In our latest, Lux Women feature our team spoke with Range Beauty Founder & CEO, Alicia Scott. Alicia founded Range Beauty in 2018 after her personal struggle with skin sensitivities, realizing that the current beauty market did not offer a safe space for eczema and acne friendly makeup.
Range Beauty is revolutionizing the beauty industry with plant powered makeup products that are designed to soothe reactive skin while still providing a flawless and glowing skin finish.
Keep reading to learn more about Alicia's entrepreneurial journey, how she became the first black woman owned makeup brand to secure a deal on ABC's Shark Tank and more.
Hi Alicia! Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with our team, we are so excited to learn more about you and Range Beauty! Can you first start by telling us a little bit more about yourself and how you started your entrepreneurial journey?
I’ve always dealt with sensitive skin since I was a young girl trying to bathe in my grandma’s Elizabeth Taylor heavily-fragranced lotion. I immediately broke out in hives and since that day, I steered clear of sensitive-skin-triggering products, including makeup. I thought that was all I needed to do until one random day in college, I awake with a large, itchy, dry patch on my leg. But that was just the beginning. More patches from head to toe which I soon thereafter found out from a dermatologist was contact and atopic dermatitis better known as eczema. To make it a real party, cystic acne entered my life around the same time and I just couldn’t get with the makeup brands not only ignoring my skin tone but my skin conditions too. This motivated me to to launch Range Beauty which is the first generation of plant-powered makeup essentials for ultra-reactive skin.
Range Beauty is the first black woman-owned makeup brand to secure a deal on ABC’s Shark Tank. Such an amazing and prestigious accomplishment - can you talk more about that experience and the ways in which Range Beauty has grown since then?
Such an incredible opportunity to show our community that they are seen. Having a platform like Shark Tank to discuss the major implications of ignoring Black women in beauty was invaluable. I had such a great time, all of the Sharks were so fun, yes even Mr. Wonderful himself. We received great compliments from everyone and ultimately landed an offer from Emma Grede and Lori Greiner. Since Shark Tank our business has grown tremendously in revenue and community. Most recently we were welcomed into the newest class of Sephora Accelerate which prepares brands behind the scenes to gear up for a launch at Sephora.
Similar to Tini Lux, Range Beauty focuses on providing products to consumers that are truly safe for sensitive skin and still suitable for everyday wear. Can you talk more about your experience with eczema and skin sensitives? How has your personal experience shaped the mission behind Range?
Range is personal to me because of my own journey with eczema and acne. I never saw or heard about eczema and acne friendly makeup until I launched. I wanted to create a safe space in an industry that has always pushed perfect, flawless skin and show that all skin conditions and tones are worthy of high-performing products that are actually good to your skin.
How does Range Beauty differentiate itself from other makeup brands who promote their products as safe for sensitive skin?
Black women are the most affected group in terms of acne and eczema, they are the two most frequent skin diseases in our community. We differ from other brands by prioritizing melanin-rich skin and encouraging the discussion of how products work differently on different skin types and tones. We also specifically call out acne and eczema as those are who are products are formulated for, with ingredients that target and help those associated symptoms. Sensitive skin can be a broad category, calling out acne and eczema in our messaging and products makes people feel seen and represented who are affected by these skin conditions.
Huge congratulations on the Sephora Accelerate Program! What has been the most exciting part of this journey so far and what are you most looking forward to?
Thank you!! The visit to HQ in San Fran was unreal. We were all saying it felt like an out of body experience. I love learning especially because I do not have a background in beauty, so hearing from the experts and having Sephora hold our hand along the way is incredible and I’m so fortunate to be in this 2023 class.
Since creating Range Beauty, what has been the most rewarding experience for you? If there was one thing you could have done differently, what would it be?
The most rewarding experience is seeing the comments/reviews from customers who have acne or eczema and never could wear makeup because no was including them in the conversation. Makeup is supposed to be fun and an expression of creativity, and at times an improvement to your confidence, so hearing that I have now enabled that experience for people is pretty amazing. I wouldn’t do anything differently, I have accomplished so much more than I thought possible in 3 short years and each step or misstep have both led to incredible milestones.
In what ways would you like to see Range Beauty expand? What would you say are the top 3 goals for the next 5 years?
Excited to introduce Range to retail! This will be huge for us as we’ve only been a .com brand with in-person activations here and there. To physically have an in-store presence is going to be a game changer for us and the future of Range. Our top 3 goals over the next 5 years are to expand into retail, launch skincare, and become the go-to makeup brand for reactive skin.
In terms of marketing strategy, how do you think Range Beauty successfully cultivates a community aspect for its consumers? What social media platform have you seen the most success on and why do you think that is?
We’ve seen the most success on Instagram and started seeing success last year on TikTok. The best thing you can do on these platforms is to ignite a conversation with your followers and non-followers. I love peeking in and seeing people have conversions under a post whether recommending eczema relief or sharing how they use the products in their routine, that’s the best and how you know you’re doing something right.
Is there a piece of advice that has resonated with you along your entrepreneurial journey? What is one thing you wish you could tell your younger self?
The best piece of advice I’ve heard was your path is your own. It’s very easy, especially in these times of over-sharing, to compare your progress to another founder or brand. Staying true to your path and letting it work out the way it’s intended is much more effective than comparing or trying to align your path to someone else. One thing I would tell my younger self is to keep on doing it girl! I was always creative and wanting to try new things, I knew I would be my own boss and so I would instill in my younger self to keep that thought going and push onward.
