Why Alicia Keys has embraced the #nomakeup movement.

Every woman has her reasons for wearing makeup, or not wearing it. To some, it’s a form of self-expression; to others, it simply doesn’t hold any appeal.

While the way we present ourselves to the world is a deeply personal decision, it’s hard to argue that social pressures and expectations can influence it — and not necessarily in a way that’s positive or even healthy.

This is something Alicia Keys learned the hard way when she entered the “harsh, judgmental” entertainment business as a young woman.

In ‘Time to Uncover’, an essay she wrote for Lena Dunham’s e-newsletter Lenny, the 15-time Grammy Award winner describes how fame and the constant pressure to look a certain way made her feel as though she “was not good enough for the world to see”.