Alicia Keys' flawless complexion took her "forever" to achieve.
Alicia Keys
The 35-year-old singer, who has recently become an advocate of going without make-up, has admitted it has taken her a long time to have a radiant face because she battled with her skin, which she claimed was "full of bumps and pimples."
Speaking to Elle magazine about her beauty struggles, the 'Girl on Fire' hitmaker said: "It took me forever to get this skin. I mean, I know how it feels to have a face full of bumps and pimples."
However the brunette beauty has revealed after eliminating dairy from her diet made a "huge difference" on her complexion.
Alicia - who has sons Egypt, six, and 22 month old Genesis with her husband Swizz Beats - explained: "I lived through that in the public eye. But when I first got pregnant [six years ago with her son, Egypt] I started to eliminate dairy from my diet and drank a lot more water, which made a huge difference to my skin."
And the powerhouse has revealed she "died laughing" when people described her make-up free movement a "crusade."
She said: "Some have called this a crusade. Well, I died laughing at that. I use to feel the pressure to appear as the music industry expected, but I don't know."
Alicia has revealed she finds going without any cosmetic enhancement "really empowering".
Speaking previously, she said: "[It's] really freeing. The thing is ... it kinda came from because we put so many limitations on ourselves, we put limitations on each other."
Although the 'Empire State of Mind' singer "loves" her cosmetics, she doesn't want to feel obliged to paint her face whenever she goes out in public.
She explained: "I love make-up! I love my lip gloss, I love my blush, I love my eyeliner.
"It's not about that. But at the same time, I don't want to feel beholden .... to have to do it."
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