Jerome Alexander: Inside the Half-Century Quest to Revolutionize Everyday Beauty and Empower Unconventionally Gorgeous Women

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jerome Alexander. He is a celebrity makeup artist, cosmetics industry innovator, TV personality and beauty educator. For 50+ years, Jerome Alexander has brought out the beauty in women by teaching them to become their own makeup artists. Known as “The Man Behind the Makeup,” he is a beauty legend on a mission to change the beauty industry forever. He designs innovative products and beauty tools to be affordable for everyday women because “makeup doesn’t need to be expensive to work.” Jerome Alexander has dedicated his career to teaching women how to look their best and enhance their natural beauty. In 2019, he republished his acclaimed book, “Be Your Own Makeup Artist,” and his influence has shaped the beauty industry as you see it today. “Every woman deserves to feel beautiful” — Jerome Alexander.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

While I was going to school, I was always looking to make an extra buck. This was before Mary Kay or any of the house party brands, this was back in the 50s. I met this guy who had a makeup line while I was living in Brooklyn, New York. He was trying to do the house party thing and so I started doing the house parties. I realized that, first of all, I loved women, so this gave me an opportunity to be around women, I love women. I started to notice how little women knew about makeup. I would be talking to them and they would be shaking their heads but not really understanding. I thought, wow, this is something for me, I really like this. That was the decision that led me on the path to get more involved in the beauty business.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I was doing a personal appearance in Los Angeles, at Neiman Marcus or one of the L.A. stores. Whenever I would do a personal appearance, my public relations team would always get me on a TV show too. Whenever I went to L.A., I always did Good Morning Los Angeles I think it was called. There was this one time I did the show and I was staying at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. They would put me up at these fancy hotels, give me a suite, and fly me out. It was amazing because there were so many makeup artists in Los Angeles but here they were flying in a makeup artist from New York to do these shows, I did it for years.

Anyway, this one time I was back at the hotel, and all of a sudden I got a knock on the door and it was the Secret Service. I said ‘Oh, my gosh, what’s going on?’ They said, ‘We have someone very special who saw your show and would like you to do her makeup’. I said, ‘Really? Who is it?’ They said, ‘It’s Betty Ford. She’s staying at the hotel. Would you be kind enough to come over and do her makeup?’ So, I did her makeup. She was a great lady.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

I would say that this has happened to me maybe 10 times during my 50+ year career. It’s when you know that something is really outstanding. You get that feeling that you know that this is going to work, you know that it’s going to be a huge success.

I was the first one to come up with an idea to make handmade wigs. That’s what they were selling in those days, in the 60s, for up to $300 or $400. I came up with the idea, I was the pioneer. We set up a site in Korea and the labor at that time was so cheap that instead of just making them like everybody else (machine made wigs), I was able to make a handmade wig and I made it out of synthetic fiber. I used Kanekalon, which is a Japanese fiber, to make a pre-cut, pre-styled handmade wig and they were just absolutely amazing.

We wound up selling literally hundreds of thousands. I had that feeling that I knew what I was doing and that this is going to work, and sure enough, it did. We got those wigs into every department store in America and in big beauty salons. We sold them in Germany and England.

The second tipping point was when I came up with the idea to do cosmetic brushes. Prior to me coming out with the state-of-the-art cosmetic brushes, cosmetic brushes as you see them now didn’t exist. No one was taking the concept of applying your makeup like a makeup artist with makeup artist tools. I had that same feeling, I thought ‘Wow, I’ve really got something.’ And sure enough, we came out with these brushes and right off the bat, we got them into every department store in America.

Another tipping point was, of course, right after that when I introduced professional cosmetic kits. Firstly, they didn’t exist and when we introduced the cosmetic kits and added the cosmetic brushes, they were an overnight success, doing over $20 million a year in every department store in America.

Here are my takeaways and lessons from that.

As I look back on almost everything I did during my career, I never tried to do what everybody else was doing because they were already doing it. I always tried to be unique and different, and tried to look for that missing void and see if I could create something to fill that void. I would look for something where there was a problem and come up with the solution. 50 years later, I’m still doing that. It’s looking for that tipping point and getting that feeling that something is going to work.

