The beauty industry mourns the loss of a young artist who has transitioned before their time. Beauty influencer and entrepreneur AJ Crimson passed away unexpectedly on March 30.
His family released the following statement to PEOPLE: “AJ Crimson was a makeup industry leader that set a standard of beauty that was elevated, beautiful, and accessible to people of all color. We as a family are heartbroken and devastated by his passing, but thankful for the lessons that he laid on each of us with his truth, directness, and leadership. We thank you all for your kind words, tweets, and posts, as AJ was an inspiration to us as much as he was a bright light to the rest of the world. There are no words that can sum up his whole. Until we meet again!”
Who was AJ Crimson?
Crimson was the founder and CEO of AJ Crimson Beauty, which he created in 2013.
“My vision for AJ Crimson Beauty was luxury cosmetics with Black women in mind first. As a makeup artist, my entire career I gravitated to luxury products for my clientele,” he told Hello Beautiful in October 2020. “Yet there weren’t always products at that level that worked with some of my more melanin-rich clients. I thought it was a shame only drug store options were available, so I knew I had to change that.”
His brand quickly grew from 8 shades of “highly pigmented, accurate, and rich shades” to 12 core foundations shades and 32 lip shades. The beauty expert offered full makeup kits and his lipsticks were noted to be among the best shades for Black women.
Crimson’s last Instagram post, shared a week before he died, was a video of him showing off his latest line of vegan fiber brushes.
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‘The OG Indie’
He is also best known for his celebrity clientele such as Brandy, Missy Elliot, Fergie Regina King, Angela Bassett, LeToya Luckett, Keyshia Cole, Lauren London, and Raven-Symoné.
The cause of his death has not been confirmed. But in a 2021 interview with Behind The Scenes Beauty, Crimson mentioned having a benign tumor in his jaw and tons of medical bills from it.
Celebrity makeup artist and creative director, Sir John, said Crimson was his first agent. The two met while John was working at MAC and became friends.
“You’ll always be the OG indie BLACK brand in my heart,” he wrote on his Instagram. “You’re a pioneer bro.”
Actress Gabrielle Dennis shared her condolences on Instagram. “You were such a special, bright, warm, and talented human being whose light and love will be missed by so many,” Dennis wrote. “You now have wings to go with your crown King. Rest in love. Rest in peace.”
