**Kesha’**s morning beauty routine is simpler than you might expect for a girl once recognized for her gold-painted lips, heavy-lidded kohl gaze, and well-documented weakness for glitter. But during a recent visit to the Vogue offices, the newly fresh-faced singer admits that her days of channeling the feral Party Girl are mainly behind her. In town amidst an international tour and studio sessions working on new music, her healthy, freckled skin is proof that she means it. “I really wanted to make a change—be more raw and real,” explains the singer of her visual transformation, which is accentuated by her ladylike skirt and jacket. “I wanted to be more confident in myself—embrace every inch of my body—not try to cover up with makeup.”

The singer’s new outlook is as refreshing as it was hard-won. After the overwhelming success of 2009’s single “Tik Tok,” the Los Angeles native recalls going from playing for a room of 30 people to playing for a festival crowd of 6,000 nearly overnight. “All of a sudden I had all of these fans, but also [just as many] critics.” Her swaggering artist persona, glam rock hair, and “Alice Cooper”–inspired makeup, all designed to celebrate personal freedom, were polarizing. The backlash came from every direction—hackers, bloggers, even a colleague—and their daggers cut deep. “Slowly but surely my self esteem [started to] deteriorate.” What started as a concern with her body image eventually morphed into an eating disorder. At the beginning of 2014, when things came to a head, Kesha decided to press pause and recalibrate with a stay in rehab. Since then, she’s returned to the stage feeling happier and more herself. Now, one year later, she sits down to talk about her personal and physical evolution, the place for gratitude and glitter in her new life, and the power of self-acceptance.

You’ve gone through quite a beauty metamorphosis in the last year. Can you tell me what spurred the change?

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. It’s been quite a journey. [With the criticism], I went to a dark place. There was a lot of not eating—and I started to think being hungry to the point of feeling almost faint was a positive thing. The worse it got, the more positive feedback I was getting. Inside I was really unhappy, but outside, people were like, “Wow, you look great.”

How did you pull yourself out of that cycle?

I was singing these songs like “We R Who We R,” and I really believed them. I wanted to be genuine. But I was sad and [I wasn’t eating]. That’s not good for your body, metabolism, or brain. I talked to my therapist, and she said, “I think it’s time we take a moment to address this.” I called my mom one night and I told her, “I need help.” I went to an eating-disorder specific rehab site where a nutritionist taught me that food is a positive thing for your body. I realized being healthy is the most important thing I can do for myself. Now, I’m trying to embrace the skin I’m in. It’s difficult sometimes. Every day I have to look in the mirror and make the choice to be kind to myself. This is who I am—I have to love that.