Photos courtesy of Tameka Jones
Tameka Jones applying makeup
lipstick
Tameka Jones set out to create a line of matte lipsticks that are long wearing and moisturizing.
After decades as a makeup artist, Tameka Jones used her downtime during the pandemic to rethink her path. The result? A line of her own, Lip Esteem, a Black woman–owned beauty start-up specializing in plant-based and gluten- and cruelty-free lip products.
Jones’s line consists of lipsticks, glosses, and liners, with all 12 colors based off her own personal friend group—from her most porcelain-skinned friend to those with deeper skin tones. Plus, she’ll sell an assortment of lip care products fit for combating harsh winters—an exfoliator, vitamin E stick, and moisturizing lip balm.
“My friends represent all shades of beauty,” says Jones, whose company won the 2022 New Kid on the Block Award from the City of St. Paul. “It’s important to me that everyone can wear my hues.”
As a born-and-raised Rondo girl, it was essential for Jones to come back and open her store in the community she holds close to her heart. Look for Lip Esteem at Selby Avenue and Victoria Street (just two doors down from plant-based restaurant J. Selby’s), slated to open in April.
876 Selby Ave., St. Paul, lipesteem.com
