My Beauty Break : Jackie Aina's First Brand Launched With a 45,000-Person Wait List
"What was your big break?” It’s a question people often ask of celebrities, but at Allure, the beauty professionals and brand founders are the celebrities. In My Beauty Break, we’ll dig into the behind-the-scenes details — the money, the aha! moments, and the mistakes — of the biggest brands in the industry. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Step into Jackie Aina's YouTube comments. Make yourself cozy. There's a lot to get through — there's currently 3,100 and counting on her most recent review — and they range from complimenting her Bantu knots to asking if she gets noticed at Target. Her audience doesn't talk at Aina, they talk to her. Like a familiar fragrance that envelopes you with the cozies, that's what Aina's videos are for her viewers.
If you're reading this, I'd bet you're already very familiar with Aina, but just in case: She's been profiled in Vanity Fair and The New York Times and won an NAACP Image Award for her activism on YouTube, where she has 3 million subscribers. Aina doesn't just apply makeup — cosmetics enthusiasts watch for practical makeup advice and become fans as they get schooled on topics like colorism and systemic racism. The beauty community and activism may not seem like a complementary pair — after all, many beauty brands have catered to Eurocentric consumer bases for decades — but that's why, now more than ever, we need thought leaders like Aina.
On August 4, her 33rd birthday, she and her fiancé, Denis, launched FORVR Mood, a lifestyle brand. The first launch was a surprise for many diehards expecting to get their hands on some Aina lipsticks or pigments: the brand is kicking off with four candles. The lineup also includes a silk pillowcase and headband. We spoke to Aina about launching a brand amidst a pandemic, how being in the Army Reserve helped shape her business, self-funding her brand, and how she handles public scrutiny as one of the biggest names in makeup.
ALLURE: Obviously, you're not just "beauty," you have many interests and many things that you're good at. You're smart and strategic with the brands you partner with and what you do. I'm curious though, what has been the feedback from people when you say, "I'm going full lifestyle"? Have people been like, "Why not makeup?"
Jackie Aina: I feel like I've been teasing that we've been working on this makeup line long enough for people to know, look, it's coming. But at the same time, our new normal has changed. I've had to re-strategize. Like, what is important to people right now? What is important to me right now? Makeup will be here. Makeup is not going anywhere anytime soon. But, at the same time, it's not people's main focus because people aren't going anywhere. They're not motivated to wear it.
Ultimately, I've made it very clear makeup will always be like my first love, and there's definitely still a lot of whitespace in that genre and in that industry. So I'm not worried about that, but as far as the candles and the lifestyle brand, these are things that I see go hand-in-hand. It's not one or the other for me. This is just one of the many things I love and one of the many things that I want to bring into this industry. Why can't I live my best Jessica Simpson life and have a whole empire? Maybe I want to come out with luggage in three years. I'm a multi-faceted person. And I'm going to be burning my candles while I put on my makeup.
ALLURE: I was going to ask you, why launch with candles first? But it seems the reason this brand even exists is because you've always wanted to make candles.
JA: I have had a long-standing relationship with fragrance that stems all the way back to childhood. I grew up with hyperhidrosis. When I was young, I had no idea this condition had a name, I just knew that I sweated excessively, and my mom used to have it as well. So we would sweat a lot. A lot of my adolescence was me figuring out ways how to mask the excess sweating and the smell. Most kids, in general, get teased and picked on, but when something about you stands out, it's just like, "Great, now I'm a target."
With fragrance, it helped me open up and not be as shy around other people and not be embarrassed about the problem. I feel like fragrance for me and my mom was like a way of bonding, too. It was aspirational for us because we couldn't afford designer bags or shoes, but you can afford Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, you know what I mean? It was our one little special thing that we could share together. We didn't have to spend thousands of dollars on it and it made me feel really good. That's where my relationship with fragrance started. As I became an adult, that developed into my home with smelling nice and candles.
ALLURE: Was there something about candles that you were using at home that you wanted to change that we will see with FORVR Mood? Or was it that you wanted candles that exuded the fragrances you wanted to smell?
