Alicia Keys Is Giving Herself Permission to Glow

Affirmations are a soul-anchoring ritual in Alicia Keys’ life. Her world is crammed with infinite obligations—being an acclaimed singer-songwriter, magnificence founder, mom, spouse, and so on.—so pausing momentarily to recite a grounding mantra is a method she consciously cares for herself day by day. “Whenever you’re making an attempt to juggle a whole lot of issues, typically you are feeling heavy anxiousness,” Keys says. “With affirmations, I found that after I may maintain onto a phrase, these emotions would raise.” 

After we met on one sunny San Diego morning in late August, Keys had rigorously chosen her day by day declaration. That day, her schedule included capturing her Byrdie cowl and a marketing campaign for Keys Soulcare, the holistic magnificence and wellness model she established in 2020. Even with an 11-hour day on set forward of her, her pure gratitude for all that is on her plate was palpable as we sat collectively in her dressing room. “I advised myself this morning, ‘I am permitting right this moment to be stuffed with pleasure, enjoyable, and celebration,'” she says. 

Leaning on euphoric sentiments like this has not solely helped Keys keep rooted in her private life, but it surely’s additionally formed the spirit of Keys Soulcare. Each touchpoint of the model is embedded with Keys’ empowering power. Every product providing has an uplifting identify and a rigorously crafted affirmation on the packaging to encourage “soulcare.” The time period is a two-fold idea Keys defines as concurrently nurturing your soul and nourishing your pores and skin. “When creating Keys Soulcare, we had so many revelations,” she says. “We noticed that there was pores and skin, hair, nail, and physique care—however there was no soulcare.” 

For Keys, caring for her pores and skin and soul grew to become deeply intertwined practices over time. “My pores and skin was tremendous delicate and vulnerable to breakouts,” Keys says. “I assumed it might go away after I used to be 18 years outdated, however I continued to interrupt out previous my mid-20s. I began to comprehend my pores and skin was reflecting all the pieces—from what I ate to how I felt to the power round me. On the time, I had a whole lot of poisonous power round me, and I wanted to do away with it. Prioritizing my well being and well-being was the catalyst for creating Keys Soulcare.”

Alongside her path to wellness in 2016, Keys famously swore off sporting make-up on covers and crimson carpets. Her choice wasn’t rooted in a disdain for cosmetics however slightly a want to know who she is and what she needs with out being sure by the load of magnificence requirements. “Usually, we get confused and imagine that magnificence is simply exterior,” Keys says. “We stay in a world the place it is all concerning the exterior and bodily look, however I feel many people are on the lookout for deeper ideas and concepts [about beauty].”

Taking years to sit down with herself—naked face and all—allowed her to grow to be intimately acquainted with a freer model of her thoughts, physique, and spirit. Keys Soulcare is a bodily manifestation of all of the interior and outer work Keys has executed all through maturity. Whereas she’s spent a good portion of her self-discovery journey establishing rituals that feed her soul, Keys has additionally devoted herself to studying what really advantages her pores and skin. Via exploration, she grew to become aware of the influence historic components can have, particularly when blended with modern science. Naturally, Keys Soulcare’s choices (developed beneath the steerage of Renée Snyder, MD and board-certified dermatologist) adhere to this dual-ended components philosophy. 

“The power round Keys Soulcare is an attractive mixture of historic meets trendy,” Keys says. “These historic ideas have been round for therefore lengthy, and so they’ve been so profitable. Typically, we neglect that there are such a lot of pure methods to feed your soul and nurture your pores and skin. Working with a dermatologist has allowed us to consider how we will use on a regular basis components I really like, like Hōjicha [a roasted form of Japanese green tea] and manuka honey, to create choices that work for everyone’s pores and skin.”

The range inside Keys Soulcare’s choices vividly displays Keys’ evolving relationship along with her pores and skin and sense of self. When the model debuted 4 years in the past, the preliminary vary included a curated edit of skin-focused necessities just like the Pores and skin Transformation Cream and Obsidian Facial Curler. Subsequent launches in 2021 featured extra skincare choices, just like the Golden Cleanser, Be Luminous Exfoliator, and Comforting Balm. 

2022 marked a landmark second for Keys Soulcare—and Keys herself. Having reacquainted herself with make-up on her phrases, she was able to introduce color-infused skincare choices to the model’s lineup. “After we created the colour line, we determined to name it ‘Make You,'” she says. “Typically, the sweetness world confines you. With Keys Soulcare, we assist the concept that you do not have to cowl up. As a substitute, each particular person will get to outline how they wish to categorical themselves, and it could change as a lot as you need. I really like having enjoyable with the choices and dialing it up or down, relying on what feels good to me in the mean time.”

