- 8 hours ago
For our 'MakeUp HerStory' series, we're spotlighting the beauty founder who is redefining clean makeup for melanin-rich, sensitive skin.
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00:00Hey Essies, I'm Akili King, Senior Beauty Editor at Essence Magazine, and I'm so excited to present Makeup Her Story, which is our Women's History Month beauty series, highlighting incredible and inspiring black women in the beauty industry. Today, I'm so excited to be here with the Alicia Scott of Range Beauty, looking so beautiful.
00:22Thank you, so do you. You're good.
00:24Thanks for being here. How are you? I'm more excited to be here with you. You know that. So Range Beauty is an amazing makeup brand dedicated to acne prone and eczema prone skin. Basically speaking my love language as an eczema girly, which I was telling you right before this. But I would love to start off with you just telling us about your journey and what inspired you to launch Range Beauty.
00:53Yes. So I actually didn't have any background in beauty. I started off in fashion. I moved to New York after college to begin my fashion career. And while working a lot of different roles, designers assistants, fashion PR, sales, everything, I noticed a common thread of a lot of the MUAs on set not having makeup for the models that we would typically cast for who were brown or deeper skin toned.
01:20And that overlapped with my own skin journey of not having a relationship with beauty because I never saw my tone represented.
01:28And then also dealing with acne and eczema and not wanting to use anything that was going to further irritate my skin.
01:35And I just had this aha moment like, listen, it doesn't exist. Who better than me to create it?
01:41So I took it into my own hands. And that's how I started Range Beauty.
01:45I love it. I love it. And then so you've done some amazing things like you've been part of the Glossier Grant Program, which is where we actually met.
01:54And I'm so inspired by your story that night. You've also been on Shark Tank as well.
02:00What were those experiences like for you?
02:04Those experiences were incredibly validating for me because it's one thing to start a brand in your living room and you're like, oh, maybe my friends and family might buy it.
02:14But to be able to go on to a larger stage and platform and really showcase the brand, really show off who we are and who I created this for was completely invaluable.
02:26And to reach new audiences as well, who didn't know that we existed and then to walk away from Shark Tank with an investor to then go on and be able to launch at Sephora eventually to win Glossier's first alumni grant.
02:42All of these things were just a culmination of, OK, I have something that's real. I have something that people believe is needed and needs to be seen.
02:51Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.
02:52Yes.
02:53Because, I mean, even just from my experience with eczema and hormonal acne, even, it is hard to find makeup products that don't break out your skin or enhance the problem.
03:05Right.
03:05So we appreciate you doing the Lord's work.
03:09Thank you. I'm trying. I'm trying.
03:10Yes, absolutely. And then so you launched in about 2018, correct?
03:15Yes. So I launched in August 2018 while still working my nine to five.
03:20Again, I thought this was just a side hustle, just, you know, something that I was going to use, my family and friends may support.
03:27And it really took off. I feel like 2020 was absolutely our breakout year.
03:32It's where I took on range full time after getting the traction that we had over the last two years.
03:38And then we were featured on Beyonce.com and that's when it was just like, OK, girl, catch up, catch up.
03:45And it just seemed like things just kept on building and building and building from there.
03:49Incredible. And so as you look back, it's now 2025.
03:54You know, what were some challenges that you faced as a founder so far and what would you say has helped you overcome them?
04:00Yeah, I always speak to the biggest challenge being raising capital, especially as a black woman founder.
04:07The investment landscape is awful.
04:11Point zero zero three percent of us are receiving funding, even though we're the most founded, we're the least funded.
04:17And so fighting for that investment has been so difficult because you can only grow as much as you have, you know.
04:24And sometimes it stunts the growth. Sometimes, as you've seen across these last two years, businesses, unfortunately, having to shut their doors because we just can't grow the way we need to without that infusion of capital.
04:36For me, I focused on partners who really understood that.
04:40So my first investor was Fearless Fund out of Atlanta.
