Rihanna Covers December Issue Of Elle Magazine [PHOTOS]

Rihanna's long-awaited return to Instagram made headlines across the web yesterday. Now that RiRi is back, she has wasted no time in uploading new photos to her IG account. This morning she took to Instagram to reveal some photos from a recent shoot she did with Elle Magazine for their upcoming December issue.

Rihanna wears her signature dark lipstick for the cover of the magazine with her hair in a messy curly 'do. For the shoot, the Pour It Up singer keeps things basic, with minimal make-up and very fashion-forward looks, in true Rihanna style.

According to Elle, Rihanna has been shot for the magazine five times and has been on four different covers: June 2008, July 2010, May 2012, and next month, December 2014. Since the very first time Elle interviewed her, for an inside story in July 2007, she has grown and matured to become nothing less than a global powerhouse, with 37.7 million followers on Twitter and having tied Michael Jackson's record of number-one hits on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Aside from being extremely successful in the music industry, Rihanna is also one of the most fashionable and equally beautiful celebrities of our time. In her photos, she looks "raw and vulnerable and regal, all at once." For her shoot with photographer, Paola Kudacki, RiRi showed up without makeup on, and other than applying some red lipstick for one picture, she stayed that way, with nothing more than a dusting of powder over her flawless skin. She also posed in her natural hair, loosely tied back to show off her incredible bone structure. Elle described Rihanna as "direct, self-aware and self-regarding; not self-aggrandizing, but centered, straightforward, and calmly determined-secure in the knowledge of who she is and who is in charge."

Elle's editor-in-chief, Robbie Myers, said he got lost in that photo for a good five minutes, "like a piece of art that keeps you looking and looking for something that is just beyond explanation."

The December 2014 issue of Elle Magazine hits newsstands on Nov. 18. Check out some photos from the shoot below!

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