Beauty Store Business

OCT 2016

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26 October 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com Jeffree Star is no stranger to social media. He first started exploring the internet in high school "as a way to escape my plain Orange County upbring- ing," he says. While he was surfing the web and following forums, he discovered MySpace. There he amassed followers who were interested in watching the bud- ding makeup maven create amateur photo shoots (starring himself) and blog about his life. Star's popular makeup trans- formations paved the way to a career in makeup artistry, modeling and fash- ion design. And while Star was always makeup-obsessed, you may be surprised to know that he also used his popularity on MySpace to start a music career— with more than 25 million plays of his self-released music. Needless to say, at 30 years old, this internet Star is already well versed in social media marketing. After a tumultuous music career, Star found himself at a crossroads. "I just spent eight years touring the world and putting my blood, sweat and tears into [my music]. ... And I always wanted to create my own makeup line," he says. Star decided to risk it all and began work- ing on his own line of cosmetics. "It was either try to accomplish a lifelong dream or give up and go back to working at the mall," he explains. After six months of testing to perfect the formulations, Star launched three Jeffree Star Cosmetics liquid lipsticks in November 2014. The overwhelming success of the launch eventually blossomed into additional SKUs, including an eyeshadow palette, highlighter powders, lip scrubs and Star's newest endeavor, Lip Ammunition, a highly pigmented stick lipstick. The most interest- ing part of Star's success, however, comes from the fact that he's used social media and his avid followers to promote the products for him. "We don't turn to Vogue anymore to see what's trending or hot," Star says, noting the shift in the way some companies are marketing their launches by catering to more Internet-savvy con- sumers. "I've let social media and all of my subscribers and customers speak for the brand," he shares. While most famous beauty bloggers are known for their video makeup tuto- rials, for a long time Star relegated his posts to makeup transformations and finished looks—until earlier this year when he finally made the foray into video how-tos. "For so long, I held out on doing makeup videos. I felt like there were so many people already doing it," Star says. But after developing his own brand and connecting with the beauty world on YouTube and Instagram, it seemed to be a natural progression. "I've had so much fun being creative and doing what I love, and it's unreal the response it's gotten!" he enthuses. Star's tutorials garnered so many views that he was able to grow his YouTube channel to approximately 2.4 million subscribers in just eight months. From his fans to other artists, fol- lowers are constantly chomping at the bit for something new from Star—and he doesn't disappoint. The holiday sea- son promises a big launch, complete with limited-edition liquid lipsticks and his second eyeshadow palette. Beyond that, Star hopes to create a skincare line—and maybe even curate a David Bowie-inspired makeup collection. "I have so many ideas for it. He was such a legend and pushed so many boundaries for men in makeup. It would be a dream," he says. In spite of all that Star has achieved, the road to success is never an easy one. "I've definitely made a million mistakes, but I've learned from them all," he says. And the most important key to that suc- cess? "I've stayed true to who I am since Day 1. After all, we only have one life; we should never be afraid to do what truly makes us happy." "We only have one life; we should never be afraid to do what truly makes us happy." MySpace to Mainstream Social media's reigning makeup royalty, Jeffree Star, discusses how the internet played an integral part in his successful business. SUPER STAR MUST-HAVES Check out Star's go-to essentials for sof t, glowing skin in winter. Moisturizer: "I couldn't live without my La Mer moisturizer; my skin hates the cold, dry weather." Suggested retail price: $310, cremedelamer.com Highlighter: "I need at least two highlighters on my face at all times. My favorite combo is the Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop with my Skin Frost shade Ice Cold on top!" SRPs: $38, sephora.com; $29, jeffreestarcosmetics.com Setting Spray: "Everyone knows I can't live without my Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist." SRP: $48, Dewy Skin Mist." SRP: $48, tatcha.com n 't er H n h fa c My is x C shade I f ar has achieved with my n Frost old on to p! " m; $29, om one out 48, Get Connected! JeffreeStar @JeffreeStar @JeffreeStar facebook.com/JeffreeStar Website: jeffreestarcosmetics.com

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