By Bridgette Bartlett
Photography by Noah Kalina at the Mansfield Hotel

HE IS: The makeup artist behind the glam looks of celebrities such as Estelle and Fergie, and the co-creator of the luxury lip-gloss line Kissable Couture.

STRAIGHT FROM THE D: Crimson, 29, got a taste for the fashion and cosmetics industries while working as a wardrobe assistant on the film 8 Mile, which was shot in his hometown of Detroit. “I was so inspired that when the movie wrapped I used the last bit of money I had to get on a bus to Los Angeles,” he says. He honed his skills assisting veteran makeup
artists such as Pat McGrath, who was so impressed with Crimson’s work at a Christian Dior show that she booked him for seven others.

THE SURREAL WORLD: “My favorite Hollywood experience was going to a dinner Oprah threw for Forest Whitaker,” he recalls. “I thought to myself, I’m on my way to Oprah’s house, and realized the magnitude of the moment. I was in a room full of influential people, but there were no ‘I’m better than you’ kind of airs. We were on the same playing field. ”

MAN WITH A PLAN: Last December, Crimson opened an apothecary, Beauty Statements by AJ Crimson, in the Brooklyn salon ’Cure Beauty Bar. And, inspired by Kissable Couture’s strong following, he and partner Keisha Nash-Whitaker are working to expand the three-year-old brand by adding new makeup categories, like cheek color. “I tell people that the only reality that exists is the one you create,” he says. “I’ve always known that I had to
create the life I want to live.”