Jessica Blacker started off by working in Film & TV as a makeup artist in London, UK. With the industry-standard experience to hand, Jessica then started the Jecca Blac studio, where she offered a safe space for trans women to experiment with makeup. She then went on to launch Jecca Blac, a vegan, and gender-free makeup brand. Read on to find out about her story:
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself, and why did you start Jecca Blac?
Hello! My name is Jessica Blackler and I’m the Founder of vegan, gender-free makeup brand Jecca Blac. My career began when I trained as a professional Makeup Artist in film & television, where I learned how to transform an individual’s face with the power of makeup. I realized the knowledge I’d gained in my training shouldn’t be limited to behind the scenes of productions, so I decided to open my own safe space educational makeup studio where I welcomed anybody who wanted to begin their makeup journey in a judgment-free setting. I quickly built a client base of predominantly trans women and transfeminine makeup wearers – many of whom were at the very start of their transition or journey with makeup and had always felt overlooked by the makeup industry. I realized the oversight the industry had made in not considering the needs of trans women – in every sense, trans women were not represented by the beauty world in the products or online tutorials available or in the campaigns happening at the time. Many of my clients sought advice on beard shadow coverage – and because of this, my first ever product to launch was the Correct & Conceal Palette. This Palette was the first of its kind as it was developed as a multi-use concealer which also provides simple and effective coverage to any undertones caused by beard shadow. It went on to win ‘Best Concealer of 2020’ at the Beauty Bible Awards last year and was the start of our journey as a makeup retailer. All our products are vegan and cruelty-free with a #MakeupHasNoGender ethos behind them! Besides our product collection, Jecca Blac operates with a trans-inclusive team and I have also provided voluntary makeup lessons to trans prisoners, raised funds for LGBT+ charities, and started London’s first-ever annual Trans Festival.
What sets your brand/products apart?
As an ally to the community, it was essential to me to diversify our brand from within by creating opportunities for trans employees. We believe when celebrating a minority group, it is really important to ensure your message comes from within the community you’re trying to create space for and represent. We’re a very community-led brand and that will always be a focus of ours, particularly as we continue to grow and evolve as a brand. We try to give back in any way we can – and this can be seen in our fundraisers and partnerships with LGBT+ Charities including Mermaids, Switchboard LGBT, and AKT Charity. We regularly share educational graphics in a #WithJeccaBlac series on our social media, and we very much look forward to bringing back the Trans Festival (an annual event that brings together the trans community and allies) once Covid restrictions permit. All our products are created to serve and celebrate our community with user-friendly solutions that are designed to help all of us celebrate our uniqueness. We want to be part of the change that is a world that does not limit anybody based on the stereotypes and pressures they may feel because of their gender or gender expression – we should all be free to express ourselves in any way we wish, and we hope to continue to create space for ALL makeup wearers regardless of gender, identity or expression!
What does the future look like for genderless beauty?
Currently, it is June, which is also Pride Month – and because of this, we’re seeing a lot more representation of makeup wearers and beauty lovers of all genders who are rightfully being celebrated and amplified for going against their gendered label or expectations. However, many of the faces you’ll see during Pride month are not as represented outside of Pride month. We want the future of gender-free beauty to be representative of ALL makeup wearers year round – we want for us as an industry and as a society to move away from tokenism, and truly consider the needs of everybody throughout every other month around Pride month. While Pride month is important as it gives the community an opportunity to come together and celebrate, we want the world to see that the less conventional makeup wearers are here year-round and that they need to be represented year-round, too.
What does it mean to be a #beautyboss
To me, being a #beautyboss means standing by what you believe in, having faith in your own strength and resilience, never being afraid to learn, and always being open to the idea of adapting so that you can grow.