04:45Second was Emma through Shark Tank, who sits on the board of the 15 percent pledge and really believes in black women and what they're building.
04:51And then also paying attention to grants like the Glossier Award and other accelerators and awards that really pay attention to what we're building and believe that we need the investment from them.
05:02So doing that, along with the help from my community who's supporting us and buying the products and amplifying our work is how we've been able to keep going.
05:11Absolutely. I love that.
05:12And I feel like that's an important call out, too, for black women or just other, you know, upcoming entrepreneurs to hear, like, what roadblocks they might hit.
05:22So thank you for sharing.
05:23Yeah, of course.
05:24And then also, you know, you're so busy.
05:28You just mentioned that you're now in Sephora.
05:31Yay!
05:31So I'm sure you're super busy.
05:34Off of that, how are you practicing self-care these days?
05:37What does that look like for you?
05:38Oh, self-care is so important to me because when I took the business on full-time, I definitely had the overlap of becoming the brand.
05:47There was no separation.
05:50And so I started doing therapy.
05:52I have a black woman therapist who's incredible.
05:55And yes, get a therapist, please, if you can.
05:57But she really taught me the importance in separating myself from the brand, that it's more about who I am and not what I do.
06:06And so that was more so tapping back into things I enjoyed, like even my childlike self.
06:11So puzzling, pottery, reading.
06:15We just had black woman rest day on Monday, and I took advantage of that.
06:19I was like, don't email me.
06:20I'm unplugged.
06:21You deserve it.
06:21I'm doing all the things I love.
06:24But I think it's important to make sure we have those type of moments and days repeatedly instead of waiting until we're approaching burnout or until we're hit with burnout.
06:33Because then I feel like it's hard to just get back to that.
06:36So I've definitely been able to incorporate that more and just, you know, some things are just out of my control.
06:42And it's like I'm not going to just work myself up over it.
06:46And then also reflecting on how far I've made it.
06:49A lot of times I get down on, like, things not going right in the business or hearing no's and getting the rejection.
06:56And I'm like, this started off in your living room.
06:58And look at what you've done so far.
07:00It's going to be fine.
07:02Absolutely.
07:03I love all those tips and what your therapist shared, too, that you're not your brand.
07:08Oh, yes.
07:08You're not what you do.
07:10You're the person you are.
07:11Yeah.
07:12And also that's an essay that I love by Toni Morrison.
07:16Yes.
07:16Yeah.
07:16She says something similar to that.
07:19And that's really helped me as well just, like, not feel pigeonholed or boxed in.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And just it allows you to grow and realize you're bringing, you know, something special wherever you go.
07:30Yeah.
07:30And it's not necessarily what you're making.
07:32Exactly.
07:33I feel like as black women sometimes we are so tied into, like, how do we monetize this?
07:38Like, oh, it's a hobby.
07:39How do I start selling it?
07:41Or how do I tap into another stream of income?
07:43And sometimes we just need to let the hobby be a hobby and let that be how we stay grounded, how we unplug and have that part for just us.
07:53Absolutely.
07:53Love it all.
07:54Love it all.
07:54And then, yes.
07:56So as an eczema girly, like, what are some tips and tricks that you've learned to kind of help calm any breakouts or anything like that?
08:05Best tip ever.
08:06Best tip ever.
08:08I put everything in the refrigerator.
08:11Oh, amazing.
08:11I put our primer in the refrigerator, any body lotion that I need to use for, like, flare-ups, the cooling effect.
08:18Because typically with eczema, that's, like, the inflammation, so that's where that irritation and that itchiness and all of that burning is coming from.
08:26So anything to cool and soothe it, not just the ingredients, but also the actual cooling of something cold, that's my biggest thing.
08:35And it brings so much, like, immediate relief.
08:37Same with, like, if you take an ice cube and a paper towel or something and apply it, or those, like, ice globes that they have that relieve.
