Danessa Myricks, 54, arrives for our interview in a bright red blazer with black buttons. She mentions that she found it while scrolling on Instagram. Accompanying her striking outerwear is an infectious smile and a warm, upbeat energy that stays throughout our conversation. Her optimistic spirit is never more evident than when Myricks speaks about the company she built from the ground up, Danessa Myricks Beauty. A-list stars like Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson have turned to the brand for pivotal appearances. Usher even wore some of their products on the cover of our men’s issue, in May of last year.
The confidence Myricks exudes these days is the polar opposite of the way she presented many moons ago, when her self-esteem was low. She was raised in Queens with eight siblings; her mother worked in nursing, and her father worked as a cutter and sewer for Robert Hall Clothes, Inc. Myricks recalls that when her dad was getting ready to retire, the clothing retailer shut down. He and her mother decided to start a business together: D&P HouseCLEANing. “That was my first whiff of entrepreneurship,” Myricks says. “From the beginning, I saw my parents turning nothing into something.”
What she didn’t see, growing up as a dark-skinned girl, was a representation of beauty that was aspirational for her. But despite being bullied and teased during adolescence, Myricks persisted and was always at the top of her class. In addition to being a superb student, she was self-motivated and creative. She recalls using recycled milk cartons, bottle caps and egg crates to make dollhouses; and her mother, she explains, regularly gifted her pencils, crayons and origami supplies. “We were dreamers,” she says. “My siblings and I even made our own clothes when we were in elementary school. My mom and grandmother taught us how to sew.”
Myricks’s mother also ensured that she learned to play guitar, violin, flute and piano. Her siblings, too, were heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Dance classes, from African to ballet, were a regular part of their childhood. Myricks became so skilled at the piano that she even played in a concert at Carnegie Hall.
After high school, Myricks worked as a nursing assistant at hospitals and nursing homes in Brooklyn. Next, she got a job in the admissions office at the Municipal Training Center. “That was the start of my journey, because I did so well there,” she says. At age 22, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Audrey Cohen College, in Manhattan, now known as Metropolitan College of New York—and was then offered the Director of Admissions position at the Municipal Training Center. She took it and opened a satellite location for the school, in Queens. A successful stint in the fast-paced world of network marketing followed, with Myricks selling telecommunication services.
By her early twenties, Myricks felt a call to do something other than marketing. One evening at a nightclub, she saw Russell Simmons; she boldly walked up to him, introduced herself and shared her affinity for OneWorld, the magazine he was the editorial director of at the time. Although that conversation landed her an interview there, she didn’t walk away with the job she’d hoped for. Instead, she went on to work for Eddison Bramble’s New Image Media, a company that owned multiple magazines focused on Black hair.
“That wasn’t my world,” Myricks says, reflecting on how disconnected she’d felt from her own beauty as an adolescent. “But seeing the artists make up all of these women of color, transforming them—and seeing how the models felt afterward—I began to visualize myself in that world.” Though she was still working in sales and marketing at the time, she realized she felt most inspired whenever she was on set.
After she’d spent five years at the publishing company, her boss shared with her that he’d be shutting down his business in 30 days and moving on to other ventures. This served as a major wake-up call for Myricks, who was then 30 and a single mother of a 7-year-old and an infant. She rallied, jump-starting one of the most creative periods she has yet experienced. She began reading books by makeup pros like Kevyn Aucoin and Sam Fine; and then, relying on grit, determination and the many hours she’d spent on the set of magazine photo shoots, she became a self-taught makeup artist. She worked for free for nearly a year before landing her own professional clients.
By then, Myricks had already begun teaching hairstylists how to do makeup. This time in her life also marked the start of her creating rich, diverse shade ranges to use. Her basement was her first work station. Inside this space, she experimented—aided by her son, who grew up working with Myricks as she mixed pigments to create unique shades.
She began leading small classes, which turned into large workshops. She recalls that at one point, she sold 200,000 DVDs featuring her as an instructor, teaching makeup skills. Trade shows like Bronner Bros. came calling, and she was tasked with imparting her skills and artistry to audiences of up to 400 people.
Myricks started consulting at major brands, including KISS USA, and also landed a position at Benefit Cosmetics, as the head of product innovation. At Benefit, she launched the company’s brow collection, helping to develop products that would go on to sell millions of units globally. But she realized she was creating products that, due to the lack of shade ranges, she couldn’t wear herself.
Fast-forward to 2015. Instead of waiting quietly for someone else to fill the gaps she had noticed in the industry, Myricks launched Danessa Myricks Beauty. For someone who had previously shunned being the center of attention, this marked a leap into front-facing work—and it turned the tide for her. Myricks notes that even during the pandemic years, her business thrived. When 2021 hit, her products became available at Sephora. “The business was built solely on social media, Instagram particularly,” Myricks says. “We never had any ads. It was just me getting on social, doing looks, and the community rallying behind me and supporting me.”
She is currently living through her brightest era yet. As the face of Danessa Myricks Beauty, the founder oversees more than 70 employees and still makes the time to pour into her two children—her son, Chase Daniel Watson, who is now 31, and her daughter, Journey Myricks, 24. “I’m proud of myself for somehow making it through,” she says, “because now my kids have an example of me never giving up, which is really important.”
One core tenet she believes has led to her business success is the importance of dedicating time and energy to self-development. Myricks says she has evolved in so many ways and is still learning and growing each day. Most significantly, with every milestone— including receiving an Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2021 and acquiring seed funding for the first time in 2022—she has remained grounded. “My whole journey,” she states, “has been about having the audacity and the courage to just take one more step.”
