DETROIT – Tributes are pouring in on social media after a well-known makeup artist, beauty entrepreneur and Detroit native has died.
AJ Crimson died while out of the country.
Crimson was a self-taught celebrity makeup artist known for blazing a path for inclusion in the beauty industry with his own brand, AJ Crimson Beauty. His brand has been used on sets of popular TV shows like “Scandal” and “The View,” and movie sets like “The Hunger Games.”
His celebrity clients included Regina King, Fergie, Hilary Duff, Lauren London, LeToya Luckett, Keyshia Cole and Brandy, to name a few.
In a statement, Crimson’s family said:
“AJ Crimson was a makeup industry leader that set a standard of beauty that was elevated, beautiful and accessible to people of all colors. We, as a family, are heartbroken and devastated by his passing but thankful for the lessons that he laid on each of us with his truth, directness, and leadership. We thank you all for your kind words, tweets and posts, as AJ was an inspiration to us as much as he was a bright light to the rest of the world. There are no words that can sum up his whole. Until we meet again!”
Another Detroit native and celebrity makeup artist, George McKenney, said he met Crimson working at a MAC counter years ago. McKenney said Crimson got his big break on the set of the movie “8 Mile.”
McKenney said Crimson’s death is difficult to process.
“That’s the thing that I could take away from AJ; he was the man of relationships,” McKenney said. “AJ made a relationship and a friend, and he knew how to cultivate that relationship. AJ was always checking on me. He was like my advisor. I will call him and say, ‘Hey, I’m in a stomp, you know, what should I charge for this?’ He had the answer.”
Crimson’s cause of death has not yet been revealed.
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