The Scoop: Jecca Blac is a unisex and genderless makeup brand that offers a wide range of beauty products, including primers, concealers, eye makeup, and makeup tools. The brand was founded by Jessica Blackler, who has fostered safe spaces for trans and gender-nonconforming people to experiment with makeup. Jecca Blac products are 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and made in the United Kingdom.
Like any reasonable sixth grader in 2011, I was obsessed with YouTube. My friends and I were deeply invested in the lives and video content of several creators, and we would spend hours together watching their videos, studying their Instagrams, and becoming the first generation of kids to make online personalities celebrities.
We had a special love for makeup artists, endearingly referred to as makeup gurus at the time, who would post tutorials we would watch in front of the bathroom mirror. We would have a blast as we tried, with varied success, to replicate their flawless and artful looks. It was just as much about makeup as it was about spending time paying attention to myself while I was with my friends.
Makeup continues to serve that role in my life. I love getting ready and doing makeup for a night out with my friends, and I treasure the time I get to spend alone doing my makeup before a function or a date. Makeup is so many different things to so many people, so it’s important to find a brand that represents everybody.
Jecca Blac is a brand with the mission to represent beauty lovers of all expressions, genders, sexualities, abilities, pronouns, shapes, and sizes. Jecca Blac is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and offers a wide range of beauty products, from primers and concealers to eyeshadows and makeup tools.
Maxine Heron is the Marketing Manager for Jecca Blac. She told us about the brand’s mission, discussed the collection of products currently available, and gave some makeup tips for daters.
“Our mantra is to always stay authentic, creative, and inclusive. We’re a brand that began from the unmet needs of the trans community, and today we’re proud to have established ourselves among an inclusive and diverse community of makeup wearers around the globe,” Maxine said.
“Because of this, we’re constantly striving to become more inclusive of the needs of every makeup wearer,” she continued. “One of our core beliefs is that makeup has no gender, and this is something we try to show to the world in all that we do as a community-led, gender-free brand.”
#MakeupHasNoGender at Jecca Blac
Founder Jessica Blackler got her start working as a makeup artist for film and television in London. Maxine said that during Jessica’s time in the industry, Jessica learned how to use makeup techniques to completely transform a person’s face.
With plenty of industry experience under her belt, she started the Jecca Blac studio, where she offered a safe space for trans women to experiment with makeup. It was designed to be an educational studio where Jessica would teach trans women transformational techniques at the start of their makeup journeys.
The studio was soon established in the local trans community as the go-to spot for private makeup lessons. Jessica quickly built a considerable client base that was mostly made up of trans women and people who were exploring their gender expressions.
Jessica then shifted to working with trans individuals who were completing their sentences in Prison Parc in Wales, an all-male category B prison. She provided voluntary makeup lessons and gave people at the prison tips for using makeup to aid in their gender expression.
All of these experiences inspired Jessica to create a makeup brand that celebrates all makeup wearers, regardless of their gender expression. Jecca Blac’s first product was the Correct & Conceal Palette, which was designed to provide long-lasting coverage for beard shadow, blemishes, and an all-over base.
The Correct & Conceal Palette was the industry’s first-ever concealer marketed to cover beard shadow, and Jecca Blac proudly continues to innovate its products.
Products for Every Pronoun, Ability, Skin Tone, and Size
All Jecca Blac products are vegan, cruelty-free, and made in the United Kingdom. All products are unisex and free from gender labels. “Our whole brand is built around the belief that makeup is for everyone and doesn’t belong to any gender,” Maxine said.
Every Jecca Blac product page includes all the information a customer would want to know. There are directions for how to use the product, often with an accompanying tutorial, plus a full ingredients list.
The Correct & Conceal Palette is Jecca Blac’s most popular product and includes a Color Corrector and a Concealer that provides medium coverage. The palette was designed to provide an all-over base and conceal under-eye darkness, acne, scarring, and beard shadow.
Maxine said one of her favorite products is a highlighting primer called Glow Drops. Glow Drops creates a glowing finish and provides a healthy and natural glow. The product is made to be applied all over the face and be worn alone or used as the base for a buildable highlight.
The Blur & Matte Primer is another popular product. The primer provides a smooth and long-lasting base that minimizes pores and creates a matte finish. The Hydrate Primer is a moisturizer that makes makeup last longer and is great for any skin type.
Jecca Blac also offers a collection of eyebrow and eyelid makeup, and customers can add a bundle bag to their order for an easy place to store their makeup. Maxine told us that Jecca Blac offers high-quality basics that are great for people looking to start building their makeup collection.
Amplifying and Celebrating Trans Joy
In keeping with its founding mission, Jecca Blac offers makeup advice and tutorials on its site and YouTube page. Maxine herself is the model in a few of these tutorials, which give instructions for a variety of makeup techniques. The channel also features trans people telling their stories about makeup and the trans experience.
There are tutorials for perfecting an everyday contoured look, covering under eye darkness, and applying primer and concealer. There’s a collection of makeup transformation videos where a makeup artist gives a trans woman a full makeup look. The videos are often geared toward trans women and cover makeup concerns that are common for trans women.
Trans Visibility Week was Nov. 13-19, and Jecca Blac took part in the festivities. Jessica and the whole team at Jecca Blac know they wouldn’t be where they are today without the support of the trans people who serve as their most dedicated customers.
Jecca Blac celebrated Trans Visibility Week through a donation to For The Gworls. For The Gworls is a Black, trans-led collective based in the United States that curates parties to fundraise money for Black trans people. For The Gworls helps Black trans people pay rent along with medical bills for gender-affirming surgeries, and covers transportation costs.
It’s become increasingly important to consumers that companies and brands reflect and uphold the values they find important. Jecca Blac’s vegan, U.K.-made, inclusive products check many of the boxes conscious consumers look for. The brand is always finding ways to perfect its formulas and expand its collections.
Maxine told us the Jecca Blac Instagram keeps followers up-to-date with announcements about new products and special events, and is the best place to go to find out more about Jecca Blac. Anyone looking for free makeup assistance and shade matching can submit a selfie to Jecca Blac, and a makeup expert will get back to them with some tips.
“It’s great to have a brand you can trust, and we have some of the best, most accessible products for any stage of the makeup journey,” Maxine said. “Makeup is supposed to make you feel comfortable and boost your confidence, so have fun with it.
