty and confidence all natural.

“One thing I appreciate hearing from people who have known me for years, is when they tell me “Alicia, you’re still the same.” Of course I’m not, I’m a woman now and much wiser and I have more understanding of my life, music and art but I am still the same spirit. Fearlessness and becoming more comfortable in my own skin and caring less about what I would say or do, was always at the core of my original work, now with all the life I’ve lived and all the things I’ve learnt, I am still the very same.” – @aliciakeys in her brand new cover shoot exclusively for Fault. FAULT-MAGAZINE.COM Words @Miles_Holder Photography @zoltantombor Styling @cocochaunielle Makeup Dotti using SK-II @streetersusa Hair: @tippishorter @Fr8me l Photographed at @dreamhotels NYC Manicurist @nailsbychellz #faultmagazine #aliciakeys

A photo posted by FAULT Magazine (@fault_magazine) on Jun 1, 2016 at 4:32am PDT

Regardless of how we may feel about Keys new campaign, there’s no doubt it can do wonders for young women everywhere. The addition of high-profile role models women can see embracing their unique traits, natural beauty, can do wonders for our levels of confidence and mental health.

Plus maybe, just maybe, it will help all of us from feeling the pressure to act like chameleons ourselves, “I hope to God it’s a revolution.”

What do you think of the #NoMakeUp revolution? Will you be inspired to take part? How do you reveal your most authentic self?