Hollywood-based celebrity make-up artist and founder of Vault Cosmetics Jackie Mgido was featured last week on BBC World News.

On how she got to be featured Jackie says a BBC reporter based in South Africa who had come to report on cricket was blown away by what was going on at the Vault Cosmetics studio.

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“A BBC reporter based in South Africa wanted to report something positive about Zimbabwe and he found that the energy, creativity, and talent that the girls at the Vault studio possessed was outstanding. So he decided to do a piece on Vault Cosmetics, why and how it’s doing great in our economy”, Jackie said.

Vault Cosmetics has a full range of cosmetics products that were created for women that are looking to enhance their features, educate themselves, and understand why they are wearing make-up.

In the BBC clip she explains how make-up gives people illusion that makes their insecurities invisible. She further explains the difficulties she faced starting a make-up line in Zimbabwe.

“The whole idea started off with me working in Hollywood and finding that there was something missing for darker skinned women and especially for myself. Starting a make-up line in Zimbabwe was difficult because nobody had done it before, they see make-up as a luxury”, Jackie said.

She explained how she invested in the business with the help of her husband. Jackie also alluded to the challenges she faced when she tried to manufacture her products in Zimbabwe. Problems like convincing the government about her product, issues to do with tax, electricity and bringing in all the chemicals for manufacturing in Zimbabwe.

Vault Cosmetic studio zimbabwemakeup PIC: COURTESY OF VAULT COSMETICS
Vault Cosmetic studio zimbabwemakeup PIC: COURTESY OF VAULT COSMETICS

“I had the spirit of wanting to manufacture here, but had problems with electricity, problems with bringing in all the chemicals. We are manufacturing everything in L.A and then everything pretty much gets shipped here and that is extremely expensive”, she said.

Jackie further explained the charges and uniqueness of some of Vault’s most popular and selling products like the lip sticks and foundations.  She concluded by paying tribute to the pivotal role played by social media in nourishing the growth of Vault Cosmetics.

The Zimbabwean make-up artist continues to get international recognition for her prowess in beautifying products. To date she has made up Hollywood celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Snoop Lion formerly Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Gayle King, and LL Cool J.

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