Born under the desire to find the perfect red lip color for black women, Kristin McIntyre created the vegan and cruelty free beauty brand (or according to her “beauty band”) Rufescent Lips. Rufescent — tinged with red, focuses on one thing, rich red lips, and Kristin’s goal is for these lips to empower other black women to feel beautiful while bringing the revolution. To learn more about Kristin McIntyre and Rufescent Lips, please read our exclusive interview below.

Where are you based?
I’m Kristin McIntyre, Founder of Rufescent Inc. based in Dallas, Texas.

Can you talk about the founding of Rufescent? What is your story? What inspired you to create a makeup brand?
How Rufescent came to be is a two-part story. Rufescent was created after years of perusing through several major cosmetic stores, intentionally searching for the perfect shade of red, only to be faced with very limited and matchless options for women of color. This ultimately ignited a movement toward self-empowerment.

Rufescent’s personal journey is, however, much deeper than the surface. My vision for Rufescent happened years ago after witnessing a young, passionate, and carefree black girl create a #darkskinredlip challenge back in 2013. She started the movement in response to rapper ASAP Rocky’s infamous 2013 quote that suggests only fair skinned women can get away with wearing red lipstick. Needless to say, she shut down his colorist remark by challenging women of color to submit selfies wearing their favorite shade of red. Sadly, after all of her tremendous work, Karyn lost her battle with mental illness and committed suicide in 2014. I was absolutely crushed and left with so many whys. Her advocacy for us made such a huge impact in such a short time span. Creating Rufescent, for me, was our way of honoring and carrying on her legacy. Rufescent is more than makeup, it’s a movement.

Rufescent specializes solely on red lipstick. Why is this so important to you? Do you think you will expand?
For years, black women have remained at the bottom of the beauty hierarchy despite the industry’s best efforts to display inclusivity. Whether or not Black women can or can’t wear red lipstick is still a trending topic of discussion, which is baffling to me. I mean, have you ever seen-seen a black woman wearing red lipstick? It’s fucking magic!! This is why it’s so important to me, so that we are seen for the beauty of it without judgement and ridicule.

And yes, we have strategically outlined product expansion as a future goal. We are launching more shades for the upcoming Fall season and plan to add a line of traditional lipstick, lip liners, and lip gloss in 2021. It’s an exciting time!

The word Rufescent is rooted in the color red. Your lip shades also align within this aesthetic. What is the importance behind the color red? What does it signify for you? You make a point of noting that you had a lot of trouble finding the right shade of red for your skin tone. How is the tone of your lipstick more suited to people of color than other brands?
The color red for me is very powerful. It signifies an array of different emotions; passion, love, anger, rage, strength, and energy, all of which reflect the emotions that black women carry on a daily basis.

I made it a point to select reds from a color wheel that appeared to have deeper undertones, including blue and purple and a few with orange undertones. I then tested them on four different skin tones prior to finalization. My mother, sister, aunt, and Grammy were the test subjects and each color looked stunning on all of them. Now, I’m not claiming to have reinvented the wheel in terms of color matching. My main goal was to prove that women of color can wear multiple shades of red and don’t have to conform to the traditional beauty rule “one perfect red”. We’re breaking the rules over here.

Rufescent is also vegan and cruelty-free. Why is this important to you?
Honestly, I think most of the population has not only been conscious about what they put in their bodies, but also what they put on their bodies, which is super important in itself. Personally, I’ve worn a ton of lipsticks in the past and have experienced unpleasant smells and breakouts, so it was a no brainer to promote the importance of healthy lips.

COVID has strongly affected small businesses. How has your business been impacted by the shelter-in-place order?
Rufescent is a very new brand. We’ve literally been operating for seven weeks, so I can’t really measure a level of impact. However, I can say that we’ve been shown a tremendous amount of support and our consumers love the brand and the product thus far.

Our country is going through unprecedented changes. It is very exciting that we have Black Lives Matter protests happening all over the world. What are your thoughts on the protests and what do you hope they achieve?
I’m all for the protest. It’s a beautiful thing to witness and be apart of. The revolution needed to be televised and my hope is that this global protest is an eye opener to those that have downplayed systemic racism and oppression. No justice, no peace. It’s simple.

There is now an increased interest in supporting Black owned businesses. Please let us know your thoughts on that. How do you think people can become more aware of businesses to support?
Yikes, ok I’ll try my best to be politically correct as much as I possibly can on this topic. Listen, I’ve had multiple brands reach out to me recently that six months ago wouldn’t have even taken me seriously as a black business owner. Let’s start there. Now, do I think this support is a shift in the right direction? Yes. And although I’m flattered, I’m not completely convinced on whether these intentions are genuine or if this is just another “black is trending, let’s capitalize” moment. I want to be optimistic about change, but I’m skeptical of tokenism.

How are you staying positive during these times?
I am a true introvert, and I know this may sound super cliché-ish, but the pandemic has been a huge blessing for me personally. Unnecessary noise and less unnecessary distractions and interactions, is golden. I’ve been able to restore positive energy by meditating, self-reflecting, reading thought provoking books, learning the art of yoga, discovering new music, launching a beautiful brand, spending time with my family, and ridding myself of toxic energy, including resigning from a stressful corporate job. All of these things were unattainable prior to the pandemic and for that I am grateful.

What is your motto in life?
My motto in life is a quote that has really resonated with me: “Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness and bad days give you experience”.

To learn more about Rufescent Lips, please follow them via the platforms below:
https://www.rufescentlips.com/
Instagram: rufescentlips
Facebook: rufescentlips

Rufescent Lips Is The Perfect Shade Of Red