Online Exclusive: Outside the Box
Jamion Blackwell, founder of Mojo Cosmetics, talks about his design philosophy and reveals some of what’s coming for the unique high-end beauty line.
By Lisa Samalonis, Associate Editor

Jamion Blackwell has a degree in finance, but design is his passion. When he started Mojo Cosmetics

Jaimon Blackwell, founder of Mojo Cosmetics, thinks outside the box.

with an idea for an out-of-the-box metal refillable lipstick package, which became the silver-on-silver Titan, many industry experts told him he would never see his design made. But that just made Blackwell more determined. Eventually, he sought the help of subcontractors to the aerospace industry to make his first product.

“All along I thought that there was a market for this type of design and the fact that it was so hard to make, I knew it hadn’t been done before,” he said in an interview with Beauty Packaging.
The company got off to a slow sales start due to the true cost of the Titan design. “I ended up selling about 1,000 in three years, which is not gangbusters,” he said, adding he knew he needed to build volume and interest.

Lipstick and Beyond
Blackwell takes design inspiration from a variety of sources, ranging from the Diesel campaign to the classic-yet-sporty styling of BMW. The botanical lipstick line started with seven colors, and one refillable Titan. Then it increased to 10 classic cocoa-based colors, which retail for $15 each. The Titan package is made of laser etched aircraft alloy and is now also available in titanium gray and pink alloy for $30 each.

The line stretched into concealers, which also use the bullet concept.

After lipstick, the line stretched into concealers, which also use the bullet concept. “Concealers sold really well too, and the next item was lipgloss,” he said. Other product offerings include foundation, nail lacquer, and eye shadow and powder packaged in stackable, laser-etched pods. Mojo for Men features the Titan with lip balm and the signature silver pearl chain ($50).

The platinum opalescent sheer gloss, which sells for $15, uses stock packaging from Worldwide Packaging, LLC, while all other components are Mojo custom packaging. Blackwell calls upon suppliers not specific to the packaging industry. “They are contractors who can make the designs, some of them do aerospace; others do plastics. Often, the components are mix and match and companies that do aerospace do not usually do plastics so I have had to source to different companies and then coagulate it all at one place,” he said, adding that it is not as cost prohibitive as one might think.

“The one thing that sets my company apart above anything is my marketing and my packaging. If you have packaging that looks like everyone else but you made it black or you put a different sticker on it, really what is the point of difference? I think of it from a consumer level and when they look at it on the shelf, that is what happens. Everyone keeps seeing the same stuff,” said Blackwell, who also heads Mojo Design, a full-service design house. “For example, now there is a glut of mineral makeup on the market and it all has the same packaging.”

Consumers are savvy and companies who keep doing the same thing will “fall by the wayside,” according to Blackwell. He added that Titan has garnered a lot of media attention and has been featured in more than 150 magazines and websites because it is so original.

The Mojo Cosmetics line is sold in high-end boutiques, day spas, hotels, and makeup stores around the

The lipgloss uses stock packaging while all other components are custom.

U.S., Canada, Germany and Japan. It is also sold at the Eric Fisher Academy in Kansas and online (mojocosmetics.com) Blackwell is working on making the products available at design stores like Kuhl-Linscomb in Houston, as well as large retailers like Sephora and Ulta.

“We know to continue we really have to hit these bigger markets,” he said. This has been challenging. Blackwell noted that frequently when pitching the bigger higher-end stores they usually love the concept but the line is too narrow, and the small stores don’t always get the concept but they are willing to take a smaller line.

A press powder, a new compact, and Mojo mascara are in the works, along with something “over the top amazing,” that Blackwell says he just can’t reveal yet.