Let Me Glow Illuminating Serum served because the model’s smooth launch into the colour class, and its unique Golden Aura shade is a bona fide bestseller. This October, the model is including two new crystal-inspired shades of Let Me Glow, Moonstone Aura and Bronze Aura. Pleasure immediately gushes from Keys’ voice when our dialog pivots to the glow-enhancing serum. “I am so in love with Let Me Glow,” Keys says, as her make-up artist applies the primer to her pores and skin. “You possibly can pair it with something, and it’ll add a delicate luminescence to your pores and skin. It truly is a viral sensation, and seeing how a lot different individuals adore it feels good. Like with music, you by no means know what individuals will reply to.”

The constructive suggestions Keys’ model has acquired has made her really feel affirmed as a founder, inspiring her to proceed championing the significance of Soulcare. “It is stunning to see individuals resonate with our philosophy and product choices,” she says. “I really like that we have created a brand new dialog round magnificence and the way we will join with ourselves extra. It is the dream, to be trustworthy.”

The multihyphenate can be proud that Keys Soulcare is a model that engages all generations, her Gen Alpha sons included. “Keys Soulcare is for everyone,” she says. “I am instructing my boys about skincare. My 14-year-old, Egypt, is in that prime hormone zone, and our choices are nice as a result of they’re light and good for his pores and skin. Conversations [about soulcare] are additionally massive in our family, and we discuss methods to categorical who they’re and the way they really feel. I am at all times asking them, ‘How do you are feeling?’ or ‘How can I assist you higher?'”

Keys Soulcare is undoubtedly one in every of Keys’ grandest visions realized, and he or she’s impressively introduced all of it to fruition whereas performing on the highest degree as a musical artist. Between 2020 and 2023, she launched three albums (Alicia, Keys, and Santa Child), launched into two excursions, and celebrated the twentieth anniversary of The Diary of Alicia Keys with a one-night-only present at Webster Corridor in New York Metropolis. This yr, she carried out within the Tremendous Bowl halftime present alongside Usher, and her single “No One” and Jay-Z collaboration “Empire State of Thoughts” grew to become diamond-certified information. 

Having spent over 20 years within the music business, witnessing its ebbs and flows, Keys keenly is aware of that longevity is without doubt one of the best items. “It’s very unbelievable in probably the most wonderful means,” she says whereas reflecting on the continued development of her profession. “I am so grateful that there’s this connection that lasts [with the music] and you’ll really feel it.”

Keys’ affinity for being a recording artist will definitely by no means fade, however as she’s grown, she’s additionally welcomed alternatives to channel her skills into different artistic realms. She’s spent the previous few years creating the music, lyrics, and preparations for Hell’s Kitchen—a semi-autobiographical musical of her experiences rising up within the Manhattan neighborhood. The present debuted off-Broadway in late 2023 earlier than transitioning to the historic Shubert Theatre on Broadway in March. “With Hell’s Kitchen, I am occupying an area that’s brand-new for me, however I didn’t let the truth that I used to be not fully aware of it cease me from making an attempt and thriving,” Keys says. “We launched on Broadway this yr and gained two Tony Awards.”

Theater just isn’t the one new territory Keys is immersing herself in, nonetheless. She and her husband, report producer and rapper Swizz Beatz, additionally labored collectively to curate an exhibit of the work, images, and sculptures they’ve collected. Titled Giants, the showcase spotlights the work of legendary and modern Black artists (from Barkley L. Hendricks to Amy Sherald). “We launched on the Brooklyn Museum [in February] and are opening on the Excessive Museum of Artwork in Atlanta,” Keys says. “We by no means dreamed there can be an artwork assortment that holds our household identify. It is so stunning.”

Keys, who grew up in a one-bedroom house in Hell’s Kitchen along with her mom, did not think about a world the place her abilities would open doorways throughout industries. She’s carried out her chart-topping hits on probably the most coveted world levels, constructed a profitable magnificence model, and contributed prolifically to artwork and theater. And that is the concise model of Keys’ resume.

When Keys thinks about her ascension from adolescence to the current day, she will be able to’t assist however enter a state of deep reflection. Her skilled accolades maintain a particular place in her coronary heart, in fact, however her development as a girl strikes her probably the most. “Youthful Alicia would in all probability suppose I am smooth now, however I really obtained stronger,” she says. “I am a lot extra in contact with the reality. Nonetheless, I do suppose the youthful model of me would acknowledge herself in who I’m right this moment. Though I’ve modified a lot, my spirit and essence stay intact. I am grateful for that as a result of issues in life can change us.”

On this season of life, at 43 years outdated, Keys does not have a prescriptive plan for the long run. She now finds consolation within the unknown and welcomes no matter calling beckons her subsequent. “I am so excited to proceed to evolve,” she says. “I am open-minded about what’s potential as a result of it can lead you to locations you by no means imagined. I am studying, now greater than ever, that there is no such thing as a restrict. There’s a lot extra to dream about, and I lastly be happy sufficient to do it.”