AJ Crimson, an entrepreneur and self-taught celebrity makeup artist, died Wednesday, his representative said. He was 27.
A representative for Crimson confirmed his death in a statement to People on Thursday. A cause of death was not revealed.
“Our entire team mourns this tragic loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with AJ’s family,” the representative said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to them. We absolutely loved AJ, truly one of the sweetest, most humble people we have ever had the pleasure of working with. We are all devastated.”
Crimson was the CEO of AJ Crimson Beauty, People reported.
The self-taught makeup artist from Michigan founded his cosmetic brand in 2013, according to E! News, starting with lipstick and glosses. He grew the brand from eight shades of “highly pigmented, accurate and rich shades” to 12 core foundation shades and 32 lip shades, People reported.
According to his website, the products were “a line of luxury cosmetic creations that speak directly to women of color.”
“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,” Crimson 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.”
Crimson expanded his beauty products catalog to include powder and cream foundations, which are now available on Amazon and at Nordstrom outlets, the website reported.
His celebrity clientele included Angela Bassett, Brandy, Fergie, Regina King, Missy Elliott, Raven-Symoné, Amerie and Hilary Duff, according to E! News.