You know those hairbrushes which have the holes in it, you put the hairdryer against it? I was the one who invented that in the 1970s, it was called the Blow Flow Brush. Again, I came up with this idea and we wound up selling millions and it really transformed the whole hairbrush industry. I just had an instinct for what would work in the beauty industry.

More currently, let me tell you about MagicMinerals and AirBrush Foundation. The history of MagicMinerals is that I created it for home shopping channels and named it Italian Marble. We used to make it in Italy. Then mineral powders took off in the beauty industry. I took out the talc, I took out the fragrance and we called it MagicMinerals. To date, we’ve probably sold in excess of 5 million units.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I was working as a lifeguard at the Raleigh Hotel in South Fallsburg in the Catskills as a kid. I was 20 years old. That was 1957. There was a guy by the name of Larry Matthews who had a chain of salons and beauty salons up and down the East Coast. We became very friendly that summer because he had a salon in the resort that I was working at. One day he said, ‘Jerome, after the summer you’re coming to work for me.’ I said, ‘OK! What am I going to do?’ He said ‘Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.’

Larry really was a visionary. He saw the potential of the wig business. I started working in his salon, I became a makeup artist after training myself, and together we had a very busy salon with hundreds of women coming in every day. As a makeup artist, I was already making some real money as a 20 year old kid. A few years later Larry said to me, ‘Jerome, we’re going into the wig business.’ We were the pioneers, we were in all the Gimbels department stores. I was on the main floor in Gimbels, up on a platform selling wigs around 1963 and that was the beginning of the wig business.

I then broke away from Larry Matthews. I said to him, ‘Larry, there’s going to be a lot of money to be made in the wig business, but I don’t see it in retail, I think wholesale is where the big money is.’ We remained very close and he was my son’s godfather. I would see him at least once or twice a week. We lost him about 10 years ago. He was my mentor and my friend for life.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The global beauty industry today has grown to more than a half a trillion dollar business. Can you tell us about the innovations that you are bringing to the industry? How do you think that will help people?

Well, in terms of innovation in the cosmetic industry, we were the first to do cosmetic brushes, they didn’t exist and neither did cosmetic color kits. If you go as far back as the wig business, many of the designs that were selling 50 years ago were my designs, and also with the Blow Flow Brush. I was one of the first pioneers on the Home Shopping Network, constantly innovating and creating new items and selling it on television. I built those brands myself.

But it’s more than just innovation. I think that I have been able to have a sense which has given me a big advantage over most of the entrepreneurs in the industry. I really think that I know what women want. This was a reality that I live with. As I became more of an authority on makeup, and someone with credibility, I realized how little women knew about makeup. I was never interested in becoming the best makeup artist in the world, but rather a teacher, an educator. And so I spent, really, my entire career teaching women how to increase their own beauty by doing their makeup like a makeup artist.

I had another ability to take existing products that were working in the market and to make them better. Because I knew what women wanted. So I would take innovative ideas that were out there, not only developed by myself but by other people, and enhance them and make them better and more affordable. With MagicMinerals AirBrush, we made a Skincare Makeup. We put in clinical levels of some of the most proven, best skincare ingredients that are on the market. Nobody’s ever done that. We added key ingredients, in clinical levels. So while the woman is wearing the foundation, she’s also getting the full benefit of anti-aging skincare.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the modern beauty industry?

What excites me is someone like myself can still create a difference in a multi billion dollar industry and still be able to get out there and put a product out. And especially now with the internet, to be able to get your story out to millions of people, and also the ability to sell your product through the internet to the whole world. That to me is so exciting.

The other exciting thing is to be able to sustain in an industry that is so difficult. You know, it’s one thing to make it but it’s another thing to be able to sustain for over 50 years.

The other thing that I find exciting about the industry is that it enables people to get into a career they might not have had the opportunity to otherwise and gives them the ability to grow with it. You’re seeing this especially now with the internet, there are so many names coming up. Anyone can create and develop their own brand now and go on to sell it for a billion dollars.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to improve the industry, what would you suggest?

