Natural Makeup Pioneer Jane Iredale: Don't Try to Fit Yourself into a Mold
Jane Iredale looking glam in her 20s. (Photo: Jane Iredale)
England-born Jane Iredale moved to the United States as a young woman before attending NYU and later, a graduate program at SUNY Albany. The president and founder of Jane Iredale cosmetics began her career in the entertainment industry, working first as a casting director and then as a writer and producer in both New York and Los Angeles. She moved on from film, television, and theater to create her eponymous makeup line, jane iredale. With the launch of her mineral foundation Amazing Base ($44) in 1994, she introduced a makeup line designed to nurture skin, not irritate it, and currently runs her independently owned business in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Yahoo Beauty caught up with Iredale and discussed the correlation between looking your best and confidence, her early 20s obsession with false lashes, and what she learned about being a slave to beauty trends while on a date with a dishy Australian.
My mother was my mentor. She had a work ethic that makes me tired to think about. She had a full-time job — her bicycle was her transportation. She shopped on her way home (the basket in her bike was always full of groceries), and then cooked a dinner with three vegetables and a dessert (usually a fruit pie). On the weekends, she cleaned the house and tackled decorating jobs like hanging wallpaper and painting the walls. I even remember her on the roof once, scraping moss off the tiles. Slacking off wasn’t even a concept for me.
We all like to look our best because that certainly helps with confidence. But sometimes when I’m having a bad hair day (most days) I say to myself, “Hey, you’ve got this far without flowing raven locks, and it hasn’t stopped you yet. I have a husband who loves me, interesting friends who seem to like my cooking, and I bet you’re the only one who notices your hair because most people are only concerned with their own.” A friendly smile and a firm handshake makes much more difference than the perfectly arched brow or the latest handbag. It really isn’t about the trappings. Confidence comes from feeling good about who you are.
Our biggest challenge with the business has been dealing with growth when we were massively under-capitalized. I used to think that growing was easy. When you sold more product, you made more money and, therefore, could buy more raw materials. How naïve was that? I had no backers, no mentors, but I did have a boyfriend, now my husband, who was a banker. We used to strategize every waking moment on how to get more capital into a business that was a lowly start-up. We’d grit our teeth and go to friends and family and pull together enough money to get us through the next phase and on it went. We kept hearing the same refrain, “It’s hard when you’re a start-up.” After ten years and exporting to 25 countries, I asked my accountant, “When do we stop being a start-up?”
A Jane Iredale throwback image. (Photo: Jane Iredale)
Another challenge has been sticking to our mandate of producing as natural a makeup as possible and at the same time satisfying the consumer who wants variety and innovation. Sometimes it’s really hard to give her what she wants without compromising our formulas. It’s easy if you’re free to use anything that’s out there, but we’re not. Our consumers vet our ingredients with a magnifying glass, and they ask questions. I was asked once if the green tea extract we had in one product was caffeine-free. Once you declare your company’s intention, then you will be held to it, because today we don’t own our brands — the consumer does.
It’s rewarding when consumers tell us how much they love a product we’ve agonized over. Hearing from single moms who’ve been able to keep a family together by selling our products. Watching our growth and the growth of the people who work for us.
My 20s beauty obsession was false eyelashes — glue everywhere. Now I gravitate to things that make my skin look healthy. I regret wearing sharply pointed shoes in my 20s. They gave me a bunion. 20-somethings: Don’t be a slave to fashion. Incorporate what you think suits you, leave the rest behind, and think long and hard about fads.
In my 20s, I finally went on a date with a dishy Australian. I meticulously made myself up with all the latest hot colors and cool fashions and I went for our rendezvous. The big trend then was to pile mascara on the top lashes and put none on the lower lashes. The first thing he said to me after “hello” was, “You forgot to put mascara on your bottom lashes.” My confidence hit the floor and the evening was a bust. That was a big lesson in not adopting trends that called attention to themselves. If they don’t work in the overall look, leave them on the magazine page.
I’d tell my 20-something self not to worry so much and to stop imposing my ideas on others. Keep an open mind and don’t try to fit yourself into a mold that isn’t right for you. Don’t follow in the footsteps of “The Race to Nowhere,” because there is time. All those things you do that seem unrelated will one day come together and equip you for something you never even dreamed of.
Related:
How Urban Decay’s Founder Made It Big
Flywheel Co-Founder Ruth Zukerman: What I’d Tell My 20-Something Self