08:44Oh, my gosh.
08:45Yes.
08:46Yes.
08:46Okay, noted.
08:47I'm going home and putting all my products in the refrigerator.
08:51Noted.
08:53Amazing.
08:54And so, you know, you're here today on Makeup Her Story.
08:58Yeah.
08:58What does it mean to you to be a Her Story maker?
09:01Oh, my gosh.
09:03And what would you like your legacy to be?
09:04Oh, wait, two great ones.
09:07For me, it just, it means the world because I did it in a way that uplifts and promotes and represents black women in the black community.
09:18And making sure that I have a product, making sure that I have a brand that pushes that forward, and getting the recognition for that is, like, so near and dear to my heart.
09:28And then with my legacy, I think that's kind of the same, where I just want to be remembered for making sure that I tapped into my community, not just with what we're selling, but even when I'm thinking about, you know, on campaign shoots, I make sure we have a black photographer, making sure we have the models there, black makeup artists, vendors that we work with, trying to find local black-owned businesses, just trying to really make sure that black dollar circulates in our community.
09:54And I feel like that's the best part of my legacy.
09:58I love that.
09:59And it's, like, it's bigger than you.
10:01Absolutely.
10:02It's affecting the whole community.
10:03Yeah.
10:03Uplifting them.
10:04I love that.
10:06Speaking of that, obviously, it's Women's History Month.
10:09Yes.
10:09What women or which women are inspiring you right now?
10:13Would you like to give your flowers to?
10:14Oh, my gosh.
10:15I am so inspired by Kiki Balmer.
10:18Oh, me too.
10:18Oh, my gosh.
10:19You know it's your girl.
10:20You know it's your girl.
10:22Like, she is just doing it, and she's doing it so boldly and apologetically.
10:26Like, I just love how she is truly herself, and she finds comfort in being herself.
10:32And it just seems like her ground cannot be shaken.
10:35Like, it cannot be messed with.
10:36And I feel like that's so important because we get into a lot of these spaces where they try to shrink us, or they try to say,
10:43you're too loud, you're too much, you're too this, and you're too that.
10:46And I think Kiki is the epitome of, like, I really don't care what you have to say.
10:52Like, this is how I'm showing up, and you're going to accept it, or you're not, and I'm going to keep it moving.
10:56So she is top of mind for me right now.
10:59Yes, same.
11:00I saw a comment on TikTok about her that was like, confidence hates to see Kiki.
11:04Oh, yes, it is.
11:05And I was like, period.
11:06It is.
11:07Yes.
11:07No, she's incredible.
11:09Love that.
11:10Yes.
11:11And then, obviously, you've done some amazing things already, but as you look forward, what are you looking forward to?
11:18What are you hoping for in this next season for Alicia and also Range Beauty?
11:24For Range, I'm excited to continue to expand our product line.
11:28We have a fun new product coming this year, which will be our first new product in, like, three years.
11:34So I'm very excited about that.
11:37Continuing the mission of amplifying that eczema and acne.
11:41It's not troubled skin.
11:43It's not problematic skin.
11:45It's real skin, and that real skin has range, and making sure we continue to show that off.
11:50Okay, I love that.
11:52I see what you did there.
11:53You see what I did right there.
11:53And then, for me, personally, just continuing to evolve and grow, I feel like being a founder has taught me so much about myself.
12:01It's taught me about my strength.
12:03It's taught me about my resilience.
12:05It's shown me creativity has no bounds, and so I hope I continue to tap into that.
12:11Beautiful.
12:12Well, I'm so inspired.
12:13You're killing it.
12:15I mean, again, I feel so seen just, like, again, when I heard your story when I met you and just your products are amazing.
12:22So, we appreciate you.
12:24Thank you for being here.
12:25Thank you for having me.
12:27Happy Wednesdays.
12:27Happy Wednesdays.
12:29See y'all later.
12:31Bye.
12:31Thanks for tuning in.
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