Annie Jackson Of Credo Beauty

How did you end up here /  What lead you to create CREDO BEAUTY?

I have been in beauty most of my career – both on the retail and brand side. I was lucky to have worked with Shashi (our late founder of Credo) for over 20 years off and on (we were both at Sephora in ’97).  Shashi was a true visionary and saw this clean beauty tidal wave coming long before anyone else.  At that time (around 2012) I was working (back at Sephora for the second time!) when he started sharing with me his concept of his “natural beauty mecca” that we ultimately named Credo.  Later when I decided to leave Sephora and take some time off with my family I started filling my spare time researching clean beauty for our Credo concept.  Almost immediately it was clear that he was onto something amazing, and this fresh, new generation of indie brands needed a retail platform to showcase their products that aligned with their values.  These entrepreneurs and founders were passionate about beauty but also conscious and informed about the harmful ingredients that exist in most conventional products – it was the catalyst for Credo and it was wildly exciting, ridiculously challenging and so, so fun.  For us, truly there was nothing better than creating this business.

Our name - Credo - is reflective of the belief that there is a better way to look beautiful with both style and substance. It’s a belief in a holistic vision for what beauty is: looking good and feeling good.  

Best life advice you’ve received so far?

Well, honestly I am reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” right now and it is giving me great perspective!  As an entrepreneur and a founder, there is a fine line between business and personal.  Building a company is all-encompassing, so truly taking the time to weigh what you should worry about and what you should not is incredibly hard for me, but really, really important.  You have to make hard decisions some times and my inner voice says “it’s only business” but it is not.  For me it is incredible personal and having perspective on that is something I work on every day.

Name 2 things you absolutely have to do every morning to start your day

I need at least 30 minutes, alone in the quiet with a cup of coffee.  And I travel a lot and usually start work on the early side but I always try and squeeze in walking the dog or a power yoga class after that.

Do you have a mentor?  If so, how did you meet?

I do!  Shashi – we were like the Sonny & Cher of beauty.  There is no one like him, we miss his kind of wonderful every single day.

Favorite essential oil 

Jasmine.