One of the big ones is a BIG one. I always say this about the big companies you know, like Chanel, Christian Dior or Maybelline. My feeling is that when they develop their products, they are being developed by product people, not makeup artists. One of the reasons I feel that we’ve been able to sustain and be so successful is because I’m a makeup artist and I develop products as a makeup artist which means my products have to work. Many times I’ve used (and I’m not going to mention names and I don’t ever want to knock other people’s products) other brands, I know right away that this product was not developed by a makeup artist. It was developed by a product person. It looks good in the compact. It looks very expensive. But guess what? It doesn’t work.

I also think that retailers should give more opportunities to new and innovative brands. It’s really very difficult to get into retail, because, you know, they have this buyer, who becomes like the high executioner of who’s good and who’s bad. You know, this is why I find it exciting with the internet. You can bypass the high execution. So big retailers should be more accepting.

Another thing that upsets me is a lot of people, especially a lot of these new companies come out and they make promises that are unrealistic. It just makes the whole industry look bad. You know when they make statements, especially in skincare, they make all these promises and the promises don’t deliver. For years they called this the Cinderella product; Cinderella because it only lasts for a short time. I had one on a home shopping network over 15 years ago. It was called the Two-Minute Lift. One of the reasons we had to discontinue it was because of the returns. People make statements, make promises and the product doesn’t deliver. Too many companies are making claims that aren’t real.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share a few ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

I feel that every woman should take a step back consciously and look at herself and ask, how can I be the best that I am? Enhance what you have. Every woman is beautiful, I have never seen a woman that I couldn’t find beauty in.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, Can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry”. Please share a story or an example, for each.

Number one is you have to always have innovation. I always use the expression ‘America doesn’t need another cosmetic line.’ So, in order to succeed, I believe you have to be creative and innovative.

Two is to put together a quality product. I have discovered years and years ago in the cosmetics industry that it doesn’t really cost more to make a quality product or to make one that’s inferior, it’s all in the knowledge of the chemists and the designer, and all the people that are involved in developing the product.

Three is to know your market, and to choose who the demographic of the customer you’re trying to reach, to be able really understand what your customer wants and needs.

Four is that makeup doesn’t have to be expensive to work. For example, you can make the greatest lipstick in the world for $1. And you could make a really terrible one. The difference between the bad lipstick and the magnificent one is the people who did it knew what they were doing in terms of knowledge, style and ingredients.

Five is to use attractive packaging. Women like their cosmetics to look good. For example, if a woman is out to dinner and if she wants to take out her lipstick or powder, she wants to take out a good-looking product. Use the best packaging available.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

It’s a bit of a tricky question. I believe that the whole beauty industry often portrays that everyone has the best hair and the best face, the best body. Unfortunately, that’s not reality, not everyone is so blessed. The industry shouldn’t be focusing on only the most gorgeous women, the models, but all women. When I was doing these shows, I would never use professional models. I would go out into the audience and choose my models. I chose the unconventionally beautiful woman on purpose to make them more beautiful with the makeover. Every woman is beautiful, I have never seen a woman that I couldn’t find beauty in. The movement is that the industry should not be focused on only beautiful models but also less conventionally beautiful women. Also older women, such as Jerome Alexander featuring women over 40.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I am the creative force in my life and I have the ability to create the results that I want to achieve. Happiness, joy, peace, love, prosperity, wealth and health. This was relevant to my life in the way that I am constantly creating, I am constantly innovating — while many would say they can reach a point where they’re ‘done,’ I won’t. I will always strive to make our brand better and become the absolute best version of myself.

How can our readers follow you online?

https://jeromealexander.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeromealexandercosmetics/

https://twitter.com/JAcosmeticsHQ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvLO65t2ZbWkdaEnsaUkabg

https://www.pinterest.com/JACosmetics/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

About the Interviewer: Jilea Hemmings is a staunch believer in the power of entrepreneurship. A successful career revamping Fortune 500 companies was not enough for her entrepreneurial spirit, so Jilea began focusing her passion in startups. She has successfully built 6 startups to date. Her passion for entrepreneurship continues to flourish with the development of Stretchy Hair Care, focusing on relieving the pain associated with detangling and styling natural black hair. For far too long, people with tender heads have suffered in pain. Until now.