Destiny Jones is making a name for herself that goes beyond being the daughter of legendary emcee and EBONY Power 100 recipient, Nas.

In 2014, the 22-year-old Queens, NY, native followed her dreams while paying homage to her father’s legendary hip-hop album, Illmatic when she released her four signature lip glosses named after tracks on the iconic LP.

Since then, Destiny is continuing to create more colors for “Lipmatic” and is even thinking about expanding her brand. EBONY.com spoke with the emerging CEO about her brand, what inspires her and what she has planned for the future.

EBONY.com: What inspired you to start a lip gloss line?

Destiny Jones: I started making lipsticks when I was maybe 8 years old because my mom got me a kit for Christmas. I used to love to make colors and mix them. I always liked to create lip sticks, glosses, and things like that. At that age I didn’t know that one day I could actually do this for a living. As a teenager, my bag had at least 15 [lip glosses] when I would go outside. So my friends were like, “You know a lot about lip gloss and you are always using different products and stuff, why don’t you just make your own?” I was like, “Actually I think I will!” [laughs] So when I was around 17, I kept talking about it. I was like, “Oh I’m going to have my own line one day.” When I was 18, I actually started getting things done and moving along with it.

EBONY.com: I know the name of your lip gloss line came from your father’s album title. Can you talk about what inspired this decision?

Destiny Jones: In the beginning, I think the hardest part of everything was figuring out what to call my lip gloss line. I had no idea; that’s what really slowed me down at first. Then, I was having a conversation with some friends of mine about it. I was like, “You know I really can’t think of a name that suits the line.” I wanted it to be kind of like a New York Style line, but I didn’t want to put “New York” in the name. One of my friends asked me, “Who would be my customers in the beginning?” I thought, “Well obviously my dad’s fans would probably be the first people to buy it,” so as soon as I said that, I started thinking about his album titles. I kept going and then it just hit me…Lipmatic! As soon as I said Illmatic, Stillmatic…”Lipmatic” just popped into my head. I said it out loud and everyone was like, “Ohhh that’s so dope!” It does kind of flow; it rolls off the tongue! So that’s how I thought of the name.

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EBONY.com: Why did you want your lip gloss line to have a New York feel?

Destiny Jones: I’m from Queens, New York, born and raised. I wanted to have a gloss line that wasn’t just so…glitz and glamour and Hollywood. I mean New York is high fashion, but it’s also high in fashion when it comes to street wear and I wanted more of like a street wear line, an every girl line, a hip-hop line. Something cool [that] you can wear if you’re glamorous. You can wear it if you’re sporty. A gloss for just every girl and New York, that’s what that represents to me.

EBONY.com: Do your lip glosses come in other textures like matte? 

Destiny Jones: They are all glossy, but I am looking into matte because everybody loves matte. Gloss is timeless. Lipstick is timeless. People really love matte. It’s just not my thing personally. I like the feeling of my lips being moisturized, rather than dry. I’m thinking that will be the next direction that I decide to go in. It would be great if I could figure out a way to make the matte feel more moisturized and still look pretty.

EBONY.com: Can you tell me how your lip gloss differs from other glosses out there?

Destiny Jones: My lip gloss is 98% organic. We have ingredients like sunflower seed oil, bees wax, coconut oil, Vitamin E and Shea butter. [The ingredients are] the key reason why the lip gloss is not like other lip glosses that are clumpy and get sticky. That was always my issue with other lip glosses. I was like, “Oh it looks so pretty, but it feels so horrible.” With “Lipmatic,” the color comes out great; it’s smooth. You can keep applying it. With old lip glosses that I used to use, it would look great, but if I wanted to put more on I had to completely wipe my lips off. The best quality is the way it feels because the ingredients actually nourish your lips and make them healthy and protects them from the sun and the cold. You don’t just look good, you feel good and your lips are healthy.

As far as the colors, right now, I have about 13 colors. From light pinks, dark pinks, burgundy, I have dark violet. I have cream colors. I have two browns now, a light natural one. That’s a very nice everyday color that people like. I just came out with a new one a couple days ago called “Manhattan Mocha” and it’s a chocolate brown. I think it’s my favorite right now actually. It’s just so perfect for fall and winter. So our colors definitely vary. We have a color for everybody. Whatever your color is, we have it.

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EBONY.com: What other products are you thinking about exploring?

Destiny Jones: I want to continue to stay in the lip lane. I would like to get lipsticks, liquid lipsticks, and lip liners. I would also like to do eye shadows and eye shadow palettes. Eyebrows are huge for me. I would like to get into that so maybe a little while later, I would get into skincare and things like that. I love a good highlight. For now, I want to stay in the lip area and take it slow.

EBONY.com: How much was your father involved in the decision making of “Lipmatic?”

Destiny Jones: He was more so just an inspiration as far as the name and the names of the first four colors. It was great timing because it was the 20-year anniversary of Illmatic when I launched “Lipmatic.” He had so much stuff going on. He will ask me about stuff and give me feedback or his opinion. The other day he was like, “Oh you should have boxes.” I was like, “Yeah I thought about that myself. I was going to do that.” But he paid for the stuff to get made and from there I was kind of on my own. If I need help or advice or anything I could always come to my dad. He has a really strong business mind so if I’m struggling with anything or need help, I could always talk to him about it.

EBONY.com: So I know you can purchase your glosses on www.lipmatic.com, but are they sold in any stores?

Destiny Jones: There is one store in L.A. It’s called Wardrobe Department located on 3rd street in West Hollywood. It’s a cute store too. We sell them there and in Chicago, there’s a beauty salon called Sheena Marie’s Beauty Salon and everybody goes there. It’s the best beauty salon in Chicago. Those are just relationships that I already have. I haven’t actually pitched it to stores or anything like that. That’s next on my 2017 agenda.


Teryn Payne is an Editorial Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief. She’s obsessed with style, nail polish and all things olive. Follow her on Twitter @Teryn_Denice.