JA: There's a lot of things. One, a lot of the candles that I burn, I have no idea what's in them. Sometimes I would think: What if this is really horrible for me and I don't even know? I'm the person who burns candles, like eight to 10 hours at a time. I spend a significant amount of time at home because of work, of course. When I developed my own candles, I started asking those questions and having those conversations.
Also, for me, the aesthetic thing was a big thing. Some candles were either far too expensive and really boring to look at. Or they were really cheap and had great scents, but were atrocious next to my home decor. I just wanted something that looked bougie and elevated, smelled like a luxury candle, but wasn't $70. [FORVR Mood candles cost $35.]
ALLURE: Let's talk about scents. What were you looking for?
JA: I already knew going into this I couldn't launch with one candle because what I like is not necessarily going to be everyone's cup of tea. My favorite scents, like Jackie in a candle, is Caked Up. That's my super-sticky sweet vanilla, whipped hazelnut candle that smells literally like a pistachio birthday cake, but not everybody wants that. So I thought I thought you know, I came up with the idea of doing four candles because it's like four different moods for different seasons in the year. Something that maybe is a little bit more energizing, another candle that's relaxing, another candle that gets you hyped for a party night, a romantic candle that you can burn — those were kind of the things that I was looking at.
ALLURE: What were some of the issues that you encountered when you were first trying to launch FORVR Mood? Obviously, the pandemic plays in here, probably expediting timelines. Is there anything that you've had to overcome?
JA: We technically started in 2018, and at that time, I didn't even know, visually, what I wanted this to look like. I just knew I wanted my own candles, and I got distracted with other projects. Fast forward to about a year later, my fiancé and I started talking about [it] again. We had a little bit more experience, and it just felt right. Then the pandemic happened and we were like, "Oh, we really need to expedite this because I'm burning candles now more than ever. And they need to be my candles!"
The biggest thing has been the shipping and lead times. That was what I would expect to happen anyway. People are always telling you, "Expect everything to go wrong." And I'm like, "OK I get it now." Thank God my fiancé is the one doing most of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. I'm more of the creative role, branding and curating the scents.
ALLURE: I want to talk about funding. So how are you making this brand happen? Do you have investors?
JA: (Shakes head no.) It's expensive, honey. It is expensive.
ALLURE: Obviously you don't have to go into detail. I don't need to know about your bank account, Jackie. (Both laugh.) Hearing that you and Denis are doing this on your own is crazy.
JA: Look, I will say I am not 100 percent anti-investors. This is definitely not the only company I plan on launching throughout my lifetime, and my other companies may absolutely start with partners and investors. But I felt like with the knowledge and the expertise and the background that Denis has in finance and corporate banking, basically he laid out all the options for me and said this is what this is going to look like if we do this on our own.
This is what a potential partner-slash-investor would look like. We were looking for more partners than we were just looking for someone writing a check because, you know, if we're giving them ownership, you got to do some heavy lifting, too. So I weighed all options. Ultimately, it came down to like, if it's doable on our own, then let's just at least say we tried it, we can always take on investors later on down the line. And you know, it may be a really horrible idea. But you don't know until you try it.
ALLURE: For those looking at you for inspiration to start their own brand, do you have advice on what they should be doing right now in order to launch their brand, maybe two to three years from now, financially? Should they be setting aside a certain amount every month?
JA: This is a tough question to ask because I feel like it's even too soon for me to be giving that advice because I haven't done this successfully yet to have the receipts to back it up. Ultimately, if you believe in something, just do it. You can't get caught up in what naysayers are saying and you can't get discouraged by family members who aren't quick to support you. Right now, a lot of us don't have a lot of stability and security. It's hard to say you should start that business if you've never done it before. Don't be shocked if you don't get some support. It's what's to be expected. If it's something that you believe in, just keep doing it.
