Long before brands like Glossier, Nudestix, etc. made “no makeup” a philosophy, there was Victoria Jackson.
The beauty expert, who was the first to sell color cosmetics on QVC in 1989 and went on to generate $1 billion in sales in the next decade, trademarked the term in 1986. Now she’s back with a new brand that shares the spirit of her original namesake with a name every Millennial and beyond can relate to: No Makeup Makeup.
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Why not: 40 years after its birth, the no-makeup makeup phenomenon is as popular as ever, with a slew of brands dedicated to the minimalist look and a steady stream of no-makeup makeup tutorials floating around social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
“I’m excited to talk to them,” Jackson said of the new generations discovering her signature look, which until now had perhaps not been discovered by its creator. “I’m excited to be able to say, ‘Okay, this is what you look like when you’re getting ready to turn 70,’ and you’ve been talking about makeup your whole life and not having to wear a lot of makeup.”
No Makeup Makeup will launch with a single cream foundation that aims to provide one-step color correction and camouflage while providing a lightweight, buildable finish. Retailing for $55 and formulated in 13 shades, the product is a modernized version of the hero product from now-shuttered Victoria Jackson Cosmetics and is formulated with a FlexShade technology that is said to adapt to the wearer’s skin tone, making each shade suitable for multiple skin tones.
“We took the foundation of the original formula and knew it had to be clean,” said co-founder and CEO Kim Wileman, who worked with Jackson on her second brand, Lola Cosmetics, in the early 2000s and then founded a consulting firm where she advised brands like Tula and Hourglass Cosmetics.
“We updated the texture, added FlexShade technology, and it’s vegan and dermatologist-tested,” Wileman said of the vitamin E-infused foundation. He and Jackson estimate the brand will generate $5 million in first-year sales through direct-to-consumer, Amazon and TikTok Shop channels.
“When someone’s skin looks great, it changes everything and you can go anywhere you want with your makeup, but that’s where we had to start,” Jackson said.
Jackson left her eponymous brand in 2008 after her then-teenage daughter Ali was diagnosed with what doctors believed was terminal neuromyelitis optica. “The doctors told me I was going to have four years with her, and like I said, I closed the mascara book and opened the medical book,” Jackson said.
Aiming to find a cure, Jackson and her husband (Bill Guthy of direct-marketing beauty business Guthy-Renker) founded the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, and the duo has since raised more than $80 million to invest in R&D for neuromyelitis optica treatments, and advances have since been approved that relieve symptoms and slow its progression.
Gloria Steinam inducted Jackson into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2017, and in 2018 Pope Francis awarded Jackson the Pontifical Fundamental Advocacy Award for her work to advance medical research.
“It was a sad decision [to step away from Victoria Jackson Cosmetics]but it was an easy decision — because I had a calling, and that was to save my daughter’s life,” Jackson said. Ali, now 31, also has her own personal-care brand in the works.
“This mission [of the Guthy-Jackson Foundation] “It’s still ongoing. I’ve learned so much in the medical world that I just need to continue to advance that. I know so much in the makeup world that I just need to continue to advance that,” Jackson said.
No Makeup Makeup will introduce new products at a regular cadence, rather than launching a full line of products.
“Everything is going to be intentional, everything is going to be simple,” Jackson said, adding that blush and lip products are next in line. “It’s not going to be 10 blush shades — it’s going to be a lot of ‘this is the perfect blush shade’ or ‘this is the perfect neutral lip’ — that’s what I’m thinking about formulating as we go.”
So will Jackson, arguably one of the most influential names in the beauty industry, bring her QVC and live sales talents to TikTok Live?
“We’re definitely looking at that,” Jackson said, adding that he expects an adjustment period to the world of bite-sized content. “You have the luxury of 20 minutes with an ad — what am I supposed to do on TikTok — stand on my head?” he added with a laugh.
But it’s Jackson’s mission to “move at the speed of life” that has carried him through the last 15 years of his career—years during which he founded Ellen Degeneres’ skincare brand Kind Science and authored five books, along with his investment in medical research. That principle remains central to the next leg of his journey.
“It’s kind of a ‘one day’ fantasy to put me by the pool with a book, but there’s so much that I’ve done and continue to do and I want to share it; that’s what keeps me going,” Jackson said.
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