by Long before brands like Glossier, Nudestix, et.al. “no make-up” ethos became an ethos, Victoria Jackson was there.
The beauty veteran, who was the first person to sell color cosmetics on QVC in 1989 and subsequently generated $1 billion in sales over the next 10 years – trademarked the term back in 1986. Now, she’s back with a new brand, one that shares the ethos of its first original offering with a name that any Millennial — and beyond — can relate to: No Makeup Makeup.
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And why not: 40 years after its birth, the no-makeup makeup phenomenon is as popular as ever, with the number of brands aligned with the minimalist look and a steady stream of no-makeup makeup tutorials spreading across platforms social media such as TikTok and Instagram.
“I’m excited to talk to them,” said Jackson of the new generations who discovered her signature look, but perhaps not the creator behind it, just yet. “I’m happy to say, ‘Okay – this is what it looks like when you’re getting ready to turn 70,’ and you’re talking about makeup your whole life, and how you don’t have to wear enough. “
No Makeup Makeup will debut with a single cream foundation that aims to color correct and camouflage in one step while maintaining a light buildable finish. Priced at $55 and formulated in 13 shades, the product – which is a modern version of the now-defunct Victoria Jackson Cosmetics hero offering – is combined with FlexShade technology which is said to adapt to one’s skin tone, leaving that every shade is suitable for multiple skin types. tones.
“We took the base of the original formula, and we knew it had to be clean,” said co-founder and chief executive officer Kim Wileman, who worked with Jackson in the early 2000s on Jackson’s second brand. known as Lola Cosmetics, before it was founded. consulting firm through which she advised brands including Tula and Hourglass Cosmetics.
“We updated the texture, added FlexShade technology and made it vegan and dermatologist tested,” Wileman said of the vitamin E infused foundation, which she and Jackson estimate at $5 million in first-year sales through the brand’s direct sales. -consumer, Amazon and TikTok Store channels.
“When someone’s skin looks great, it just changes everything – and you can go where you want to go from there with your makeup – but this is where we had to start,” Jackson said.
It was in 2008 that Jackson left her brand named after her then-teenage daughter, Ali, with what doctors believed to be a diagnosis of terminal neuromyelitis optica. “Doctors told me I had four years with her and I, as I say, closed the book on mascara, and opened the book on medicine,” said Jackson.
Intent on finding a cure, Jackson and her husband — Bill Guthy of direct marketing beauty business, Guthy-Renker — founded the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, through which the pair have since raised more than $80 million to invest in R&D for treatment. neuromyelitis optica, for which advances in relieving symptoms and slowing progression have since been approved.
In 2017, Gloria Steinam inducted Jackson into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and in 2018 Pope Francis presented Jackson with the Chief Advocacy Award for her work in advancing medical research.
“It was a sad decision [to step away from Victoria Jackson Cosmetics], but it was an easy decision – because I was called, and that was to save my daughter’s life,” said Jackson. Ali, now 31, has her own brand in the works — in the personal care realm, too.
“That mission [of the Guthy-Jackson Foundation] still going forward — I’ve learned so much in the medical world now that I need to keep that moving forward, and I have so much knowledge in the makeup world that I need to keep this moving on face,” Jackson said.
Rather than launching a full line of products, No Makeup Makeup will be constantly rolling out new items.
“Everything will be deliberate, everything will be simple,” Jackson said, adding that blush and lip offerings will be next. “It’s not going to be 10 shades of blush – it’s really going to be, ‘this is the perfect shade of blush,’ or ‘this is the perfect neutral lip’ – that’s how I’m thinking about shaping it as we go along . .”
Will Jackson—arguably one of beauty’s OG influencers—bring her QVC and live sales prowess to TikTok Live?
“We’re definitely looking at it,” said Jackson, who expects an adjustment period in the world of bit content. “With an infomercial, you have the luxury of 20 minutes – on TikTok it’s like, what am I supposed to do – stand on my head?,” she laughed.
However, a mission to “move at the pace of life” has carried Jackson through the past 15 years of her career – which has seen her Ellen Degeneres skincare brand, Kind Science, and the author of five books in addition to her investment in medical research . That principle is central to the next part of her journey.
“When I’m putting it together with a book, ‘oh, someday’ is a kind of fantasy, but there’s too much I’ve done – and am doing – and I want to share that; that’s what keeps me going,” Jackson said.
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