ALLURE: This segues perfectly into my next question, how do you keep your mental health in check when you're constantly receiving unsolicited opinions? I loved this Instagram you posted a couple of weeks ago where you were in a bikini, and people started commenting on your appearance. And you said, "Hey, listen, if I'm showing this, it's because I feel good. And I want to share it with you. I'm not asking you for your opinion on this." I think that's a critical point when it comes to the internet because people think, well, you put yourself out there, so you're asking for opinions.
JA: (Laughs) Not at all. I don't know where the disconnect there happens, but no, not at all. The post you're talking about, first of all, I feel like setting boundaries are extremely important. If somebody says something that I don't like or makes me uncomfortable, or it feels really rude, I'll tell them, "Hey, this wasn't appropriate. And here's why."
I just recently took out my Bantu knots, which is a traditional African hairstyle. And, you know, crazy comments, like, just unnecessary. I find that anytime I wear any culturally significant hairstyle, like my faux locs, my twists, or my braids, that's when I tend to get the crazy comments or even the comments on my natural hair. Just because I'm online doesn't mean I'm your verbal punching bag where you can say how you feel 24/7.
Aside from that, therapy has helped me tremendously, just to be able to vent and to get a non-biased, non-beauty related, non-relative sounding board that I can vent to and they can teach me how to find healthy ways to navigate through some of the negativity and some of the pressure that I face online. It's something that I feel like people just don't understand until they go through it. And a lot of the people that do the dishing of the abuse, don't know what it feels like, and that's why they do it. I'm not even talking about some of the things that are funny and light-hearted that people say about me. I'm talking about the things that are actually harmful or impose dangerous stereotypes or impose anti-Black rhetoric, those are the things that I'm just like, "Time out, we need to address this, we need to stop."
Similarly, [one of the reasons] why I started the brand, candles are a big part of that for me... if I'm having a really bad day or if I just need to unwind, first thing I'm probably going to do is light a candle or go refresh my favorite fragrance or something. Putting myself first is something that will always be an evolving thing for me. But it started through setting boundaries online. I don't get online during certain times. I don't check social media first thing in the morning anymore at all. I wait an hour after I wake up, that way I'm not as vulnerable and susceptible to opinions of negativity. Sometimes it can start the trajectory of ruining your whole day if you go on Twitter right when you wake up and you see someone was canceled.
ALLURE: Who are some other brand founders or brand owners that you respect and want to give some shine to in this interview?
JA: Oh, I love Sharon Chuter, owner and founder of UOMA beauty. She's been awesome. I get a lot of advice and mentorship from Pat McGrath. It's scary like how normal she is. She's awesome. I can literally send her contracts whenever I need. Jerrod Blandino has done the same for me. He has been so instrumental with helping me launch the makeup line. If I need a contact anywhere, he's got a number, and he'll connect me to them. I get such a tremendous amount of support from them.
ALLURE: Alright, we're gonna get to the rapid-fire now. What are five products that you wear daily?
JA: I always wear lip balm, SPF, and a sheet mask. Fragrance, whether or not I leave the house, always. And I will say right now, I don't wear it every night, but I'm gonna say retinol.
ALLURE: You were in the Army Reserve, and then you started working at MAC. I'm curious, how did your time in the Army, if at all, affect you as a businesswoman? What were some things that you took with you from that experience?
JA: It taught me a lot about leadership. It taught me a lot about pushing through things that I don't want to do. It taught me a lot about discipline and challenging myself, I just feel like I unlocked something that I had no idea I had in me when I joined the military. I felt like I knew I always had it in me to persevere and push through, but I didn't know how to really discover that. There are a lot of things that I learned in my experience in the military that wasn't wonderful. But, I'm just really, really grateful that I did something that wasn't really the traditional route. A lot of people were like, "Well, you're into makeup, why would you join the military?" I saw it as, "Why not?"
ALLURE: You would die if this person promoted or bought FORVR Mood and talked about it.
JA: FORVR Mood needs to be in Michelle Obama's bathroom, or it just needs to be on a coffee table right next to her book.
ALLURE: That could happen, right?
JA: I'm putting it out there.
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Originally Appeared on Allure
