I’ll pray on that for you.
You’ve done very well so far.
“You’ll always be the OG Black brand in my heart.”
Getty Images
AJ’s passion and positivity are threads woven through so many of these tributes.
“It’s been a great year,” he wrote.
“We are shooting now thru [sic] March… it comes out in November!”
AJ Crimson and Jessica Chia at the Allure offices in April 2017.
AJ died on March 30th, 2022.
We first met in 2013.
AJ delightedly describing a new AJ Crimson retail location over dinner.
AJ Crimson Beauty was a trailblazer in formulating makeup shades for every skin tone. Here, the Universal Finishing Powder in Toasted Cinnamon, Rich Umber, Bamboo, and Neutral Matte.
And then another, and another.
AJ Crimson and Jessica Chia at the Allure offices in April 2017.
The story ran inAllure’s Disruptors issue that year.
The opening spread to a roundtable conversation between AJ Crimson, Danessa Myricks, and Cynde Watson that ran in the May 2018 issue ofAllure. Illustration by Ines Longevial.
TLDR: It isn’t easy.
And sometimes sometimes they would indulge in a little industry gossip.
So I always knew that I got him good when he would snort."
AJ Crimson Beauty was a trailblazer in formulating makeup shades for every skin tone.
Here, the Universal Finishing Powder in Toasted Cinnamon, Rich Umber, Bamboo, and Neutral Matte.
AJ shared knowledge as eagerly as he gleaned it.
“He wanted his students to learn how to be inclusive and strong in all aspects of artistry.”
His lines were sharp."
Separate a two-ply tissue, place half over your skin, then dust loose powder on top."
AJ was also a big believer in using bold colors on every skin tone.
He’d want you to use those tips.
I hope you do.
Does that look too orange or yellow?
But he knew the girl that was going to need that shade."
When I think about what AJ Crimson’s legacy will be, I think ofuncompromising inclusion.
Women finding their shade meant nothing to him if the formula itself wasn’t perfect.
AJ Crimson Beauty Dual Creme Foundation is one of the creamiest, most melt-into-your-skin-est foundations on the market.
He understood product formulation and color theory, Bennett says.
AJ wasn’t worried about things looking good on the counter.
Does that look too orange or yellow?
But he knew the girl that was going to need that shade."
But he staunchly refused to remove them from his line.
Illustration by Ines Longevial.
“I consider him a mentor, brother, friend.
Somebody I aspire to be like.
“Thank you,” Watson says simply.
“But more than that.
We need to be the embodiment of his selflessness.
[His philosophy] was truly about usallwinning.
[It was about] people of color, seeing themselves, finding shades for themselves.
Lets win this, lets make it normal.
We need to push for that.”
More on the life and work of AJ Crimson:
