An ‘Apostle’ of men’s skincare: Jamie Melbourne’s bold new venture

Jamie Melbourne’s life has, to even his own amazement, come full circle.

From being a decades-long leading fashion industry make-up artist to launching the co-created men’s cosmetics brand Apostle, this Manhattan-by-way-of-Kingston beauty entrepreneur is living a dream. And there’s much more up his sleeve.

Debuting in 2023, Apostle was conceptualised four years earlier with business partner Anthony Lecy-Siewert. The brand’s flagship product is a tinted men’s moisturiser available in 12 shades, with a Jamaica-inspired focus reflected in both its formulation and shade names. Think Black River, Morant Bay, Westmoreland, Cornwall, Falmouth, Negril, and Port Antonio.

“The idea for the Apostle Blue Mountain complex was suggested by a New York-based product developer who consulted with us early in our development process,” Melbourne shared.

“It was a means of creating a point of difference for us, women’s brands included. When she mentioned developing a triple-ingredient complex that would be infused with many of our products that could take the formula, the ingredients that immediately came to mind were Blue Mountain water, Scotch bonnet pepper, and sweet orange.”

“I grew up drinking sweet orange juice at the Mandeville home of my uncle, Winston Grey, a dentist. I spent many summers there during my childhood. That was the source of my inspiration,” divulged the beauty tastemaker. “And I’m never without Scotch bonnet pepper stored in my freezer, and like most Jamaicans, I never cook without it.”

The sweet orange and Scotch bonnet extracts are sourced by scientists outside of Jamaica and the Blue Mountain water, from Jamaica.

These ingredients, he explained, are in of themselves beneficial to the skincare process.

“Blue Mountain water is rich in calcium and potassium and possesses antioxidant properties. The pepper is rich in Vitamins A, B, and C and possesses anti-inflammatory properties while sweet orange is rich in Vitamins C and E as well as antioxidants that help brighten and rejuvenate the skin,” he detailed.

Currently, the moisturiser is sold directly through the brand’s website, as well as on Amazon, and most recently at Rennai, a beauty and self-care retailer in Montreal, Canada. The product is made by Cosmax, the largest South Korean skincare manufacturer in the world, The Sunday Gleaner learnt, which is Apostle’s lead investor at this time. “South Korea is known to be the very best at developing cosmetics,” the Jamaican-American entrepreneur noted, adding that in the pipeline are new Apostle men’s skincare and hair products.

Melbourne’s conversation with The Sunday Gleaner unfolded via telephone, in the departure lounge at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. He was en route to Florida, with Lecy-Siewert for the three-day CosmoProf beauty trade show at the Miami Beach Convention Center. “We walked the show, met people and looked for new innovations,” Melbourne said of the reasons behind prioritising the trip where 704 exhibitors in the skincare, make-up, hair and fragrance industry were booked to showcase their latest products to an expected 20,000 attendees.

HOLISTIC VANTAGE POINT

Of their business dynamic, Lecy-Siewert explained: “We enter every new product formulation from the lens of Jamie as a make-up artist and me as a consumer, which allows a really beautiful holistic vantage point. This is the true beauty of our partnership. We remain hyper-focused on meeting our customer where he’s at, creating best-in-class facial care essentials that solve real issues that men care about like redness, hyperpigmentation, fine lines and dryness. Visiting a trade show like CosmoProf in Miami brings us closer to our industry peers that we might only see over Zoom a few times per year.”

As to the gradual buildout of the Apostle brand, he relayed a significant move made last September.

“Ulta, the largest beauty retailer in the United States, took notice of Apostle when they chose black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) brands out of 250 semi-finalists to participate in their MUSE Accelerator Cohort. It was a 10-week programme, which began and ended in their Chicago headquarters, and the brands that were selected were chosen to participate out of Ulta’s interest in developing BIPOC founders. We were exposed to and consulted with some of the most successful executives, brand founders, and influencers in the US. The 360-degree experience helped us develop a sharper focus towards every step of retail business, which neither Anthony nor I had any background in or knowledge of.”

Apostle may be his latest professional undertaking in the global beauty space, but Melbourne has had a lengthy connection to it.

Recounting his transplant to The Big Apple in the spring of 1978 to pursue higher education, the Vaz Preparatory and Calabar High alum who departed the island for New York at 20 years of age shared: “I grew up with brothers and sisters who studied abroad between the United States and the United Kingdom, and I had an insatiable urge to do the same. I was accepted to The School of General Studies at Columbia University, where I was an English major.”

His first job when he got to New York was at Bloomingdale’s, working in the Ralph Lauren Polo Western shop. “The shop was located next to the department store’s cosmetics floor, which was when my fascination with beauty entrepreneurism began,” he disclosed. A photographer shopping one day at the store asked if he could take pictures of him. Shortly after the photo session, Melbourne temporarily relocated to Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest to take up a job opportunity there.

“As a last-minute thought, I decided to take those photographs with me and not leave them in New York. While in Portland, I noticed that there was quite a bit of fashion advertising in the stores, so I made an appointment to show my photos and ended up working for most of the clients there. I returned to New York with a portfolio of work, went to Wilhelmina [modelling agency] and was taken on right away by Dan Delvey, the director of the men’s division at that time and modelled throughout my 20s.”

His life as a model, which also included a stint with Ford [modelling agency], proved quite active, with consistent bookings. “I shot for editorial and advertising clients and did some shows,” the six feet-two-inches tall, 67-year-old stunner recalled of his 1980s turn in the industry. “The jobs I was proud of that come to mind included the covers and fashion editorials for Ebony and Essence, shooting with all the iconic models of the time, including Beverly Johnson. Other clients included Pierre Cardin, for whom I did shows, and Nike and Nordstrom campaigns. I also shot numerous catalogue jobs for East and West Coast department stores. A career for a black model during the ‘80s in New York was no easy feat in a white-dominated market. All things considered, I had a good run, and one of my covers lived in the office of Wilhelmina’s then-president, along with all the male and female models in the agency who had covers during that era.”

Throughout his modelling days, and prior to, Melbourne, whose energy company supervisor father John tragically passed shortly after he was conceived, harboured an abiding interest in beauty starting in adolescence, which he traced to his late mother, Lena Grey.

“[I am] extremely proud of this fact, and my love for her is immeasurable,” said Melbourne, whose middle names, Spencer Collingwood, originates from his late father’s own name. “Because I excelled in English language and literature while at school, she hoped I would become a journalist. However, when I look back at my early life, nothing gave me more pleasure than spending time at the apothecaries she ran. She was vice-president of Moodies Pharmacy, which was located at Spanish Court [then a shopping complex], and it was there that I was first exposed to magazines and beauty products, which [would come to] inspire my career path beyond my wildest dreams.”

Leap a decade later into his early adulthood, and reflecting now on his then-turn as a face in-demand, he recalled: “The exposure to the beauty industry was, of course, quite intense as there were hair and make-up artists on most of the assignments that I worked on ... . I pursued make-up school in Los Angeles, after which I had the good fortune of being invited to assist in the make-up department of director Quentin Tarantino’s first film, Reservoir Dogs. It was an all-male cast and my first professional opportunity to work with actors. When I returned to New York from Los Angeles, a dear friend arranged an introduction to Francois Nars of NARS cosmetics, who immediately invited me to be his first assistant, from which vantage point I developed my own career as a make-up artist.”

And, flourish he sure did!

“I knew early on that to hone my craft well I had to work in fashion rather than film during the ‘90s. After Reservoir Dogs I moved to New York with the intention of aligning myself with the best in the business. Assisting Nars gave me the opportunity to work and learn with A-list photographers, editors, designers, models, magazines, advertising campaigns, and fashion shows,” he divulged of his past life working and living extensively in both Europe and Gotham. With Nars, Melbourne’s work included Italian Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Versace, Valentino, and Dolce and Gabbana.

“This exposure and experience working with the crème de la crème honed my skills and sharpened my eye in the most extraordinary way. It is this very eye and sensibility that I have used in developing Apostle and working with customers. I can literally shade-match a client from looking at Instagram images within seconds.”

