Nicki Minaj: I want to be relatable

Nicki Minaj toned down her look to be more "relatable" to women.

The star recently stripped away her make-up and cotton candy coloured hair for the cover of ELLE magazine.

Nicki says the image is part of a new chapter and explained how the transformation began a few months ago.

"Towards the end of last year I just wanted to have a more natural look, and that's what I was explaining to my team," Nicki revealed to MTV. "I knew that I was about to start doing covers of magazines and I wanted a more relatable look. I knew that I was about to launch a clothing line and I want women to know that I'm just a regular woman and I'm not some weirded-out character all the time."

Nicki is best known for her "Barb" look which includes wild wigs and bright pink lipstick. Nicki wanted to make her appearance more real and is pleased with the results.

"I made that conscious effort to tone it down and to try new things," she continued. "And when I started seeing what my hair looked like, I just fell in love. I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, where has this been all my life?' Because even my fans went crazy, I feel like the whole world went crazy. It felt like I took off this mask - it didn't feel like that to me - but to the world it's almost like, 'Oh now we see the real her.' It was weird."

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