The enterprising former Jamaican Marlins Swim Club member and youngest of six siblings would venture on to establish Melbourne Artists Management (MAM), a talent agency that represented hair, make-up, and manicure artists in September 2012. His credits appeared in Allure, i-D, Ten, Marie Claire Italia, and London Sunday Times, among a long list of publications.

“It was one of my proudest accomplishments because we worked with many of the major clients in the world,” he reminisced of running his eponymous company, which he shuttered four years ago. “I wanted a higher return on my investment of time hence my decision to close MAM and pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a beauty entrepreneur,” he explained. “We worked for US VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Versace, but also more commercial clients like Target and Saks Fifth Avenue, and [produced] numerous beauty campaigns for Estee Lauder. I represented established talent and developed young, up-and-coming talent, including Jamaican hair stylist Jawara, English make-up artist Virginia Young, and Jamaican American manicurist Dawn Sterling, all of whom are working at a very high level.”

And, what barriers did Melbourne as a black man from the Caribbean have to navigate in the fashion industry?

“The challenge I faced working outside of Jamaica was learning how to use prejudice in all its forms to propel me rather than derail me from my dreams and focus,” he replied. “Racism was a stark reality for a Jamaican who was not raised abroad in racist cultures. That being said, I should be super clear about the fact that some of my greatest supporters in the fashion and beauty industry, many of whom are dear friends, are American, British, European, and South Korean.”

In a most fortuitous twist of fate, three decades later, Melbourne found himself returning to a model’s life by sheer happenstance.

“I was introduced to SAINT International CEO Deiwght Peters by my dear friend [film and music producer and art director] Maxine Walters,” Melbourne said. “To be perfectly honest, it was the last thing I expected at that point as I had found more lucrative ways of being involved in the industry. After a meeting with Deiwght in Kingston in 2019 and a digital test shoot, which Peters executed himself, Deiwght took me on pretty much immediately. He had a really great eye, and the images were super flattering. When I returned to New York, he arranged a meeting with Soul Artist Management, which also went very well. It was at this time that the full-circle moment became very evident to me.”

Model Jamie 2.0 as a SAINT has seen him strutting the catwalk at New York Fashion Week for Deveaux, co-fronting advertising campaigns for Rag & Bone, Opening Ceremony and Macy’s, and editorials for CR Fashion Book and Buffalo Zine. He also recently signed with Select Models in Los Angeles for representation, negotiated by Peters.

Melbourne is grateful but practical, offering his take on a second go as a model. “If I can make any contribution to the younger generation, it would be to be super clear about the fact that modelling should not be considered a full-time job for men. Make other career plans while you are young and don’t depend solely on modelling. Use it to explore other avenues, dreams, and aspirations. Very few men make enough money to sustain their lives, which is quite different for women, who make higher rates in the modelling industry. The models who I have been most impressed with have become entrepreneurs, and they have inspired my current path.”

As to what he hopes the next chapters of his life will look like, Melbourne has a laundry list of to-dos. “Deepening my [Christian] faith in the Holy Trinity, a lot of love, entrepreneurial success, travelling the world, writing and publishing books,” he told The Sunday Gleaner, revealing that he has a completed manuscript of his autobiography, which, at some point, he will shop around to publishers. “I started writing my memoirs in 2005, pulled from journals I had kept over many years, and throughout my make-up career between 1995 and 2005. Travelling can sometimes be lonely, whether on trains, planes, or staying at hotels, so I would make entries when I felt moved to write down an experience. This also included conversations I was privy to, and I wanted to share aspects of my life and this so-called glamorous business I was part of. I believe it has film-making potential, which would be most important.”

Recently reconnecting with past schoolmates from his Jamaican secondary school years, he shared that there was a formation of a WhatsApp group “of my classmen from Calabar, whom I had not been in touch with for over five decades. I believe there are approximately 25 to 30 of us focused on the reverie of our boyhood, but also on how we can help support our alma mater”.

And as Melbourne’s eventful story continues its evolution, he shared a keen wish to pay it forward: “I want to give back and inspire the next generation to think in terms of possibilities and creative visualisation,” he noted. “Teaching them how to listen to their inner voice. I dream of living somewhere near the Caribbean Sea and swimming every day.”

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com